r/BackToCollege

This feels insane to write but I also don't have normal circumstances.

In short, I grew up with significant health problems from early on into my early 20s, had some lowly jobs here and there until I decided to go to school for Advertising.

Anyway, I graduated in 2023 with an Advertising degree. I had a job lined up that I worked at for three years before being laid off a few months ago. When I went to school job prospects were solid, but since COVID its gone downhill as you might imagine. I have a great portfolio and resume but the industry is tough to navigate, especially in our economy. While interviews trickle in, I can't land anything because senior designers with more experience are beating me out.

I've moved back in with parents for the meantime, and I have a decent pile of savings and investments going. I think there's still opportunity for me, but I'm honestly pretty distraught about this and wish I had just gone for an engineering degree, especially now because I know the pros and cons of advertising industry and I've had a lot of exposure to engineering through my job. I interviewed with a company that markets for fast food and I didn't feel good about it.

I'd rather build tangible stuff that people actually use vs spinning up bullshit in powerpoint. Plus better pay, job stability, mobility. But it is daunting to go back to school full time and graduate late 30s with scattered and scant work experience.

What do you think? Do I just need to put my head down and grind at my current career and hope it works out?

I need some honest outside perspectives. I’m currently a year and two semesters away from graduating with a bachelor's in marketing. It's not something I really want to do anymore, but I’ve sunk so much time and money into it that I do plan to finish the degree first.

But I keep thinking about what would actually make me happy long-term. Outside of performing, the only answer is being a veterinarian. It was my dream from childhood through college, and I only stepped away because I found a passion for entertainment.

The thing is, entertainment is just too volatile. Even when you think you have guaranteed work, you don't. I signed a contract that should have had me performing for three years straight, and they ended up closing the show before one year was even up. I don't want to keep bouncing between serving and retail jobs forever when things fall through.

I'm in my early 30s, and I'm questioning if it's a smart idea to finish this degree and then essentially start over from scratch to go to vet school. I don't care about the time or money, and I still volunteer and do the hard labor with animals. What are your thoughts? Is it crazy to start over now?

I got a pretty good scholarship after high school to go to a small liberal arts school a couple hours away. I went in with 30 hours of credit via AP tests. I think I got a little too ambitious and tried to do 3 majors. I was full time every semester and earned full time credit every semester and did a class one summer.

My scholarship ran out after 8 semester and I did not have money to continue. It sounds weird to think about it but I had little to no idea about loans, little to no idea I could probably still get some pell or even maybe some institutional aid. Also, I could not pass math to save my life. It also baffles me with how much pressure institutions get to have good graduation rates a student like me was never reached out to simply to ask “what happened? Still want to graduate?” I only mention this because when I went to work at a small university we were always combing records to see who hadn’t graduated and who we might be able to incentivize to graduate.

There were a lot of mistakes and things that were told to me I now know were wrong. I earned English Comp I college credit via an AP exam and since the registrar’s office said it wouldn’t show up until I had been enrolled a semester my faculty advisor couldn’t enroll me for many classes which required English Comp I proficiency. Now I know I should have fought for them to waive the requirement since I had it even if it wasn’t on paper. I ended up taking Comp I

I did not come in as math proficient and my faculty advisor kept telling me I could put off math until my last year. She was a kind woman but what kind of advice was that?

In any case I went to work for a small University in my area and my first higher education credential was an AAS earned in 2018, followed by my Bachelor’s( finally in Spring 2019) after 15 years!!! Followed by an AS and then a certificate.

However, a master’s terrifies me but I know I will need it if I want to move up anywhere. I have done a lot of work for colleges and non-profits that advocate for higher ed and education access and career training/re-training. However, I am terrified. Taking any sort of research class sounds awful. Any tips or ideas on programs? NGL researching non-profit management or organizational management programs is overwhelming! All of them sound pretty much the same in a lot of ways. TIA

And just for those and the advice I gave students is don’t be afraid to ask. Ask, ask even if you’re not sure what you’re even asking. Ask!

Please be kind.

Hey y'all, I graduated high school in 2019 and after some major life delays and the pandemic throwing everything off, I am finally starting at a community college in Texas at 25 (hopefully).

Tbh, I am terrified. I struggle a lot with my mental health and have severe math anxiety lol.

Just thinking about the online TSI test (required in TX) and getting placed into remedial/co-req classes completely overwhelms me.

Are there any other mid-20s students here who started later or deal with similar anxiety? I'd really appreciate hearing about how your experience has been or getting any advice on how to handle the math support classes. Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading :)

I graduated at age 32 with 3 associates degrees after going to 2 community colleges on & off for 14 years.

Was a teen parent at 18 dropped out of community college. At 20 got into a govt agency moved my way up and have been in my current career since had 4 kids in total and youngest is now 10. I work full time but I’m thinking of starting and going back to college. As I move up with the govt agency I am embarrassed of not having a degree and really considering going to school now that my kids are older. Also my teen mom child is 18 and has been accepted into a college and I would like to make her proud.

I am looking for some guidance. I attended a community college in my home state many years ago but things happened and I stopped attending classes and basically dropped out without formerly doing so. I ordered an unofficial transcript just to see and it showed a lot of withdrawals from classes (obviously) but i have earned 8 credits. Not a lot but not nothing…I get anxious and overwhelmed so my plan is to focus on earning credits towards an associates degree maybe just a few classes to get back into it. I don’t know what major or what I want to do in the future , I just know I want to be/do better. I am lost but finally feeling ready to make something of myself.
I have the privilege of having access to MYCAA/Spouseworks that gives me 4k to use towards certificates or towards an associates degree. From my previous college experience I still have 500% out of 600% from FAFSA but i’m not sure if the numbers changed now that I have gotten married since my last FAFSA application.
A bit overwhelmed right now and don’t know how to start. I am no longer living in my home state due to my husband being in the military. TIA for any advice.

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I'm 26, I didn't go to college after HS (regrettably) and I have been thinking of returning to education because I'm tired of working retail and other such jobs

I've been researching career paths, and one that seemed interesting to me was working in healthcare IT or information analyst

There's an accredited community college fairly close to me that has a full online program for a Health Information Technology A.S. so I could do that and still work full time

And from what I've seen that is a growing industry, and where I live there's lots of healthcare job opportunities

So basically I'm just wondering if that seems like a good plan or not. Would it be better to try and attend a school physically? And has anyone been on a similar path and has any advice?

as a title suggest I’m 22 and I’m going back to college full-time after serving four years in the Coast Guard. I’m looking at the Catholic University of America, Villanova university and the University of Notre Dame (which I was told I'd be sent to one of their 1+3 programs with HCC). and I will admit, I am a little intimidated to go back.

I really do go back full-time and actually enjoy it while having more maturity, no financial burden, and life experience. I really do want to get involved on campus. I’d love to try out for cheerleading and get involved in campus ministry and at Notre Dame. I was told that they highly recommend going for their dorms since they are basically the main social scene. I mean, there are a couple things. I’m a little worried about.

The first thing is admissions. I was told that nontraditional students have a way easier time with academics, especially if they are competitive applicants and I was told by Service 2 School that I am an extremely strong applicant to a lot of these schools, but I still feel like I’m not doing enough that nontraditional students have a way easier time with academics, especially if they are competitive applicants and I was told by Service 2 School that I am an extremely strong applicant to a lot of these schools, but I still feel like I’m not doing enougth I mean, I volunteer with my local cathedral extensively outside of work and even though it’s just one English 101 course that I’m taking asynchronously I’m still maintaining a 4.0 while being active duty

The biggest thing I’m worried about is academics. I took a few asynchronous college courses and right now I’m maintaining a 4.0 and I participated in a five week long math course with Notre Dame and with Notre Dame. I’m slated to go to one of their 1+3 programs where I go to their sister school for a year and maintain a 3.5 for guarantee transfer but I still don’t feel ready. Although I was told that these schools will give nontraditional students and veterans is much support as we possibly can think of.

The other is doing it financially. While in the military, I was on my own and independent I paid for my own stuff. I got my own paycheck and even though I’m not going to have to worry about paying for I still have a car payment with insurance a phone bill and I’m gonna need just some money in my pocket so that way I don’t burn through my savings. I was told to get an on campus job so that way you could still be active on campus and even do your homework while making some money.

The last thing is fitting in. I was told by many people that 22 is not that big of a deal as long as you don’t tell people and act like you have a chip on your shoulder, but does kind of feel a little weird to me like is it weird being 22/23 and being in the dorms is it weird trying to date in school would it be weird going for cheer especially since I’m older?

I know a lot of people here are older and have families and friends and whatnot. But do you actually enjoy being in college and studying? You probably don't have the traditional experience but is going to class and learning again and just being on a college campus and in that environment fun for you?

Hi, I've wondered this for a while but am thinking about it more seriously recently. I have a full time desk job right now that pays around $30/hr but, I'm concerned it may eventually not be a necessary job with AI becoming more prevalent.

Honestly, I really enjoy the job I have. Though I feel like it would be nice to have something to work towards in case I eventually lose my job.

I'm 24 years old, my husband is a college graduate but doesn't use his degree; and nobody else in my family has ever gone to college. My biggest issue in deciding is that I have no specific passion, I'm really not sure what I would want to try to get a degree in.

Please feel free to share your thoughts, thanks.

I'm starting college in my mid 20s on scholarship and I can't really afford to live anywhere else. I'm probably going to live on dorms but in my own apartment. I've never lived anyone before so this will be my first time but I also feel awkward living alone. Is there anyway to find an age appropriate roommate? Do you find it awkward living on campus as a non traditional student?

I will be starting college for the first time at 26 in the fall. I graduated from high school around 8 years ago and did not go to college. I am going for the first time in the fall and have been studying math and science but have yet to study the proper way to write an essay again. I would love for suggestions on resources I could use to properly prepare myself for writing a college level essay. I am unsure of what the current standard for formatting is. Any advice would be helpful.

Hey all, a lil background for ya, I went to college initially, I passed all my classes but one, I had planned to go back and re-take it but unfortunately my dad got dementia, full time care, just a whole mess so I couldn’t go back for some time.

Unfortunately I’ve passed the two year completion timeline and my credits are no longer valid. This means I’ll have to go back fully (which is fine, I really enjoy school and I want to learn something different anyways) the only problem is that I’m 23 now and feel like I’d be a bit of an “unc” there.

Weirdly this has been something holding me back from returning, I was just hoping to get a bit of input into this if any of you could spare the time to give your two cents:)