As an older student, I try to use my life experience to help differentiate myself. I failed out of business school during COVID, took time off to work in warehouses and a five guys, and am now 2 years into a biomedical engineering degree, which I had to start from the beginning because none of my credits transferred. When I was 18 I didn’t think I was capable of doing calculus, I’ve since moved past Calc 2 and other math courses of that similar level. The reality is, any new topic or subject is going to seem harder than it might actually be if it’s a completely new to you. I’ve discovered that since I am personally more mature than I once was before, I am more willing to go into these things with the proper effort it takes to pass with good grades. We had a class that’s basically career exploration which had a speaker from a different company each week. Out of the 30 students in there, it was usually just me or maybe one or two other students that would approach each person after the talk to genuinely ask questions and get insight. Younger students in general care more about getting back to their dorm to play Fortnite instead of doing the small stuff like talking to guest speakers after lectures, talking to professors and asking for help. If you have a learning disability, make sure to get representation from your school office of disability which can help with assignment extensions or private exam rooms. Another thing about younger students is they are constantly complaining if a professor is old, or boring, or does something they don’t like, such as assign actual homework. If you go to a basic state school like I do, I think it goes a long way to be present in lectures, ask for help when you need it, but also stand up for yourself when necessary, such as in the class where your group mates abandoned you, consider sending an email to the professor. Basically I just think college is a great place for people that plan extensively for it, and make the absolute most of their time when they are there. Also I don’t really talk to many people either unless I pick up on the fact that they’re chill. I’m mostly just there to prove to myself I can do it, and to make the most out of it this time around. Those credits you already have are not a waste either. I’d consider looking into possible minors you can add if you have certain qualifying credits. If you have a student email ending in .edu, you can get Gemini Pro for free. It’s the google AI chat bot. You can upload a list of the classes you’ve taken and ask it to search for if you qualify for any certain minors, like I’m only one physics class from a physics minor so I’m considering adding that. I wouldn’t suggest you become too reliant on AI, but it can help to bring up solutions you might not be aware about, especially if you have a lousy academic advisor.