Returning to school after a long break can feel equal parts exciting and terrifying kind of like opening your old high school yearbook and realizing the “trends” you once rocked are now considered vintage. When you’re juggling work, kids, pets, bills, and that mysterious noise your car started making last week, school doesn’t exactly slip neatly into the schedule.

For non-traditional students with a 10, 15, or even 20-year academic gap, the journey comes with challenges no one warns you about like remembering how to write a discussion post without sounding like you’re emailing HR or realizing group projects are somehow still a thing.

Here at Too Old for the Dorm Room, I get it. I understand the chaos, the late-night deadlines, the “Wait… what’s APA 7 again?” panic, and the triumph of passing a class you were sure would take you out. In this blog, I’m sharing the hard-earned lessons I wish someone had told me. These are just some tips that will help you overcome obstacles, build confidence, avoid burnout, and succeed as an online student on your own grown-up terms.

Grab your coffee (and maybe your reading glasses) and learn from my mistakes.