How did you guys find other mature students on campus?
I'm finding it more difficult than expected to socialise and make friends at uni. The age gap is getting in the way. I'm nearly 30 and I have so little in common with 18-20-year olds, they're not just younger, in so many ways their generation is worlds away from mine.
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
Original post by Snufkin
I'm finding it more difficult than expected to socialise and make friends at uni. The age gap is getting in the way. I'm nearly 30 and I have so little in common with 18-20-year olds, they're not just younger, in so many ways their generation is worlds away from mine.
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
No one hangs out. Unless they already know ppl or ignored the rules or made friends through facebook/accomdation
I wouldn't worry about it.
Original post by adam271
No one hangs out. Unless they already know ppl or ignored the rules or made friends through facebook/accomdation
I wouldn't worry about it.
I wouldn't worry about it.
I don't know what you mean by ignored the rules?
Original post by Snufkin
I don't know what you mean by ignored the rules?
Sorry i meant.
A lot of people are in the exact same position as you mature or not.
There is very little socialising going on unless you happen to have room mates or just ignore the rules and go out on the lash with house parties
.I remember there used to be this Russian guy in our seminars. He was so old, his passport listed the Soviet Union as his birthplace. Okay, he was born just a month before the collapse but he was still a decade older than his university peers. Perhaps because he looked really young, but he got along just fine with the rest of us.
Original post by Snufkin
I'm finding it more difficult than expected to socialise and make friends at uni. The age gap is getting in the way. I'm nearly 30 and I have so little in common with 18-20-year olds, they're not just younger, in so many ways their generation is worlds away from mine.
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
I am a mature student too although a few years older than you at 37. There is no mature students society where I will be and as far as I know no mature students in my age bracket except possibly medicine.
The current lot of 18 year old their texting style, interests, computer games and how they learn on laptops or tablets is just a world away from when I was at school or university.
Original post by Snufkin
I'm finding it more difficult than expected to socialise and make friends at uni. The age gap is getting in the way. I'm nearly 30 and I have so little in common with 18-20-year olds, they're not just younger, in so many ways their generation is worlds away from mine.
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
I'd like to try and seek out other mature students or maybe postgrad students but I didn't find any at society events last year, and now that everything has moved online, I expect it'll be even harder this year. Where do the old folk hang out on campus?
Hi!
It will depend on what your university offers. At Keele, for example, we have a postgraduate students union - the KPA (https://www.kpa.org.uk/) - that specifically caters to the needs of postgraduate students, as well as to students who might not want the traditional 'freshers' events such as mature students & student parents.
We also have dedicated support and contacts for mature students (https://www.keele.ac.uk/maturestudents/), and run welcome events to allow mature students to meet others in a similar situation.
It would certainly be worth contacting both the Student Services/Student Support team and the Students Union at your university to ask them if there is anything similar at your uni - many SU's have a Mature Students Officer or a Mature Students society so it's worth asking (or, if there isn't one, maybe think about setting one up!).
Another option would be to turn to social media - at Keele the SU run a Keele Student Life Facebook group for each academic year (the KPA also run one for Postgraduate Student Life) and students have been using that to reach out to others in their cohorts, or who live in their accommodation. If your university have something similar, try dropping in a message asking if there are other mature students out there - if you get replies, you can set up a Messenger group chat, WhatsApp group or similar.
I also found societies good for meeting others with similar interests regardless of age - a lot of them have moved their activities online in the current climate. As a mature student myself, I was well past the days of wanting to party until the small hours but I joined a tabletop and board gaming society whose socials were based around card/board game evenings, D&D sessions, and the occasional chilled gaming get-together. As we all have shared interests, the age gap between me (mid-30s) and a lot of the other members (18-22) is much less noticeable, plus I meant some other mature students through the society.
Hope that helps!
Amy
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