Information and advice in this guide focuses on the emotional, financial, and academic realities of women returning to school. Chapter One examines the opportunities available today, including such topics as special programs for returning women and the societal factors causing women to return to school. In Chapter Two the decision-making process of returning to school is discussed with emphasis on family reaction. Financial aid is surveyed in the third chapter, including such areas as grants, loans, work/study programs, and indirect areas of need such as child-care and food stamps. How women have been socialized to fail is assessed in the fourth chapter, followed in Chapter Five by a discussion of pre-admission issues (e.g., college credit for what you know, how to cut through college red tape). Chapter Six explores the advantages of two-year colleges, including cost, innovative curriculum, and strong emphasis on counseling. Choosing a four-year college is explained in the seventh chapter, and some considerations in deciding on graduate school are presented in the eighth chapter (e.g., sexism, financial aid, how to apply). In Chapter Nine special programs for returning women are surveyed. The occupational outlook for women college graduates into the 1980's is assessed in the final chapter. Appended are a list of academic terms and a listing by state of resource centers for women. (PHR)