<p>Hi, everyone. I am hoping someone can help me. I also hope I am posting this in the right place.</p>
<p>I started college beyond the traditional age (I was 23). I had been out in the world, lived on my own, and was working for years. I finally decided to go back to college a little later than usual for my Bachelor’s degree. I had no idea what I was doing and just kind of jumped right in. Didn’t do any research, nothing. Just chose the nearest university (which has an excellent reputation).</p>
<p>My first semester, I hated it. I was the oldest student in my class, as everyone else was 18 or 19. Also, many of them were more focused on discussing last night’s partying and not doing assignments. It kind of depressed me. I felt so out-of-place and just wanted to be in classes with older people who were actually interested in the material.</p>
<p>That first semester, I took my Psychology course through the Continuing Education program, and I loved it. Everyone in the class was around the same age. We all got along extremely well and were very involved in the course material. I talked to one of the guys in that class who asked me, “Why are you doing the regular daytime classes? These classes are way better and I think they might be cheaper and they work around your schedule.”</p>
<p>I thought about it for a while and did some research. The Adult Degree program offered classes that worked around my work and family schedule, that put me in classes with other adults who were also in my situation (deciding to go back to school later on in life and juggling work and family, also), and it was cheaper, too. I thought, “Why not?”. Initially, my plan was to get my Bachelor’s in English, but I decided to be more practical and go for Business. The Adult Degree program only offers more “professional” majors (Business being the main one), but I was fine with that.</p>
<p>So, I ended up switching from the regular daytime student to the Con Ed/Adult Degree program, and I loved it. The classes were a mixture of evening and Saturday classes and online courses and worked around my schedule perfectly. My professors were great, my classes were nice, and I felt comfortable. I declared my major: double major in Business Management and Organizational Leadership.</p>
<p>And now, I am rethinking it.</p>
<p>I am officially a junior as of this semester, and I don’t know what to do. I have thought about it many times over the past week and am regretting my decision. Do businesses even take a degree through Adult Degree programs seriously? Am I wasting my time and money? Was this all just a big mistake? Is it a joke? Will I ever find a job? If I wanted to go to law school, my degree would probably not be taken seriously.</p>
<p>I read many comments online about extension schools and Con Ed programs and such being used as a back door in to the school. I swear, that was never my intention. I did it because I was uncomfortable in the daytime classes and because it worked better around my work schedule, and then I found out it was much cheaper, which was also fine. I thought it fit into my life perfectly, considering that I’m not an 18 year old kid living on campus. Now I am regretting it and thinking of just quitting and going to Penn State or something (there is no way I am switching back at my current university; the tuition at Penn State is much cheaper). By the way, it’s not Harvard or anything. The school I go to is a good college, but it’s not one of the top in the nation or anything like that.</p>
<p>I feel extremely nervous and panicked and I can’t stop thinking about it. It seemed like a good decision at the time, but now I fear I have invested time and energy and money into something that will get me nowhere. I should’ve done my research.</p>
<p>Is there anyone out there who can offer me insight? Opinions? Thoughts? Advice? It would be appreciated!</p>