Returning to school later in life can be a daunting experience. The questions you face when you are older are different than those you asked yourself when you were eighteen. Some women are working full time, hectic jobs. Others are caring for children or aging parents. It’s easy to say, “There’s just no time.”

But there are a lot of good reasons to pursue higher education. “I often see three catalysts for women returning to school,” says Michelle Carroll, career adviser at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). “Some women are looking to advance their careers or make more money. Others are bored and looking for a challenge. Then there are those who want to have more adult interaction.  The biggest hurdle faced by these women is fear. ‘Can I keep up?’ ‘What will I do with this degree?’”

With more and more universities offering flexible options, going back to school doesn’t have to be hard. There are options to go full-time or part-time, to take night classes or enroll in online programs. Going back also doesn’t just mean getting a bachelor’s or master’s degree either. Many people return to school to get certificates or 2-year associate’s degrees.

Whether you’ve taken off five years or twenty, it’s never too late to go back to school. You just have to find the right degree program for you.

Here are four profiles of Maryland women who went back to school later in life, and the stories of their experiences.

Carmen Santana

When she was 25, Carmen Santana immigrated to the United States from Brazil. “Coming from a culture that sought experience more than education, I had trouble moving up the career ladder because of my lack of education,” said the now 48-year-old administrative assistant at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). This was the reason she chose to go back to school.

Her greatest challenge in returning to school was reconciling her time. “Working full-time, running a house, and taking care of school work at the same time was the most difficult challenge I have ever faced,” she said. “Many times I thought I was losing my mind because I had too much to do and not enough time.”

Santana enrolled part-time at Montgomery County Community College when she was 36 years old. “I took 1 to 2 classes per semester,” she says. It took her six years to complete her associate’s degree program, during which time she lost two family members and suffered from health problems, which kept her out of school for extended periods. Despite these difficulties, she persisted in her studies. “It was with tears of joy that I received my degree in May of 2011!”

While it was difficult at times, going back to school was a rewarding experience for her. “I can look back and say to myself, ‘I did it!’” she said. Santana hasn’t stopped at just an associate’s degree, though.  In the fall she will be pursing her bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Maryland.

Alicia Ouderkirk Rojas

Alicia Ouderkirk Rojas, 26, always planned on going back to school. The question was, what for?

Co-founder of the Baltimore high-end confectionary company, Petite Four Couture, Ouderkirk Rojas worked at a series of dead end jobs after she graduated with her bachelor’s degree.  “I was at my last job realizing how much my true talent was being wasted sitting at a desk, when I started searching online for schools,” she said.

The inspiration for what she would study came easily after that. “After founding my company, I realized business was my passion, and I wanted to know core concepts that would aid me through my journey at Petite Four Couture.”

To aid in her search for the right program, Ouderkirk Rojas talked to friends who had graduate school experience. She began to narrow down her choices and once she winnowed it down to two, she made calls for more information.

Finally Ouderkirk Rojas enrolled in an online master’s program in business administration. “The most challenging thing about going back to school was the fact that it was online and that it was a nontraditional classroom setting,” she says. “Being self-motivated can be tricky.”

The experience was worthwhile in the end.  “It was rewarding to feel that I took the time to invest in my future and myself,” she said. “If going back to school is something that you have always thought about doing but didn’t have the time or resources, it’s definitely worth a second look.” The biggest hurdle is always convincing yourself that you are worth it. Once you’ve done that, the rest will fall into place.”

Linda Ann Keene Hood

“I went back to school to prove to myself I could do it,” says 54-year-old Linda Ann Keene Hood of Catonsville, Maryland. Long after she had graduated from high school, she still felt that there was more that she could do. “I did well on IQ tests, but I got side tracked in high school. I felt I had never filled my potential.”

When she was 36 years old and a single mom of two, she made the decision to return to school to get her degree. “I remember saying to my mother, ‘This is going to take me until I’m 40!” But her mom gave her this sage advice: “You’re going to be 40 anyway. Might as well have a degree.”

Before she returned to school to get her associate’s degree in business administration at the Community College of Baltimore County, she went to see a career counselor to help her figure out an education plan. “I went to a program for single moms returning to school,” she said. “The counselor walked me through what I had to do to get my degree.”

It was a balancing act. At the time, she was raising her kids, volunteering, and running her own business. She took things slowly when she went back to school. “My plan at first was to just see if I could do it,” Hood says. “I only did two classes the first semester.” She figured things out pretty quickly, though.

Now at 54, she is the office manager at ReMax New Beginnings in Arbutus, Maryland, and she loves her work. She credits her family for helping her out when she went back to get her degree. “My mom and my sister were great support,” she said. “My family was my biggest resource when I went back to school.”

Amie Voith

“I initially decided to go back to school to further my career in higher education administration,” said 30-year-old Amie Voith, special assistant to the vice president for administration and finance and chief fiscal officer at Towson University. “I decided on the MBA program because I felt it would give me the best all-around education in business for a person who got an undergraduate degree in something totally unrelated.”

This business acumen would help Voith, an undergraduate English major, in her other ventures. “Taking the MBA courses gave me the confidence and know-how to launch Economoms,” she said, talking about the blog-based small business she started that provides the inside scoop on thrifty deals for Baltimore parents. She launched this business on the side while she was working full time at Towson.

“Economoms has been a great hobby for a person who loves to write, and paired with my MBA, hopefully it will become a successful business.” However, she still means to keep her focus on the higher education field.

Voith credits the flexibility of her online MBA program for helping her balance the responsibilities of work, school, and life, which included the birth of her daughter, Macy, in January 2011. “Needless to say, I had to reorganize my priorities,” Voith said. “The flexibility that online courses have provided is invaluable.”

“When I took my undergraduate courses, I was taking the classes to take the classes,” she explained. Now that she’s been in the workplace, Voith has a different mentality. “When you’re invested in a career and you’re not doing the work just to get it done, you’re completing the work to improve yourself and your position in life.

SIDEBAR: Before you go back

Do a little research to find out which school and programs best fit your needs. Decide if you want to go full-time, part-time, or enroll in an online program. Talk with those who have gone back, and make sure to meet with a career counselor. While an academic adviser might help you with course selection, a career counselor can help you get a holistic view of your future where you’re balancing school, work, and family.

Check with your workplace to see if they offer scholarships, financial aid, or tuition remission. Some companies offer to help with tuition costs if your education is related to your work.

Also, prepare your family for the adjustment phase once you go back to school. “You won’t be as available as you used to be,” says Carroll. “There’s a saying I like to tell people who come speak to me,” she said. “All you can do is all you can do. And all you can do is enough.”

•http://www.hiremymom.com/home

•http://www.hbwm.com/

•www.backonthecareertrack.com

•www.jobsandmoms.com

•www.iRelaunch.com

•http://www.momsbacktowork.com/career-center.html