Going back to school
Hi everyone! I’m 24 and currently working as a paraprofessional. I’m going back to school to eventually get my special education degree, and I’m trying to get into a paraprofessional to professional program.
The problem is that my GPA from when I was previously in college isn’t high enough for the program, so I enrolled at my community college as a visiting student to take classes and hopefully prove that I can do well academically.
I really want to get this right this time. When I was in college before, I struggled a lot with focus, motivation, procrastination, and actually getting assignments done. Now I’m working full-time as a para while taking online classes, so I’m honestly pretty nervous about staying on top of everything.
So my questions are
How do you actually make yourself do the work? What helps you get started when you have absolutely no motivation?
How do you stay on top of online classes? I’m worried about losing track of assignments and deadlines without physically having to go to class.
I already have a laptop — would an iPad actually be useful for college, or is it unnecessary?
How do you balance working and going to school without completely burning yourself out?
Are there any systems, apps, routines, accommodations, or ADHD-specific strategies that genuinely made a difference for you?