DROPPING BACK IN: How to Complete Your College Education Quickly and Economically

One-third of today's college students, the Census Bureau estimates, are adults who ""dropped back in""--and that market-segment is knowledgeably addressed here by mathematician Hecht (Hunter College, CUNY) and guidance counselor Traub (San Diego Board of Education). Throughout, they emphasize the reasons for returning to college, the limitations of other commitments, etc., as determinants of college choice. They explore both traditional and non-traditional institutions (""limited residence"" programs, the University Without Walls) in light of their advantages and disadvantages in a variety of programs. They are candid--and practical: if remedial or ""basic skills"" work is required in English or math, a stigma is no longer attached; but if you can find a college whose method of assessment enables you to bypass make-up work, all the better. Much advice is offered for those seeking to maximize existing credits either through direct credit-transfer, competitive exams (such as CLEP), or ""life-experience"" credit. (You probably won't be able to count homemaking--but volunteer work might pass muster.) Though some mention is made of advanced degrees, the text is primarily geared to those who never completed the B.A. and now need it to advance in their chosen fields or to change fields entirely--which, we're told, the average American will soon do seven or eight times in a lifetime. There's an occasional nod to mind-set issues (e.g., juggling school, career, and family), but it's the top-to-bottom basics--on choosing wisely, financing adequately, benefiting fully--that give the book its particular value.