What are /r/BackToCollege's favorite Products & Services?

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First of all, great to hear about the growth mindset. That's going to be very helpful :)

I studied computer science too. It can take a couple tries for ideas to "click." I have the same experience with math. It sometimes takes a few sessions for me to wrap my head around a difficult concept, so I have to come back to it a few days in a row.

Making more time for studying, paradoxically, was very relaxing, because I suddenly had an abundance of study time and didn't feel so rushed anymore. If an idea stumps me, it's not game over: I can always come back tomorrow! This made it much easier to relax, which helped me take in new material.

Not all learning materials are created equal. Sometimes the explanations are clear but simply too dry for me. I always put in the time to find a compelling book or video series.

I have found Anki very helpful, first because it helps you remember what you learn long-term, and second, because in order to make a card in the first place, I have to understand it well enough to explain it to myself in one or two sentences. (Recently discovered something similar: teaching others helps me see gaps in my own understanding.)

If you have any specific CS questions (especially programming) feel free to send me a message!

So, you'll only remember what you read if you make an effort to reconstruct it -- eg. review -- and even better if you use it in a practical way, because you get a feeling of reward for remembering it, which strengthens the memory.

Are you already using Anki? As someone with a poor memory, Anki is a godsend. It's a flashcard app that knows, for each card, how well you know it, so it optimizes how much time you spend on each card.

I use it for everything, names, faces, birthdays, math formulas, definitions.

Using it regularly will help in two ways.

1. You will get in the habit of decomposing knowledge into "atoms", breaking it down into smaller pieces.

2. You will re-activate those pieces in your brain, every day, keeping them alive as long as they are relevant to you.

Also worth mentioning, have you been tested for ADHD? Mentioning just in case, because it's the most common learning disability, has a massive negative effect on memory (long term and short term), is easy to test for and the medications are very effective. (I have it and wish I found out sooner!)

I do a similar thing but I use a calendar through my school email and use it to update my whiteboard calendar monthly.

My “master syllabus” is made up of my calendars, and my “task management tools” are these:

Weekly planner: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098PW1156?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Daily to-do pads: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GL3MK9Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_GRYFA3PEZ973SD2Y9G3T

I have all my important dates (exams, assignment due dates, projects) pre-plugged into my calendars AND my weekly planner. Every sunday/monday I sit down, and plan what needs to be studied and when for that week. I add my most important household chore for each day, bill payments etc. and try to fill up each day with tasks, meals, exercise plans etc. When I need to plan further ahead (i.e. an appointment or important phone call), I simply plug it into my weekly planner ASAP so I don’t forget about it.

Each morning, I wake up and consult my weekly planner. I note tasks for the day, as well as tasks that I was unable to finish the day before. I write all of those into my daily to-do note for the day, and I systematically check off each finished task on both my planner and my to-do list. I tear out my daily notes and keep them in a folder as a record to myself of my continued productivity and discipline.

I have ADHD and this system is what has allowed me to conquer my executive dysfunction toward paying bills, making phone calls (even answering calls from unknown numbers), and overall just taking care of myself by staying on top of everything important in life. It saves me so much stress and anxiety because it takes thinking out of the equation. I just do what the calendars lists tell me to do. It’s been life-changing honestly.

No problem. I highly recommend that you also talk to the college that you're considering as they may have more insight to your local area and school specific scholarships/aid. I also highly recommend starting out at a community college if you need basic general education classes like math, science, english, out of the way. I did community college first, and find that there are just as good of professors there as there are at universities. There also are a bigger group of older people going back to college in community college, so I feel like it's a little bit better environment for people like us. Definitely check out http://www.ratemyprofessors.com to figure out what professor to take from to avoid getting a bad one when signing up for classes.

Schedules are going to vary depending on your school, your degree, what classes you need to take that semester, etc. If you need help in that area, I would suggest you talk to a college advisor on the campus you choose to attend. However, with all of this being said most classes will be during the daytime during normal business hours. If you're looking to do classes at night or on weekends though, I would look at the adult programs your college offers. These programs are very limited however. You can always take classes online, especially in the beginning when you need general education classes. Online classes mostly are a lot of reading, writing, and writing on discussion boards, so if that isn't your style of learning I would recommend in-person classes.

I think you're all set with the mindset you have for college. You sound like a hard worker and very intelligent. I think you should still have a job part time or some sort of income coming through as you go to school. Since you have a good amount of money already you shouldn't be stressing over it like most students do which is such a good thing. I think you should just schedule a good plan through a good project manager like taskade or Microsoft ToDo just because it's such an important and big decisions to make.

I think you should try going back to school because although it may feel like you're older you still have a lot of time to figure things out. School will be hard especially because you live on your own in an expensive area so make sure to spend your time wisely. When I was in school there were a few apps that I would use that helped me out a lot. You sound like you're really smart so either way you'll figure it out.

This is a must have for me but you don't pack it. A must have is some sort of organization app. An app that allows you to organize your school work, schedule, or anything at all. It helps me out a lot and that's one thing I can't live without.