Mature (?) Students

Hey
Just wondering if there are any other people starting uni who have been out of education for a while?? I'm 22 and classed as a 'mature student' :wtf?: Which does concern me slightly as thats not a word I generally associate with myself!

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Reply 1

**R**

well i finished uni a year ago, i was 19 going in, i went staight after my school exams , just i started school later then most. but there were many ppl who were 21 /22/23 in first year, its no that much older and i dont think they had problems with that at all. basically they looked pretty much same age as ppl 17/18. they wernt as noticeablely 'mature students' as those that were in 40's/50's

Reply 2

trev

You will fit in fine in the first year with the other 17/19/19 year olds at university. No need to worry. In a student talk at an open day, this guy told us he has a person in his lecture who is around 60 years old, and that old person still got on fine.

Reply 3

Kingspharm

Yeah we had a real oldie in our year but he failed and dropped back to the year below. One of my best friends was about your age when she started our course because she'd done about 3 first years elsewhere before she decided what she wanted to do. :rolleyes:

I keep getting mistaken for a 'mature student' because I look older than I am.

Don't worry - you'll be fine!

Reply 4

Fluffy

Hello_my_Honky

I'm 29 and will hopefully be in my 2nd year in September!

Reply 5

Paeony

Hello ... I'm 26 and starting my second year in September too ... and you certainly won't be alone at 22 lol ... that's definitely at the younger end of the 'mature student' scale :smile:

Reply 6

amnesiaiom

I'll be 25 when I start Uni in Sept and think it'll be fine.. I think 18 yr olds can get along fine with ppl a bit older.. it just depends on your maturity levels!

Reply 7

AT82

22 is not young, I was 20 when I started, a lot of people on my course were well over 25, the older students often tend to get the better results as well as they value education more. Where some times younger students just go university for a laugh.

Reply 8

trev

AT82

I'm just wondering, how did you feel when you started university at 20? Did you fit in with other people who are 18/19? Did you feel weird starting at that age?

Reply 9

Paeony

Sorry to hijack ... just wanted to say that I get on really well with the 18/19 year olds on my course - not that there are many lol!! Most people on my courses seem to be over 22 ... and I don't feel weird at all. Academically it's fine - as AT82 said the older students value education and the tutors seem to repect this, and I find I get on better with them than the younger students.

It's strange, because I don't really feel like a 'mature' student - even though I am much older than most of the people on my courses, I'm living in halls and generally enjoying myself lol ... and my situation is totally different than that of most of the 'proper' mature students (by whom I mean the 30+ students with partners, families etc ...) In fact I find that they can be the most difficult to get along with, because they kind of resent you coming under the 'mature student' heading too ...

Reply 10

niamhster

21 and i am considered a mature student too!!! :biggrin:

Don't worry about it, i'm sure you will get on fine!!! :wink:

Reply 11

Manatee

I'm 29 and will be starting my second degree in September. I'm actually looking forward to mixing with a different age group, though I'm hoping that my age won't be immediately discernible! :wink:

Reply 12

Fluffy

Manatee

I'm 29 and will be starting my second degree in September. I'm actually looking forward to mixing with a different age group, though I'm hoping that my age won't be immediately discernible! :wink:

It won't - I'm 29 too, and by no means the oldest in my year. Half the time you can't tell the oldies and the young 'uns apart...

Reply 13

trev

Fluffy

It won't - I'm 29 too, and by no means the oldest in my year. Half the time you can't tell the oldies and the young 'uns apart...

You must be good to study medicine and a PhD as a mature student.

Reply 14

AT82

trev

I'm just wondering, how did you feel when you started university at 20? Did you fit in with other people who are 18/19? Did you feel weird starting at that age?

No its only two years, its not like school.

I had just turned 20, people in my social group were 18-23 at the time so I was just in the middle age wise.

One of the social groups had people aged 18-40 in it :wink:

Age really isn't a problem at all, although some older people may get sick of the imaturaty of the some of the younger students, I didn't find that so much though.

Reply 15

trev

AT82

Age really isn't a problem at all, although some older people may get sick of the imaturaty of the some of the younger students, I didn't find that so much though.

I will be 20 years old when I start university too, like you (entering in 2006 - deferred). I hope I will fit in like you.

Reply 16

ecksor

I started first year last September at 25 and didn't find age a problem. Lived in halls, most of the people I hang out with are in the 18-20 bracket ...

Reply 17

Loseley

I'll be 25 when i start uni in september. I went when i was 18 and dropped out as the course wasn't what i wanted. I've been working for the past 6 1/2 years so going back into education is a bit daunting. i won't be living in halls but hopefully i'll still be able to make friends!!!

Reply 18

hallucination

I'll be 21 when I start uni...doesn't bother me in the slightest!

Reply 19

MrsCheese

Cheers for all the response guys, I'm not really worried, it's interesting to see how many people leave it a while after school to go to uni and the reasons they do... I was one of the very few people from my college who took a GAP year (which slowly turned to 4!!) and don't regret it a bit. I speak to a lot of friends who have now graduated with degrees they are no-longer interested in and went to uni purely to have a good time and are now regretting it (only slightly - who could ever regret going to uni!) But each to their own of course...