Going Back to School as an Adult: A Checklist for the First 90 Days

Most adults who leave school partway through don’t leave because the work was too hard. They leave because a car broke down, a shift changed, a kid got sick for two weeks, or a bill arrived that nobody had explained. The second time around, the coursework is usually the part you can handle. It’s the logistics that need a plan.

This checklist is organized by time: what to do before you enroll, then in each of your first three months. You won’t need every item. Skim, check off what applies, and skip the rest.

Before you enroll

The weeks before classes start are when problems are cheapest to fix. A missing transcript or an unresolved aid question is a phone call now and a crisis in week three.

Track down your old records

• Request official transcripts from every college you attended, even for one semester and even if you failed everything. Many schools require all prior transcripts for admission, and the credits you did pass may count toward your new program.
• Ask each old school whether you have a hold or an unpaid balance. Some schools have withheld transcripts over old debts, though rules on this vary by state and have been changing. If there is a balance, ask whether a payment plan or settlement would release the transcript. Get any agreement in writing.
• Find any military records, exam scores or workplace training certificates. These can sometimes turn into credit. Our guide to getting credit for what you already know covers how.
• Check whether you have defaulted federal student loans. Your loan history is visible when you log in at StudentAid.gov. A default can affect new federal aid, so it’s better to know before you file.

Placement and advising

• Ask how the school decides which math and English courses you start in. Some use placement tests, some use high school grades or prior college work, and many use a mix. If there is a test, ask whether you can review first and whether you can retest.
• Brush up before any placement test. A few hours of review on skills you haven’t used in years can move you past a non-credit course, which saves both time and money.
• Book an advising appointment before you register. Bring your transcripts and your actual weekly schedule. Ask the adviser to map your first two terms, not just your first.

Money

• File the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for the award year that covers your classes. Our FAFSA walkthrough goes question by question.
• Check whether you count as an independent student. Federal Student Aid treats you as independent, meaning you don’t report parent information, if you meet any one of several criteria. These include being at least 24 by January 1 of the school year you’re applying for, being a veteran or on active duty for purposes other than training, being married, or having children or other dependents you support.
• Ask the financial aid office what “half-time” means at this school. Federal Direct Loans require at least half-time enrollment, and the definition depends on how the school counts credits.
• Ask about institutional grants and scholarships for adult learners. These are often separate from federal aid and have their own deadlines.

Child care and the rest of your life

• Ask whether the campus has child care or a child care grant. A federal program called Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) funds campus-based child care for low-income student parents at some colleges. Not every school has a grant, and slots can be limited.
• Look into state child care assistance. States receive federal funding to help low-income families pay for child care so parents can work or attend school. Rules vary by state. ChildCare.gov links to each state’s program.
• Line up a backup. The first sick day will come. Decide now who you’d call.
• Tell the people you live with what the semester will look like. Not a negotiation yet, just a heads-up.

The first 30 days

Month one is about getting oriented and finding out, early, whether your plan is realistic.

Get comfortable with the technology

• Log in to the learning management system before class starts. That’s the website (Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle and others) where your courses post assignments, readings and grades. Click through every menu.
• Practice submitting something. Many courses have a syllabus quiz or intro post. Do it early so the first real deadline isn’t also your first upload.
• Turn on notifications for announcements and due dates, and check which email address the school uses to reach you.
• Confirm your device works. Ask whether the library lends laptops or hotspots if yours is unreliable.

Find the support offices

• Visit the tutoring or learning center in week one, before you need it. Many offer writing and math help online and in the evenings.
• Contact disability services if you might need accommodations. Colleges aren’t required to identify you. You have to tell the school and follow its process, which usually involves documentation. Accommodations generally aren’t retroactive, so start early.
• Find the adult, returning or nontraditional student office if there is one. Some schools also have veteran and student-parent centers.
• Save your instructors’ office hours and preferred contact method in your phone.

Build the weekly routine

• Put every due date for the whole term on one calendar during week one. Syllabi list them; most people never copy them over.
• Block study time as fixed appointments. A useful starting estimate is about 2 hours of work outside class for every hour in class. Our piece on balancing school, work and family explains where that number comes from.
• Choose one weekly review time, maybe 20 minutes on Sunday, to look at the week ahead.

Days 31 to 60

The novelty wears off and the first major grades come back. This is where small gaps tend to widen.

• Look at your grades in the learning system, not just your feeling about how it’s going. Missing zeros on small assignments add up.
• Go to office hours at least once per course, even with no question beyond “How am I doing?” Instructors are more flexible with students they know.
• Find your school’s withdrawal deadline on the academic calendar now, while you’re calm. Note the date for dropping with a refund and the later date for withdrawing with a “W.”
• Adjust the routine. If the Tuesday-night block never happens, move it. The plan should match the week you actually live.
• Check in at home. What’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change for the second half.

Days 61 to 90

• Meet your adviser about next term before registration opens. Courses that fit a working schedule fill first.
• Check that your aid paperwork for next term is complete. Some schools request verification documents or additional forms. Use the financial aid checklist to see what’s outstanding.
• Ask about satisfactory academic progress. Federal aid generally requires you to keep up minimum grades and complete a certain share of the credits you attempt. Your school sets the exact standard.
• Decide on next term’s load based on this term’s evidence. If two courses consumed everything, three will not be different.

If you fall behind

Almost everyone has a week that goes sideways. The students who recover usually act within days rather than weeks.

1. Talk to the instructor first

   Email or go to office hours, say plainly what happened, and ask what’s possible: an extension, a revised deadline, or an incomplete grade. Many instructors have more room than the syllabus suggests, but only if you ask before the damage is done.

2. Talk to your adviser before you drop anything

   Dropping one course can push you below the enrollment level that your loans or grants require, and it can affect your progress standing.

3. Talk to financial aid before you withdraw from everything

   If you withdraw from all your classes, or simply stop attending, federal rules treat your aid as earned in proportion to how much of the payment period you completed, up to the 60% point. Withdraw earlier than that and some aid may have to be returned, which can leave you owing the school. Stopping attendance without formally withdrawing can count too. Ask the aid office to run the numbers for your situation before you decide.

A decision rule for the hard weeks: if you can catch up in the next 10 days with help, ask for the help. If you can’t, talk to financial aid and your adviser the same week, and pick the option that keeps the door open for next term.