[OT] Going to University as Mature Student

[Wippit Guud]

Anyone here ever gone to University well after graduating from whatever?

It's been 6 years since I graduated with an Information Systems Diploma from a community college, but it's not what I wanted to do in life. 10 years ago I wanted to go into Zoology, and I'm now considering going to university in 2004 to try to get a BSc in Marine Biology. Main problem is money, already have C$24,000 in debt from my wife's student loans, and we'd be moving to a place with a slightly higher cost of living, plus one less full time job.

Just wondered, since the ratio of older people on En-World is higher compared to other places, if anyone has tried this (and, more importantly, succeeded)

 

[Mark Chance]

Just wondered, since the ratio of older people on En-World is higher compared to other places, if anyone has tried this (and, more importantly, succeeded)

I started university full-time at the age of 25 or 26 (I forget which). Did quite well. Most semesters I carried more than a full course load, and I graduated magna cum laude with memberships in about a half-dozen honor societies.

Also learned to pity kids treating the chance to go to a university like it was just the 13th grade. Or laugh at kids that whined their parents wouldn't pay for more half their tuition. "What I am going to do? How am I going to get the rest of the money?" "I don't know, Bob, why don't you sell your #!@$$! Mercedes!?"

Umm...sorry...flashed back there for minute.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I'm back in grad school ten years after getting my undergrad diploma. It's much easier the second time around. I'd have to say that being an older, more mature student has tremendous advantages.

Generally, you know what you want and exactly why you're there, and have enough real-world experience to know what's really important and what's not, which tends to lead to more learning, less stress, and better grades.

Of course, your life will probably be more complicated than most of the younger students around you, so sometimes it's harder to relate to them. But I particularly enjoy laughing at other students (particularly the grad and PhD students) who have precisely zero real-world experience, having spent their entire lives thus far in an academic setting. Their views on how the world works tend to be a bit ... naiive.

Good luck!

 

[Ricochet]

I live in Denmark and we welcome foreign exchange students at our universities.. The best part is, they are free, so all you need to worry about is everything else. Even better is Sweden, where living costs are significantly lower than Denmark.

 

[Wippit Guud]

Suppose I should ask this... anyone doing while married? Also add a 3 year old into that equation...

 

[Mark Chance]

Suppose I should ask this... anyone doing while married? Also add a 3 year old into that equation...

Married the year I started full-time, but no kids until after I finished. My wife actually made school easier on me.

 

[Dave Turner]

I'm 31 years old and heading into my senior year after spending some time in the Army as a sergeant.

You will have trouble making any connections with the students because they're so much younger than you and your interests/maturity/outlook is usually quite different. As others have pointed out, you'll fare much better on the grade front and you will be a darling of professors, since they know that mature students are actually there to learn rather than party.

 

[Desdichado]

I didn't start college until I was well on my way towards 22. When I got my MBA, I was married and had two kids. Now, except for a $BIGNUM of student debt, we're all good!

I should also point out that my wife hasn't worked for pay since our oldest was born -- we both thought it more important that she raise our kids than bring in a little more loot. So certainly it can be done with a (very) limited income.

 

[green slime]

Marine Biology?

That will be interesting, but tough on the job outlook after you finish. Jobs in Marine Biology aren't just lying around, I'm afraid.

You don't happen to scuba dive do you?

 

[Plane Sailing]

I did a part time MSc when I was in my 30's, and although the situation is quite different from yours financially and socially there is one thing that is probably still consistent... It was much, much easier.

By easier, I mean that the added maturity and experience really helped in everything from time management and organisation through to (most important in my case) fearlessness in asking for clarification if I didn't understand something in a lecture. When I did my BSc I sat and stewed rather than look stupid, when it was my MSc I didn't care what other people thought about my intellectual capacities, I wanted to understand the points the lecturer was teaching!

(It almost made me wish I could go back and retake my original BSc, and get a better degree out of it).

Incidentally I've almost gone the other way around from you - my BSc is in Environmental Biology and Geology, while the MSc was in Distributed Multimedia Computing

One caveat - the exams hurt my hands a lot . For 15 years I've been typing-thinking-typing, and an exam which suddenly required handwriting lots of stuff against a clock was painful on the old wrists!

Cheers