The Student Room Group

You know you're a mature student when...

I thought this could be a fun thread for mature students to take a light view of studying with age on your side so-

You know you're a mature student when....

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Reply 1
...you wake up and realise that - for the next three years at least - you don't have to be in the office by 7:15am
...you stop feeling guilty about having a lie-in until 8am
...stopping work at 6pm isn't regarded as "going part-time"
...you remember what eating lunch feels like
...you're not in a hurry all the time
...you start noticing that the sky is occasionally blue
...if you don't enjoy what you're writing you can just stop and go for a walk or watch telly for a couple of hours instead
...you don't get uni phoning you up at 3am/ while you're in the shower/ during Christmas lunch, expecting you to drop everything and do some work
...you get time off during holiday periods and not in February and October because colleagues with kids have block booked periods of decent weather
...you actually get time off without the boss cancelling it at short notice so that you can deal with the fallout from some crisis s/he caused
...in the winter you get to go outdoors during daylight Monday to Friday
...you spend your days with people you actually enjoy being around
...the people around you are lively, enthusiastic and looking for possibilities, rather than praying for death or retirement (whichever comes quickest)

Oh god, I love being a student! How long can I string this out?
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 2
I dunno if this fits but I found it annoying when the younger students assumed I was rich because I had been working, rented my own place / drove own car and could afford to go food shopping regularly!!!
Reply 3
Original post by GangBang
I dunno if this fits but I found it annoying when the younger students assumed I was rich because I had been working, rented my own place / drove own car and could afford to go food shopping regularly!!!

I found this as well. I didn't find it annoying, but the perspective made me realise how lucky I was, to have had the opportunity to work and save money. Some of my younger colleagues were on minimum Maintenance Loan, no Maintenance Grant and no parental assistance. Just keeping themselves fed was a big problem for them and meant that they had to work long hours alongside studying full-time.
You can easily ignore pathetic rumours and get on with your academics.
Reply 5
Original post by Klix88
I found this as well. I didn't find it annoying, but the perspective made me realise how lucky I was, to have had the opportunity to work and save money. Some of my younger colleagues were on minimum Maintenance Loan, no Maintenance Grant and no parental assistance. Just keeping themselves fed was a big problem for them and meant that they had to work long hours alongside studying full-time.


I think you worded this much better than me!
Reply 6
Original post by inachigeek21
You can easily ignore pathetic rumours and get on with your academics.


Amen! It used to make me chuckle when i would hear ppl "discussing" other ppl in their halls etc!

Oh another gd thing about being a mature student : being able to not fall in a clique! I always tried my best to chat with everyone (some ppl you just dont get on with!) but groups were created almost straight away.
Original post by GangBang
Amen! It used to make me chuckle when i would hear ppl "discussing" other ppl in their halls etc!

Oh another gd thing about being a mature student : being able to not fall in a clique! I always tried my best to chat with everyone (some ppl you just dont get on with!) but groups were created almost straight away.

Yes this is a teenage thing. Put any large group together and they immediately divide into exclusive gangs. Weird.
You know your a mature student when you go to college dressed in jeans and a t-shirt whilst all the young girls are dressed up as if they were on a catwalk


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When your alarm goes off you can think 'screw it' and not turn in without the prospect of having to call someone and conjure up a fake illness (then not leave the house for the entire day lest your ruse be discovered) or run the risk of being fired or receiving less money. Not that I'm saying you *should* do this...
When making friends is not your biggest concern.


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Reply 11
...when you turn down parties and hanging out to study

...when you enjoy organising yourself

...when you refuse to order take away and cook all your own food
Reply 12
When you havent bothered buying any wristbands for freshers week because your concerned about the cost !!!
when you can actually debate with your lecturer or hold a discussion ...(while the rest of the class looks at you like ...dude just shut up, I'm trying to write down everything he/she says)
You talk about some recent event, and another student says "oh yeah, that was the year I was born."
When most of your classmates have no memory of the 20th century


Posted from TSR Mobile
When your sat in tutor seminar and the other students tell the lecturer they "don't like reading and do not think it is fair they should have to read so much" sat open mouth in shock thinking you guys are going to get a shock when you see the reading list!!
When other students talk about school days, and we just sit there and think, "damn, was it that long ago since I left that place?!"
Original post by Schadenfreude65
You talk about some recent event, and another student says "oh yeah, that was the year I was born."


Haha that made me lol
Reply 19
Original post by Old_Simon
Yes this is a teenage thing. Put any large group together and they immediately divide into exclusive gangs. Weird.


Can also find this in the office actually.

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