so, i will soon be at the end of my military service and have started my college search. i try to look at myself as at the begining of my senior year in high school. so, i'm looking through these things and their admissions stuff. and it makes me feel sooooo old. there are alot of colleges out there that once you hit 23, for some reason you are in a whole different catagory. it's like "we know you tried at life and failed and are now backpedaling so we're gonna help you out in some ways but make you feel worthless in others." maybe it's just me... i don't know. but doing this i'm thinking, how the heck would i have pulled this off as an actual senior going to school full time and working 40 hours a week.... cuase this is really time consuming. so many choices, so many different deadlines. i can now almost remember why i thought it was a good idea to join the army.... i have a new found great admiration for kids that go straight from high school to college. kudos to you.

I'm 19 and went straight from high school to college. And i work. But i also live with my mom so, y'know, that makes it easier. But the school i go to is a community-turned-state college and in many of my classes the ages are mixed. But don't worry! College, in my opinion, is easier than high school :-) and congrats on going back to school!

Hi, Legen. It's good to see you back.

Legen - glad you're back.  You think you feel old?  I graduated from college in 1976, which now that I think of it was before you were born. 

Try looking around for a career counselor to give you some advice, especially if you don't know what you want to do for a job.  Does the Army have something like that?  And, you're not a failure at life at 23.  Thump you on the head.  :)

Hi Legen - welcome back! Hey, I went back to school when I was 23 or 24 (24, I think). Found it easier that when I was 17, because I was more focused on getting the degree and getting back to full time work and less distracted by other college stuff. Zipped right through the last three years in two years.  You'll be fine.

thanks to everyone that welcomed me back. i always thought that the closenit spuffy group was impenetrable, but i guess i got in when i wasn't looking. :) i've been back from down range for a while, but it takes almost as long to get back into the swing of normal life, if you can call it normal. i can definitely see that going to college now is going to be alot different. cuase you guys are right, when your older, even just this little bit, you look at things differently. it just seemed odd to me that students that may be older may be singled out for that fact. and i hate being singled out. but i do look forward to college life, and at the same time dread it. i see young soldiers today and i'm like, what has become of our youth (you know even though i know i'm not that old). i forsee myself having a hard time transitioning. but i think that will just give me more of a reason to keep my head in my books and not hanging with a bunch of morons that are just gonna get me failing grades. but i still have a year before i get to jump off that bridge. so, onward through my college search.
as a ps, anyone now of any good colleges for a socail work degree(that's what i wanna be :)) i can go just about anywhere i want, and have no home sooooo. i want to try some place new.

My daughter got her masters in SW from George Mason U in Fairfax, VA.  I would assume they also offer the undergrad degree too.  Not all schools do offer degrees in SW, though.

Just wanted to add in that as a college professor, I really appreciate having older students in my courses because they bring such interesting life experiences and different perspectives. So don't be nervous! I would look at universities that have strong graduate programs in the discipline you're seeking. Check the US News and World Report Social Work graduate program rankings here: http://tinyurl.com/njcclw. (Mostly large state schools.)

thanks drknit i will.

Welcome back Legen and don't let your mind feed into the idea that you are too old for anything.  College IS a wonderful place to find your place as an adult and suss out your own set of values and beliefs in the late teens/early twenties.  The military can do that as well.  You are just changing venues!

To my way of thinking you are already a success and merely continuing on that path.

As for too  old...my sister (who dropped out of high school to get married at age 16 and only got her GED at age 60) is now 69 years old and in her third year of college majoring in Archeology.  While I can't see her in the field at her age she is pursuing her dreams and loving the personal growth.  She is a success.  You are a success. 

I hope you learn to value yourself because you have so much to offer and have already given so much to us all with your service.

Kathleen

There were a variety of ages in my class in nursing school (a four year university degree program), everywhere from just-out-of-high-school, to thirty-something mothers wanting to do something they always dreamed of, to forty-somethings, and up to one woman who was over fifty when she graduated, who took nursing because she just wanted to try something different.  The vast range of ages made our class one of the most unique our instructors had ever seen, and I think it made our experience better.  I think it's better being older, because you've got some life experience behind you that can only be valuable.

Hey, Legen! Good for you with continuing your education. We've missed you at http://risingstarforum.proboards.com/index.cgi

totally just went and stalked rs for a min. and then favorited it. so' i'll be around alittle more. :)