I started using CC with DS when he was 20 months old and I decided I'd get more out of my course by going back on campus.
It is a very small centre (10 places each day for both baby and preschool room) and next year it will be slightly bigger as it moves to a new centre.
I took DS twice a week and he took a while to adjust to drop offs, and only a handful of times at the beginning was I called up to ask if I were in a position to pick him up to keep his experiences as positive as possible.
It's a great centre with access to best practice and a lot of research into child development, which most CC centres don't have. Most staff are qualified, also.
If you can find a place affiliated with the uni you might find this is a better option - you're close by, there will be other uni students using the facility and the cultural diversity is what I found so valuable with our centre. Now that I've got DS in the local community centre I lament the loss of that diversity (it's a bit mono-cultural where I am).
At 20 months when he started last year, he picked up on language and numeracy quite a bit, but really just learned to play alongside other kids, rather than with them till earlier this year when he moved from the baby room to the preschool room. So, for socialisation, I didn't find creche to play a huge role - he got and gets that from my own circles in my local ABA group, homebirth group and fire brigade friends.
This year drop offs were problem-free and he'd wave me goodbye, mostly, with some exceptions. At the new creche it's only one day a week and it's not often enough for him to really be used to being left, so drop-offs are more often than not a teary event. However, that said, he ALWAYS has a great day and the tears last for about 2 mins after I leave!
I did find it hard to concentrate at uni for ages in that first year of childcare, because I found myself thinking about DS, and why it had to be so hard to pursue my academic interests and be with my kid without one of those two aims suffering! I'm just not very good at compartmentalising, yet this is what you seem to have to do well if you are going to make a success of study So, I've been getting mediocre marks and having great days with DS when he's not at CC. Not ideal.
Next year will be a different kettle of fish when I get back to study - the new kid will be even younger going into care, but DS should be fine, as there's an embedded kinder program.
It's not easy, but if you find a great facility, it makes it soooo much easier to deal with what's on your plate
Good luck with study!