Older man, new college student - Cubase or Nuendo

For audio and/or midi work, I would start with Cubase. If you need to do more involved audio editing, then I’d also get Wavelab. The Cubase/Wavelab combo covers a lot of ground and is a pleasure to use.

If you were doing a lot of video with audio, then consider Nuendo. Otherwise, Cubase is probably the better fit.

-Tom