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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fusangite" data-source="post: 2191968" data-attributes="member: 7240">I did much the same as you and first off, I recommend the experience. A 30 year old with no self-discipline has way more self-discipline than a 20 year old with no self-discipline. You will find the courses, time management and most other things much easier. There are only two areas where I encountered trouble and in both cases the problems arose due to my age. First of all, I found that relations were quite tricky with professors and teaching assistants three or fewer years older than me or, even worse, younger than me. Basically, because I was assertive, bigger than them, older-looking than them and more able to command people's attention, I was viewed as a threat to their authority. This was especially a problem with instructors who were part of other groups viewed by our society as intrinsically less authoritative than authoritative sounding white men in their thirties ie. women and members of visible minorities. There was no malice in these dynamics because in most cases we were often in agreement or even liked eachother and I never actually challenged these people's authority (at least not consciously or intentionally). But the social relations were strained because my mere presence in the class genuinely did undermine the person's capacity to appear authoritative. (Not that these dynamics were any fun for me -- after all, I was the loser being taught by my former peers.)Second, you have to realize that there are only two categories of student: young and old. The dividing line is going to, in undergraduate courses, sit at about 24 and in graduate courses, about 28. Although you can make friends with people in the other category and they can come to quite like you, you're going to be their "old" friend -- these people are never really going to see you as a member of their social category. And when classes are divided into smaller groups, you can expect to end being grouped with the 67 year old retired teachers. It may be jarring but, oddly, going back to school will leave you with no alternative but to view yourself as 100% an adult.Anyway, I highly recommend the experience over all.</blockquote>

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