Think You're Too Busy (or Too Broke) to Go Back to School? Read This First.

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Key takeaways

• Going back to school as an adult is more possible than it feels. Flexible online programs can help adults fit education around work, family, caregiving, and other responsibilities instead of forcing them into a rigid schedule.
• Common barriers like time, money, and confidence can be overcome. Affordable payment options, self-paced learning, and support resources can make returning to school more accessible for adults who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain.
• Education can lead to meaningful personal and financial growth. Completing a diploma or further education can improve career opportunities, increase earning potential, and help adults achieve long-term personal goals.

It’s been a long day. A long week, actually. Maybe even a long month or year. Your responsibilities are piling up, you’re fatigued by all that’s expected of you, and you can’t remember the last time you did something completely and totally for yourself.

In the back of your head, buried deep under to do lists, work stress, and general concerns about the wellbeing of family members that always seem to be there, lingering, you have a nagging thought: I could go back to school.

It feels impossible, like climbing Mount Everest. People do it, but not you. Other people. But why not you? “Because,” you think. “Because, because, because.” The reasons are endless.

Guess what? There are convenient, flexible ways to continue your education as an adult, ways that fit into your life, not the other way around.

Find out how to combat every “because” that pops into your head as a reason not to do it and overcome every challenge you face when considering returning to school in this blog post.

“Because I don’t have time”

Time. The enemy of humanity. It’s an easy scapegoat, time. The perfect excuse to not do something. But what if we told you time doesn’t have to be as big a factor as it feels like?

Like so many adults, you probably have your hands full juggling a variety of responsibilities. You’ve likely got a job you work incredibly hard at for possibly not enough money. You might have kids who need near constant attention. Maybe you’re a caregiver for other members of your family. Maybe you yourself have a chronic illness and are often just trying to get through the day without a trip to the hospital. This is where online education programs come in.

The reality for so many of us really is that we’re short on time. There are only so many hours in a day. Online schools like Penn Foster offer flexible, self-paced programs that can be the perfect solution for adults like you who are struggling with how to make going back to school work. To help put it in perspective, 75% of our current adult learners (ages 19 and up) are working while completing one of our programs according to our 2025 Impact Report.*

Once enrolled, you can build a flexible routine that works around everything else you have going on. You can also study in small blocks rather than large chunks of time since there are no due dates to worry about.

Time can certainly be an obstacle, but it doesn’t have to be one you can’t overcome.

Read more: Going Back to School as a Mom: Real Stories from Real Penn Foster Grads

Here’s how some people manage their time as working parents to go back to school (sample schedule)

If you’re curious what your day could potentially look like if you went back to school online while keeping up with all of your other responsibilities, here’s an example of a schedule you can set up for yourself:

In a self-paced program, studying can happen in small increments in-between all the busy moments that make up your day.

“Because I can’t afford it”

Life is expensive, and the cost seems to grow with every passing month (sometimes every week). If you have more people than just yourself to worry about supporting financially, any unnecessary extras can seem completely out of reach, even when it’s an investment in yourself. If you, like many adults across America, didn’t finish high school at 18, your paychecks may not do a whole lot to cover the expenses you already have. You may think about how finishing high school and even maybe more education after that can help your finances, but the cost of actually going back to school might put you in a bigger hole than you’re already in.

We’re here to tell you: not always!

There are affordable online learning platforms, and Penn Foster is one of them! Penn Foster’s programs are affordable, and while we know “affordable” can be subjective, we allow learners to pay monthly so you don’t have to break the bank to achieve this goal. The average salary for our learners while they’re enrolled, according to our 2025 Impact Report, is under $30,000*, which is why payment options can be so crucial.

It can also be worthwhile to check out what benefits your job offers. Plenty of companies offer tuition assistance or reimbursement, and some companies even partner with online high schools or training programs to help their employees with their professional development.

Health care Management grad Jimena Colmenares took advantage of one of these perks at her job. “I learned about the tuition reimbursement program for employees. When I found out that I could receive reimbursement by maintaining good grades, I felt that this was the opportunity I had been waiting for.”

If you have specific career goals that feel out of reach without a diploma, our high school diploma program offers career focused elective options that are even transferrable to our college and career programs.

Read more: How Online Vet Tech School Helped Madison Take Control of Her Future

“Because I’ve got too much going on”

Adulthood is hard and often filled with busy days. Depending on what you do for work, your schedule could be hectic or unpredictable. If you're a parent as well, your free time likely isn’t your own. Your daily mental state might ping pong between stressed, frazzled, drained, and overwhelmed, to name a few. How can you possibly add school to the mix?

It might be more possible than you think! Devon, a 2025 Penn Foster graduate, shared their own story about going back to school. “I have never pictured myself as a person who goes back to school or any sort of college. Something inside me told me to go and take this course through Penn Foster. With the help of my family, I was able to make this come true. It was a challenge, but I am so proud to have made it through. One step closer to following my dream. I have 3 amazing kiddos I wanted to do this for, as well as myself.”

Penn Foster’s programs are self-paced and there are no due dates, so studying can happen quite literally whenever you have time for it. Maybe you have a handful of in-between moments: in-between drop offs, in-between work shifts, in-between the cooking and cleaning and other daily adult tasks that never seem to end.

Many students also get their schoolwork done at night after they’ve put their kids to bed so they can have uninterrupted study time. As of 2025, according to the Impact Report, 32% of our learners were caregivers to children while working on their programs.* Having a busy schedule doesn’t have to stop you. The important thing is to consistently work on your studies when you are able, even if you’re not able to commit to a daily timed schedule.

Read more: How Kendall Earned Her Degree in 17 Months While Working Full Time

“Because I don’t know if it’ll pay off”

Considering going back to school can be an incredibly difficult decision to make. It’s easy for doubt to creep in that it won’t be worth it. We’ve all used this as a reason not to do something that could be great, maybe even life changing, at some point in our lives. When you’re an adult buried under the weight of responsibilities and endless bills, this doubt can feel insurmountable.

The fact of the matter is, there are never any guarantees about anything. Not every risky decision pays off. When it comes to education, however, the outlook is pretty promising.

Did you know that those with a high school diploma can make about $10,000 more a year on average than those without one? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, your salary can increase with each education level you pass. That’s a big difference that can have a huge impact on your life.

To put it further in perspective, our Impact Report found that 71% of Penn Foster program completers report higher income post completion and 97% report achieving the goals they set when they enrolled.*

Taking this leap can be scary, but you’ll never know if it’ll be worth it if you don’t do it.

Read more: Real Grads, Real Stories: How Amanda Rewrote Her Story with Penn Foster

“Because it’s been too long since I was in school”

Signing up for an education program as an adult is only half the battle. The anxiety about whether you’re capable of even doing schoolwork after so long can be so crippling that it can hold you back. There’s a confidence factor that plagues many adult learners, and the stakes can seem higher when you’re the one footing the bill for your education.

One of the many perks of online programs is that students can take all the time they need to complete their coursework without the pressure being in a traditional classroom can cause. If you suffered from test anxiety the first time around, an online program where your exams aren’t timed and even potentially open book can make a huge difference in your confidence level. Penn Foster has an entire Learning Resource Center you’re able use as you work through your program and even has instructors who you can schedule 1 on 1 appointments with for direct support.

Read more: A Guide to Penn Foster’s Learning Resources with Librarian Erica Getts

FAQs about going back to school online as an adult

Still on the fence about taking this leap? Here are some frequently asked questions to help put you at ease.

Am I too old to go back to school?

No! There’s no age limit on getting an education. Learning doesn’t have an expiration date.

What if I can’t dedicate a lot of time to my studies?

One of many perks of a self-paced program is that you can work on it on your own time. There are no due dates and you don’t have to work on it every day. Simply study when you have the time, even if time is something you’re short on.

Can I afford to go back to school with expenses constantly going up?

What you individually can afford is up to you. However, we’re more aware than ever of how expensive life has become. Our programs all have monthly payment plan options to make it a bit easier on your wallet.

What have you got to lose?

Whether it’s time, money, or confidence holding you back, a Penn Foster program can be the solution you didn’t know you were looking for. It’s never too late to return to school, at any level, and our online programs were built for people who are doing school while dealing with the realities of life. Learn more about the programs we offer by requesting information or calling an admissions specialist at 1-800-275-4410 to discuss how our programs work.

* Sources: (1) Program Completion Survey. (2025). Program satisfaction is evaluated by survey upon program completion (n=8,558 respondents). (2) Alumni Impact Survey. (2026). Self-reported alumni outcomes and experiences were collected through a survey of January 2020-June 2024 graduates (n=3,100 respondents). (4) Learner Profile Survey. (2025). Self-reported demographics were collected through a survey of current, active learners as of May 2025 (n=17,835 respondents).