Help for Grad School Hopefuls

Once upon a time, I had a dream of going to grad school. Actually, I never really doubted it would happen, so it was more of an ambition. I made it through college, through sheer will, it sometimes seemed, and I was tired. Tired of classes and writing papers and worrying about grades and juggling work with course schedules.  I knew I couldn't get financial aid for grad school, and I worried about adding to my student loan debt. Then there was that major, stress-producing test I knew I would have to take, and that made me worry about the possibility of rejection. Back then, it never occurred to me that I could take a class to help me pass the GRE. So I decided to take "a little time off." Famous last words.

Nowadays, I hear that it has become the norm for high school kids to not only take classes to prepare for the ACT and SAT, but also to re-take the test(s) until they are satisfied with the score. I can only assume this is the same for college students getting ready to take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) or GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test). In retrospect, that would have been quite helpful - both in high school and to quell my fears as I considered my options for grad school. A prep course would be particularly helpful for someone planning on going for an MBA and getting ready to take the GMAT.

It's now been 15 years since I finished my undergraduate degree and decided to postpone grad school. At this point, who knows if I'll ever get back to school. I'm not even sure that's something I aspire to anymore. But if I ever do make that choice, I will definitely need to look into a prep course to help get me ready for such a major adjustment.

Have you gone back to school after a long hiatus? Tell me about it!