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Whether it has been two years or twenty years since you stepped into a classroom,
DePaul University has several academic programs and paths for you.
Joan H. Wish Welcome Center
The Joan H. Wish Welcome Center invites prospective undergraduate, graduate and transfer students and their families to learn about DePaul University.
Located in the DePaul Center (Suite 101), the Center staff provides the following information and services:
• Information on all university academic programs
• Twice-monthly student information sessions.
• One-on-one appointments with admissions counselors
• Loop Campus tours at 1:30 pm daily
• Computer access to DePaul Website
Hours Monday – Thursday, 8am – 6pm, Friday, 8am – 5pm
Orientation
New student orientation is an important part of a student's academic success. You will learn about campus resources, discuss your academic
plan with an advisor, tour the campus facilities and meet other incoming students. The Office of Academic Enhancement offers special orientation sessions for adults each year and we strongly encourage your participation.
For students who want a more extensive orientation to the campus, Adult Student Affairs offers Transition 101. During this nine-week online course, there are presentations on important resources that will help you succeed at DePaul. You will work on your writing skills in a
supportive environment and network with other adult students on issues that may impact you during your first year.
Personal Journeys
Sometimes it helps to hear some of the challenges, fears and successes of other adult
students returning to college. Follow along as these students tell you how they navigated their journey through DePaul.
Law school is hard. It doesn’t matter if you 24 or 64, single or married, book
smart or street smart. There is no surefire way to prepare for the convergence
of information on the brain in any given legal course. The first few weeks of class
are a brainwashing. You’re learning a different language, a different thought process and a dual arguing practice.
One of the major reasons I chose DePaul was the sense of camaraderie I felt when I was
touring law schools and attended an open house here. From the faculty to the staff to
the upperclassmen - everyone is ready, willing and able to help each other make it through.
But you have to be willing to work and willing to seek the assistance. No one can do this alone.
You will need all of the support you can get. Family, friends, community groups, wherever
you can find it. These people will have to understand that there will be weeks, maybe months,
when you will not be in contact or returning phone calls. But you will absolutely need the
occasional release so that you don’t get burnt out and so that you do remember how to speak
and think in non-legal terms.
Nicole D. Wollen, Evening Law School student
This is my first semester at DePaul, and I am very nervous, scared,
lost, excited and proud. I am also thankful and I believe that it was only God
who made this possible for such a small town, naïve girl like me. Although I am
twenty-eight years old, I am blessed in that I look young and I mingle with the other
students without feeling awkward. I commute to the city for now, until I am able to move
there permanently. My son is now living with his father in Florida, until I am able to graduate.
It is a huge sacrifice, and the biggest one I had to make. I feel that DePaul is my destiny and
that God has a great plan for my life. I love this school already and I am committed to excellence
in not only the remainder of my academic career, but also all areas of my life. It's not everyday
that somebody can say that they are actually living their dreams!
Natalie Anderson, Commerce student
My fears and anxieties of returning came flooding back in my first class. The
instructor was late and students kept asking me if I was the instructor. The next evening,
I faced my demons when the instructor asked us to introduce ourselves, identify our majors,
and what year of school we were in. As people went around the room introducing themselves
as sophomores and juniors, I thought, surely I can't be the only freshman. Sure enough,
by the time my name came up on the list, I announced, "I'm Chuck Pharris majoring in
economics and I am a FRESHMAN". I've made presentations to more congressmen and oil
executives than I can remember, but for 20 years, I couldn't get over the fear of saying
that in front of people that were born the year I joined the military. I have written
many former supervisors and fellow employees and told them, I'm a freshman at DePaul University.
They have all been thrilled for me and offered the strongest encouragement. I look forward to
the day I can tell them I'm a graduate of DePaul University.
Chuck Pharris, Commerce student
As an adult with a full-time job (at the time I enrolled), it was difficult at first to
adjust to the pace of academic life. On the one hand it was fast paced, and I was used to
that through my experience in the corporate world. So I was able to handle the pace of
writing papers, going from work to school, and getting to class on time two or three nights
a week. On the other hand, coming from a fast-paced environment, it was difficult to cope
with the slower pace of the business side of academic life. Dealing with the bureaucracy was
frustrating. No one seemed to have heard of the “I need it yesterday” school of thinking.
Everything moved at a snail’s pace. Once I learned to separate school and work (in all areas
of my mind), I was able to cope a little bit better.
Anonymous, School for New Learning student
Resources
• Gen and Kelly Tanabe's Adult Students: An Insider's Guide to Getting into College
• Frank Bruno's Going Back to School: College Survival Strategies for Adult Students
• Vicky Phillips' Never Too Late to Learn: The Adult Student’s Guide to College
• Al Siebert and Mary Karr's The Adult Student Guide to Survival and Success
Top 10 Keys to Academic Success
• You should consider the financial impact of academic decisions
• You should have an academic plan with a set end date
• You should have a budget for educational expenses
• You should have a physical list of people who support your success
• You should take advantage of EVERY campus resource
• You should know where to go when you experience problems
• You should read the fine print, especially Financial Aid documents
• You should find ways to network with other students
• You should plan your career now, not after the degree
• You should find a good mentor/advisor
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