[Kate*]

This may come across as harsh, but I'm going to give my opinion based on having gone to college and beyond:

Okay, by the time you get to college most people don't care how old you are and a lot of people take a year off, so one year won't make that much difference. I get that it's embarrassing to be behind, I ended up two years behind in grad school and had to keep explaining myself, then I ended up dismissed and all my friends are graduating into the career I always wanted that is no longer and option for me. Then they're adding me on Facebook and posting about it, so yeah, I get the embarrassment of not keeping up with your peers because as happy as I am for them, it still hurts.

Having said that, if being a year older than most people in your classes is enough to keep you from going, it might be worth seriously considering if and why you really want to go. It's a big commitment and going only for the sake of your reputation isn't really the best reason. I mean, if you think about it, the longer you wait the bigger the age gap will be, so if you keep this as your excuse you may never go and you'd be cheating yourself out of an education you say you want because of other people's opinions.

The second thing, I'm seeing a lot of excuses here, that won't fly in college. The classes may have been hard, and as someone with a learning disability, I get that, but if you fail a class in college you can't say it was because it was too hard because most people will have passed it. There should be no shame in being a special ed student. It DOES NOT mean that you're stupid and in college people won't know unless you tell them (professors can't even legally ask you about it). If you really want to go, don't let that stop you, but make sure to get the accommodations you'll need from the school's disability services.

Blaming your parents, others, or circumstances is seriously the most hated excuse among college staff ever. So, "I'm a year behind because my parent's didn't do XYZ" will NOT work there. You're an adult now and that's how you'll be treated. If you need your transcripts, you request them, transportation, you figure it out, applications/enrollment it's all on you to get this done. They can help you stay organized and with financial aid (because that makes sense to no one), but if you keep blaming other people or situations for the fact that you aren't where you want to be, you'll never get anywhere and your professors WON'T take it easy on you. If you're struggling and need help, you'll have to ask for it, have an issue with a professor, you have to talk to them, your paper's late because you had a fight with your significant other?, not good enough reason, I could go on.

So, if you want to go to school in January look into community college (most 4-year schools probably won't take you for January this late because of application deadlines), find out the deadlines, required materials, how to go about obtaining them, and then apply. You might be better off applying for May because it can be hard to get materials (transcripts, test scores, etc.) sent in time to make the deadline. Otherwise, keep looking for a job.