Yeah, don't do the what-if thing (OCD personalities always have a rough time with that...). I'd start by contacting the college you're interested in attending and seeing if they have anything called "reentry services" or something for older students returning to school. More than likely they do. Then contact that department and see if they can help you figure things out. They'll be able to tell you what's expected of an older student wanting to get accepted into their masters program after a long academic hiatus.

You might also want to look into seeing if you can clean up your transcript a bit. My husband had to go back 10 years just recently and retroactively withdraw from some of his "F" classes. It raised the hell out of his GPA.

Anyway, the primary thing would be to

A) speak with a school counselor and explain the situation to them. They'll start pointing you in the right direction, because that's their job.

B) See if they have a reentry student service for older students returning to school after a long break. Like I said, they probably do.

C) Look into spiffing up your transcript. The conselor would be the person who could tell you what you need to do, what classes you should think about dropping from your 'script, etc.

D) Get back into contact with some old professors. You've already done this. The guy you talked to sounded really helpful. Likely, he'd probably be willing to write a recomendation if you asked him. A lot of profs do this, whether or not they're close personal friends or even remember you. My anthro prof told me that any time I wanted a letter of rec, I should call him. He's a hot shot in the anthro community, too. But it wasn't like I was a kick-ass student or anything... He's just a nice guy.

So, that's my advice for this Thursday morning. Good luck! :)

Cool, thanks so much!

No problemo! I've spent the last 8 years in and out of mental institu- er, academic institutions. I've finally got a grasp on how to work the system. Oh, and ask the counselor about grants and scholarships for older students, etc. The money is out there... You just gotta start casting your line all over the place and hope that one or two fish bite. ;)

I've also learned a few things working for and around guys who are members of exclusive clubs and groups. People ask them for letters of recommendation all the time (I have to write them), even for people they don't even know. So if there's someone with some influence you've met, or has a connection with the university at all, it doesn't hurt at all to ask.