When I went back to school, I went to community college while freelancing to pay for it. I saw some of that hand-holding you refer to, but I discovered that af

When I went back to school, I went to community college while freelancing to pay for it. I saw some of that hand-holding you refer to, but I discovered that after I was admitted (and took some remedial math because I'd blown that off in high school), it could largely be avoided. The university had an all-but guaranteed transfer program from community college; I satisfied the requirements and had a stellar GPA (versus "clueless teenagers," as you put it, go figure). Not a single step along the way was easy; but suffering the indignity of a bit of hand-holding wasn't the hard part. Tune out, smile, and do the paperwork. Make sure that you're meeting the actual requirements of the university you want to get into. I'm the only person I know that both holds a PhD and went to community college. A non-standard resume like mine isn't great for getting jobs. Networking, networking, networking.