Education; I think I have ruined my life

I'm turning 19 next month, I currently have one A-Level and I passed all of my GCSE's except science. I had a rough childhood (my mother died when I was 14) so my life has been very rocky and I was kicked out of college this year (November 2023) when studying my 2nd A-Level as I could not financially afford to attend the college, they said they would help me with bursarys, and ultimately did not :frown:

I am panicking, if I studied my 2nd A-Level now I will still be studying it when I turn 20, then almost 21 when I start uni, is that too old? Most university Freshers are 18, right? I'm worried that I will stand out for all the wrong reasons :frown:

Reply 1

ageshallnot

21

Original post by Dontreadme

I'm turning 19 next month, I currently have one A-Level and I passed all of my GCSE's except science. I had a rough childhood (my mother died when I was 14) so my life has been very rocky and I was kicked out of college this year (November 2023) when studying my 2nd A-Level as I could not financially afford to attend the college, they said they would help me with bursarys, and ultimately did not :frown:

I am panicking, if I studied my 2nd A-Level now I will still be studying it when I turn 20, then almost 21 when I start uni, is that too old? Most university Freshers are 18, right? I'm worried that I will stand out for all the wrong reasons :frown:

Your age will be irrelevant. More important is the fact that most unis will want 3 A-levels (or equivalent) not 2.

Reply 2

jonathanemptage

21

Chill dude I went at 21 and was one of the youngest people there.

Reply 3

wifd149

20

Original post by Dontreadme

I'm turning 19 next month, I currently have one A-Level and I passed all of my GCSE's except science. I had a rough childhood (my mother died when I was 14) so my life has been very rocky and I was kicked out of college this year (November 2023) when studying my 2nd A-Level as I could not financially afford to attend the college, they said they would help me with bursarys, and ultimately did not :frown:

I am panicking, if I studied my 2nd A-Level now I will still be studying it when I turn 20, then almost 21 when I start uni, is that too old? Most university Freshers are 18, right? I'm worried that I will stand out for all the wrong reasons :frown:

You're doing really well all things considered and I hope that you are doing ok at the least.

There are many other routes to enter university, e.g. Access to Higher Education. A-levels are not the end-all-be-all ultimatum. Age also isn't a major concern to be honest, there are many mature students attending universities. It might not seem much, but I genuinely appreciated having known and met many mature students during my university experience and I'm sure that there are many students who have the same sentiment. I wouldn't have gotten this far without them.

I personally don't know much about the options available for financing studies, so I'd recommend for you to perhaps look into them — and maybe at the same time, thinking through your future plans would be a good idea (e.g. start working and earn money first before university). Working before university is much more common than you think too 🙂 Take your life one step at a time, I hope everything goes well for you.

Original post by Dontreadme

I'm turning 19 next month, I currently have one A-Level and I passed all of my GCSE's except science. I had a rough childhood (my mother died when I was 14) so my life has been very rocky and I was kicked out of college this year (November 2023) when studying my 2nd A-Level as I could not financially afford to attend the college, they said they would help me with bursarys, and ultimately did not :frown:

I am panicking, if I studied my 2nd A-Level now I will still be studying it when I turn 20, then almost 21 when I start uni, is that too old? Most university Freshers are 18, right? I'm worried that I will stand out for all the wrong reasons :frown:

Hi there

University is a lovely experience, please do not worry about your age. There are many students who go to university who are not 18. Often there are many mature students and those who have taken gap years.

21 is still very young, and I doubt you will stand out for the "wrong reasons". At University, you will not be judged for your age. Furthermore, there is no need to hang around those in your own year, most friendship groups are made of students from different years and that is perfectly fine. :smile:

If you do not feel comfortable revealing your age, there is no pressure to either.

I hope this helps, best of luck.
Chloe
University of Kent Student Rep

You're certainly not too old! After secondary school, people tend to go at their own pace. There are people of all ages on degree courses. I went to university at 25 and wasn't even the oldest one there. I made friends with a good ~75% of the cohort so it didn't hinder me socially either. 🙂

(edited 4 months ago)

Original post by Dontreadme

I'm turning 19 next month, I currently have one A-Level and I passed all of my GCSE's except science. I had a rough childhood (my mother died when I was 14) so my life has been very rocky and I was kicked out of college this year (November 2023) when studying my 2nd A-Level as I could not financially afford to attend the college, they said they would help me with bursarys, and ultimately did not :frown:

I am panicking, if I studied my 2nd A-Level now I will still be studying it when I turn 20, then almost 21 when I start uni, is that too old? Most university Freshers are 18, right? I'm worried that I will stand out for all the wrong reasons :frown:

Hiya @Dontreadme ,

Let me first reassure you that firstly, your life is not ruined at all 🙂 - its so normal to feel like that when things don't go your way, but as cliched as it sounds please don't worry - you've done a great job in getting through all you've been through to get here!

Secondly, as many on this thread have already said, people choose to attend uni at all different ages - there were a fair few on my course who were in the 25-35 range and were studying part-time around working. If anything, being a little older when starting may mean you cope better in yourself with the experience better having had more life experience.

As for attending for the 'wrong' reasons, I would say that as long as you are going because you want to (whether it be to aim for a certain career, further your career options, or just for enjoyment) - as long as that reason means something to you and is enough to motivate you to put the work in, then that is all that counts.

It is definitely worth checking out what scholarships/bursaries are available on your chosen unis websites whilst applying. Some are income-assessed so will be based on household income, but some will not be, and others will not require an application but be automatic as long as you register for them. Working part-time as a student ambassador or taking up a campus cafe job is also a great way to earn a bit of money and get a bit more out of uni life if this is something you'd be interested in 🙂

Don't give up - one step at a time! Best of luck in your next steps

Holly
University of Bath

Please don’t worry about your age!

I began my first degree at a different university aged 22, had to leave due to medical reasons, and then went back to university at the age of 29. I’ll be 31 when I finish, and there’s always lots of different ages at university. University is more diverse and inclusive than people realise ☺️

Nat
LJMU Student Nurse and Ambassador

Reply 8

Dontreadme

OP

1

Thank you everybody, your kind words are appreciated so much 🙏🏻

Education; I think I have ruined my life

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