r/BackToCollege

Due to several chronic illness and severe adhd I have struggled with going back to school and leaving for over a decade. Currently I am medicated for all of my issues for the first time ever. I have been working at a university in a student job essentially the past year. I am the healthiest I’ve ever been.

Last time I was in school was 2023 for History. However I really want to go back to biotechnology as I’ve always been passionate about science and genetics. I took AP bio and AP genetics in highschool and wanted to do that originally but due to fatigue and overwhelm picked an easier major that didn’t have long lab hours. But now it’s what I want to do and I’m tired of feeling directionless, embarrassed and broke. I did drop out without finishing that final semester as my father got a tbi. I did go to an admission meeting in 2024 (without a major change) and they did agree to let me come back that time though I didn’t pursue it.

I am not totally sure if they’ll let me come back yet or do the major change. I am also nervous about how long it’s been since I’ve written a lab report or taken a science class.

I have made a couple friends with the young people here. A 20 year old and a 23 year old I hangout with outside of work pretty regularly.

However we can’t stay young forever and I’m now starting to not look so fresh faced anymore. People tend to guess I’m around 24-26. Occasionally 23. When I say I’m going back people think it’s grad school. I know I’ll need to take some freshmen level courses. I’m assuming it will take 2-3 years to finish. I am not gonna get any younger. This is a very large school that doesn’t have many (if at all non traditional students). The oldest person I met is going undergrad at 24 and he’s extremely insecure about it. I was bullied horrifically through out my youth due to the way my chronic illness changed my
appearance (hairloss, acne, obesity). I look healthy now, but am pretty sensitive to comments about my appearance. I don’t wanna be that cringe old weirdo people don’t want to work with.

I’m just worried about the shame or being a freak in the classroom.

Dad has kidney failure and liver cirrhosis after getting covid. I was a year away from graduating a STEM program in east coast, USA. I tried whatever I could but seems like no matter what I do, Its not working out.

All my remaining funds + loans went into his medical treatment.
Open to advice, I really want to graduate and be able to have a career.

My undergrad is for Biomedical Science and I’m planning to either be a physician or a radiologist if it works out.

I am 34,with two young kids retuned back spring 2025

Here’s the thing: I come from a very dysfunctional and unsupportive family. Ever since I left high school, all I really wanted was to go to college. But we had no money, and my home life was pretty abusive. During my sophomore through senior years of high school, I became severely depressed and my grades suffered. I also had absolutely no perspective at the time, and my mom didn’t want me to go to college. It honestly felt like she wanted me to struggle the way she had.

After high school, I spent a year at home working maybe 15 hours a week. During that time, my mom had breast cancer, but she told nobody. I was 18 years old, watching my mom be sick and having absolutely no support myself. Meanwhile, everyone else I knew from high school seemed to be living their lives, going out, meeting people, partying, figuring themselves out, etc. I remember staying up until 6 AM watching movies and crying because I felt so alone.

The following year, I secretly applied to my local community college. Because my mom had two jobs, even though we were barely surviving financially, I didn't qualify for grants and could only get loans through FAFSA. I basically said, "I don't care, I'm going anyway," and I actually did well.

A year later, a friend who lived in the city needed a roommate, so I moved in with her and transferred to a community college there. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. I had trouble living with her and her friends because I had basically forgotten how to socialize. I had no support system, had to pay rent, and was trying to go to school at the same time. This was in 2012. I couldn't handle everything, felt like an outsider, I was underweight from having no money for food, and eventually moved back in with my mom after a year.

I will probably always regret that decision.

I went back to my original community college and eventually got into a relationship that ended up causing a lot of problems in my life. I did eventually transfer to a four-year college and got my own apartment again, but I ended up dropping out after getting pregnant. I had an abortion because I didn't see how the situation could work, and I struggled emotionally afterward and dropped out of school again. Eventually I moved back in with my mom.

A year later, I became pregnant again. I dropped out of school again, had my first child, and then became pregnant again only eight months later, even though I wasn't in a relationship with their father anymore. There was a LOT that happened during those years including DV that I'm not going to get into because this post is already ridiculously long.

Basically, my GPA became terrible because of all the times I withdrew or received Fs. It took me many years of raising two kids on my own, getting stable housing near a school, and paying back money I owed before I was finally in a position to return.

I went back to college in spring 2025 at 32. Initially, I decided I wanted to go into nursing. Because of my old GPA and all the Fs on my transcript, I spent a long time just getting my GPA back up to a 3.0, which is the grade you. need to even APPLY for tthe nursing program, and its very competitive. Unfortunately, by the time Ive done that, I feel like its jus going to take long, and I might not get in, because I was not guided correctly by my advisor, who didnt put me in the pre-reqs for nursing, bc she didnt think id be able to do it, in a nut shell. so I have very little nursing pre-reqs completed, it would take a long time to finish a degree in nursing, I may not be interested in it as im getting older. I feel like so much of my life was just, struggling.

Now I'm 34, and I'm starting to wonder if going back to school is even a good idea.

I don't think anyone on campus knows my age. I've always looked younger, so I'm guessing most people probably assume I'm in my mid-20s or something. But I know I'm 34, and I feel extremely uncomfortable about it. I have a hard time making friends with other students, and being on campus can feel incredibly lonely.

I'm also lost about what I should major in now that nursing isn't really an option. I'm open to something science-related, education, accounting, or other fields. I've been meeting with an advisor and trying to figure it out.

Financially, there's another layer to this. In my state, there are grants that are supposed to make tuition essentially free if you attend full-time at my age/income level. But apparently I used up all of my federal student loans last year, since when I was attending college as an under 25 year old adult and need to include my parents income, I was not eligible for any grants, but they didnt help me with nothing, and I always had to hide that I even was in college age all. my mom doesnt even know now, I just tell her im working, but I receive got help. anyway, I received mail saying I had borrowed too much loans, even though I literally just accepted what was offered to me, and I've had to deal with that whole mess. I'm still waiting for my financial aid/grant package now, and I'm worried it will be too late to figure everything out.

So part of me is wondering if I should just quit school and go back to work.

The problem is that the highest I've ever made at any of my jobs was around $23/hour, and I didn't particularly like any of those jobs. I'm worried that without a degree, my options for making significantly more money are pretty limited. I'm also worried that if I don't finish school, I'll be stuck relying on government programs to help me afford things.

And yet... I LOVE being in school. I genuinely love learning. Since returning, I've gotten mostly As and a couple of Bs. I'm a good student now in a way that I wasn't capable of being when I was younger.

That's what makes this so hard.

I feel shame, embarrassment, and isolation because I'm older than everyone around me, but I also don't want to give up something that I actually enjoy and that could potentially give me better opportunities in the future.

Sometimes I feel like I'm living a double life at school. Nobody there knows I'm a 34-year-old single mom with two kids or everything I've been through to get back to college. And honestly, part of me likes that. For a few hours, I can just feel like a regular college student instead of thinking aboutthe parts of my life that carry so much shame. But then I leave campus and go back to my real life, where I often feel judged. no one knows my full story, and sometimes that hurts. I wanted this life when I was 18. it just took me a lot longer, and a much harder path, to get here, and now with 2 kids who depend on me and still no support from anyone.

I'm honestly just looking for perspective from people who have been through something similar. I feel really lost right now and kind of depressed.i have a 5 and 7 year old who I raise entirely by myself ,their dad now lives 11 hours away and has not paid support in 2 years. I feel like my whole life has been an entire nightmare.

Hey everyone, I'm about to start back just for a handful of classes, only 1-2/semester, as a refresher after being a stay-at-home mom for many years, and it finally started creeping into my awareness recently that HOW to be a college student has changed, um, dramatically since 2001!

I'm used to spiral notebooks (and a whole bunch of other supplies...), writing so fast that it's practically unintelligible (I'm lookin' at you, Dr. Pfaffenberger), and, yes, my microcassette recorder and the many, many cassettes I kept on having to buy. (DUDE. They were not cheap.The question, "What can I record over? What can I record over?" was SO on repeat in my head! All too often followed by, "NO, don't record over THAT... or that... or... Dangit, I still need ALL of these! Guess I have to go buy even more of these stupid things!"), but, I digress... 🙄

Anyway, I'm looking for recommendations as far as what to expect, what to actually bring to class (finally chose to take actual courses - content via YouTube, audiobooks, etc, was just not cutting it - waaay too easy to do other things; plus, intentionally pursued on-campus classes so I'll pay some stinkin' attention), as well as any other advice that comes to mind, no matter how random or obvious it may seem!

I'm sure I'll start to get the idea as to what I actually need after a few classes, but I would love to get a heads up on things to consider ahead of time! (Thank you!!)

Specific question: Since I already mentioned recording lectures, I'm obviously super stoked about the tech advances since then, including, GASP, TRANSCRIPTS, too?!?! 🫨🙌😏 Whaaat?!? SO, along those lines, what apps do you recommend for this purpose?

Finally, my 22-year-old son has helped me (just by his mere presence, and well, yeah, he gives me crap about it, too - it is funny - and I embarrass him on purpose, just a little here and there - we laugh a lot!) Point being, I have awareness about it, and I'm not too concerned about, um, fitting in (that's just not gonna happen - not in any way other than me maybe being "class mom" or something), but I would like to avoid looking like a total boomer idiot... I PLAN to sit in the front row (started doing that first time through, the ADHD is strong with this one - real dx), but, I plan to at least sit more off to the side. Front row is non-negotiable for me, and I already know the kind of attention/presumptions that can draw, so I'd like to mitigate the boomer factor in other ways, or at least downplay it - I very much welcome "what not to do" tips as well! (Please!🤞🫣... not to sound desperate or anything, haha! Honestly I don't care, I know exactly what I am there for, but since hiding in the back is not an option for me I would like to avoid anything overtly eye-roll-inducing 😂)

Thanks so, soooo much - tips (and jokes!) welcome!

Hey internet world. After 12 years of being out of school, I have decided to attend community college this fall and I am extremely nervous.

I am a single mom of two (infant and older child) and they motivate me to become better in every way possible. After orientation they had me talk to student services about my severe anxiety and panic attacks (embarrassingly enough I had one there) and the services they offer for parents. Which is extremely helpful with my situation.

I was always hesitant and doubted myself whether or not I could do it. If I was able to juggle being a mom, life and school while keeping my sanity. This summer I said I am doing it and I did. Now I’m back in this whole doubting myself stage and I don’t know how to really pull myself out of it.

School starts in just a few weeks and I am seeking advice. Does anyone have tips on managing this juggling act? It’s a completely new world to me and I’ve developed a “fear of the unknown” towards it. Which I am assuming is normal… but I’m just wondering how others do it I guess.

What are some things you suggest or habits that have been successful for you? What should a new college student (at 30) know and prepare for, from a students perspective?

I (32f) went to school for graphic design and dropped out after my second year. I was nowhere near ready for school and loans back then, and skirted all my responsibilities. Now I am older, life is calmer, and I’m climbing in my career but I can see my ceiling without a degree.

I need to finish school, but I cannot get my transcripts from my old school because my loans are in default. My options for getting out of default are pay in full (not possible) or pay $500 a month for 10 months, which would cause extreme financial strain at the very least, may not even be possible at all. In light of this, I recently got a second job. Even with this, I am living paycheck to paycheck with other expenses.

Is there a way I can get my transcripts or lower payments for my loan? Any advice is welcomed. I Want to get started asap

I just recently turned 28 and I'm thinking about going back to school. I tried out community college a couple of different times and ended up dropping out twice because I was so indecisive when I was younger. I really didn't like the idea of spending the money and going into debt choosing a career I wasn't confident in. I also dealt with some mental health issues that made school way too stressful to really deal with at the time.

I've ended up spending a majority of my 20s just being adventurous. Building out and traveling around the US in a campervan, also finding cool jobs that have led me to living in Alaska, Arizona and Colorado. I also really strived to build a career in music, but even though I've built a bit of an audience, the streaming royalties aren't enough to pay rent. Overall, I don't really regret what I've done so far with my life, I'm just trying to figure out what would make the most sense going forward.

The local community college in my area has a program for residents who are over 25 to take classes for free. I think it seems like something I should at least try out because you really can't beat it being free.

I was thinking about starting classes again with either majoring in business or in marketing, but I think I'm leaning more towards business. I do have the goal of owning my own business at some point. I'm not really looking to get super rich or anything, I just like the idea of making enough to be my own boss and live with only my own constraints. And I honestly feel like if I put the same amount of effort that I have into building my music audience through networking and online marketing, I could easily enough start making some money with an online business.

So my main question is just is it worth it? Is it worth the time and discipline to start taking some classes? Does anyone have any advice for trying something different? I think I would try and just start with getting an associate's, and see if I'd want to take it anywhere from there.

What i’ve noticed by going through refresher course on math on is that the lessons are good if you already have a relatively strong understanding of a particular concept and you’re just brushing up on foundational knowledge. However if the concepts are foreign it’s not only hard to keep up, but is often an information overload. It’s typically taught from the perspective of someone who already has a strong understanding of the concept in a way that is as if the person being taught already has a relatively strong understanding of the concept in advance but it’s rarely ever good at breaking it down to someone who is unfamiliar prior to the lesson in a way that they can reasonably retain,understand,and be able to reliably reproduce the concept. Is anyone familiar with a good resource to solve this problem? I want to hear from people who have not always been gifted with math skills who found a solution preferably.

I am grateful for all of your responses to my original post. In summary, the responses were pretty evenly divided between self-study recommendations and recommending that I simply re-take the courses leading up to my desired Calc 3, Linear Algebra, and Physics 2 courses.

Well I'm here to prove the doubters wrong. I'm going for it. I am still planning to take all three of those courses in the Spring. I've broken down my study by week and by day. My current plan is to have finished all of the prerequisite Khan Academy courses by Christmas, take a week off for holidays and rest, then review and general study between New Years and the start of the Spring semester.

My update for now is I will be taking the following Khan Academy courses and completing all the exercises in:

1. Algebra 1
2. Geometry
3. Algebra 2
4. College Algebra
5. Trigonometry
6. College Precalculus
7. Calculus AB
8. Calculus BC
9. Physics 1

I just took the Unit 6 Unit Test in Algebra 1, so I'm over halfway through Algebra 1. I've planned for my pace to slow down a week from now, as I'll be starting with 2 courses in the Fall semester, and near the end of the semester I'll be running up against much more complicated concepts in Calculus, so it will slow again. But I've laid it all out, I have a buffer, and I believe it's attainable. Wish me luck!

I just want to make as much money as possible.

Hey everyone! I (36m) had finally gotten over being academically dismissed after my first go around with college 13 years ago and slowly started working towards my Associate's in Psychology in 2023. I'm set to graduate in the Spring (yay!) and a university that I'm debating on transferring to takes up to 90 credits from my community college towards a Bachelor's degree. I've been heavily debating on going for a second Associate's in either Education or Criminal Justice to take transfer as many and saving myself from burning a hole in my wallet. Has anybody else taken this path before getting their Bachelor's degree or would you recommend that I just bite the bullet and start with only 60 credits at the 4-year university?

Thanks! :)

I graduated college in 2010. I graduated with honors and always took 15-18 credits per semester. I am returning this fall and I need all the tips and advice. I have a 2026 MacBook Air with the fingerprint for duo. I have a 26 iPad too. I think that it seems most textbooks are not paper now. I plan to put them on my iPad so I can use it like I’d use a textbook without having a bunch of tabs. When I was in school before it was all paper textbooks. I’m not married to the paper, but I am adhd and popping between tabs is harder for me when I’m typing something up.

My university says to plan 12 hours per week for each course. I’m enrolled in 18 credits. Am I actually looking at 80 hour work weeks? When I was in school before I did this and worked full time.

What tips/tricks/advice etc do you have?
Is what I’m planning so far reasonable?
Should I buy a computer monitor? 4 of my classes are self paced no meeting time and two are distance but MW 11-12 and MW 1230-130.

I don’t know what college looks like anymore. Help! 🫶

probably don’t post your whole statement due to privacy concerns and AI scraping, but if you’re an adult learner I’d love to hear what you talked about and especially if you left college and came back. super paralyzed writing mine due to 24 withdrawals on my transcript

I specifically choose a school that doesn't require an internship, because every other one does, even ones that offer remote classes like I want. I can't do an internship because I work full time, which I need to pay my cost of living, and internships are also often full time, but unpaid.

I already work full time corporate customer service, and want to go back to college for a Bsc in business. I already paid for the first semester's tuition so not like I can back out anyway.

But, looking at the current job market, literally everything is either senior roles, or internships. Nothing entry level or even junior. Also just from going from retail to corporate customer service, I've come to know that transferrable skills are dead.

So, now I'm wondering.. will this degree even do anything substantial for me if I can't do an internship? Because I feel like the only difference it'll make is that I'll have 5 years of customer service experience instead of 1, with a degree + its costs that still won't get you out of customer service.