I turned 30 recently and am getting my undergraduate degree on Saturday and headed to University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall. It's been a long, windy road to my final career choice, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
I bounced around jobs for 8 years after graduating HS and also traveled quite a bit. I always knew I would go to college, I just didn't anticipate I'd take so long to do it. I was always an outstanding student, so I would say undergrad came easy for me (for the most part). Not that I didn't struggle w/ organic or physics, but I took advantage of programs that offered extra help when I needed it.
The beginning of my sophomore year, I decided to declare a major (animal science) and pursue vet school. I have always been around animals and decided I wanted to give back to animals for all of the joy they have brought me. I spent the next 3 years busting my butt to gain experience in a wide variety of fields. It convinced me I had the passion and intelligence to become a good vet.
I guess my advice to you would be to get out there and start working with vets (if you haven't already) to make sure this is the right choice for you. I would then get the pre-reqs out of the way and familiarize yourself with the application process. It is quite hairy and expensive! Start early! There is some great advice on this forum about the process.
As far as balancing family obligations and mortgages, my fiance of 6 years (yeah, I know. Shut up!
) has been entirely supportive and pretty much works 60+ hours most weeks, so I had plenty of quality alone time to study. Thankfully I don't have kids yet, although I will be
past ready in 4 years! Oh, and no mortgage for another month or so. We've lived in apartments close to campus so I can walk to school, but we'll be buying a house this summer in Columbia.
I'm not sure how much advice my post actually offers, except to say it can be done. If you decide to go for it, go all the way and find a way through your experiences to set yourself apart from the rest of the (much younger) applicants. I did an internship in Scotland last summer!
Go non-trads!!!!!!!