It can be challenging to decide between continuing education or being a full-fledged working adult-the mind says, “let’s read! “But your account says ‘oh no.’ We looked at the option of taking a part-time degree course to find out the middle ground of doing it simultaneously. Here are some of the fundamental misconceptions and misunderstandings that we sussed out:
“You won’t be able to make friends.”
Many hold a common misconception that it is impossible to make friends in a part-time course, culminating in isolated school life. You would always need to put in the effort to set aside time if you are doing part-time studies, much as you would in a full-time school or study. But for those worrying about making friends, you should be glad to know that there are lots of student-initiated chat groups in most private universities in Singapore for you to stay in contact with your classmates, and there are tonnes of study rooms available for F2F meetups to mug with your groupmates too! But here’s the thing about #adulting: making friends everywhere and keeping the ones you already have becomes exceptionally challenging.
“Part-time classes are filled with old people.”
Perhaps the most amusing thing about the lot is the idea that all part-time students are old. You could imagine a whole classroom packed with aunties and uncles. While there’s nothing wrong with senior citizens seeking further education, part-time classrooms typically consist of a decent mix of people from every aspect of life. It is not always a negative thing to have older students with real-world job experience either! In reality, class discussions and community assignments for others with industry-based expertise will give you a better insight into what you’re in for when you graduate.
“You’ll learn less than full-timers.”
Tell this to a part-time student, and you may encounter a full-on “hell no.” In reality, the curriculum for part-time and full-time courses is the same, except that the former happens more at night instead and has streamlined curricula to cater to busy raising a family or a full-time job.
“Part-timers take longer to complete a degree.”
Beep, incorrect! In the same period, you will potentially complete the degree-or even less than a full-time student. Full-time schooling in the form of school holidays will provide several time gaps-particularly in the final year. Any of my full-time schoolmates ended up taking on overlapping internships to optimize their resources or breaking off a whole semester to resume college early after meeting all their course requirements. If you’re the kind of cheongster, a part-time degree course might be best tailored to your teacup – you’re going to be finished and dusted quicker than speedy Gonzales would tell!
“It’s too difficult to juggle!”
If you look at point # 3 (same curriculum) and # 4 (same or less time needed) topped up with the fact that you may be occupied with work on the side, a simple little calculation will land you at the conclusion that the road will be difficult. While the inference is still real, with many people succeeding in balancing school and jobs, it isn’t insurmountable – all boils down to time management! Many part-time schools offer self-directed online classes to align study-work-life better so you can OTOT (own-time target) and flexible learning sessions to accommodate your free time. To find out more about part-time education and private universities, visit https://www.auston.edu.sg/advice/private-universities-in-singapore-what-to-consider/.
