Uni halls as a mature student

Hey there! I'm not a mature student but I live in halls right now and know of a few older students around your age who get along just fine in halls. People at university are generally friendly and will like to live with you as long as you communicate and try your best to participate. Age isn't really an issue at university ;D

I'm starting uni this September at 33 and have decided to live in halls for the first year just to make it nice and simple and to ensure there's plenty of opportunities to meet people and hopefully a better chance of finding people I gel with. My uni accommodation doesn't separate mature students from younger students so there's a good chance I'll end up in a flat with a load of 18/19 year olds. I hope that wouldn't be a big issue socially as generally I find most people more my age a bit boring and have quite a few friends in their early 20's. Just depends if they will mind someone my age being involved in most of what they are doing rather than ending up being pretty isolated.

I like to drink, I like to fave fun, I like going out (just maybe not every night of the week anymore!) and I'm pretty tolerant of the issues that come with sharing a flat with younger people i.e. mess/noise. But everyone say's I'm crazy to be going into halls and will regret it. I want to be living with people who know how to enjoy themselves rather than being around people who want a quiet night in every night of the week!

Any mature students had any experience of what it's really like to live with younger students or what it's like from a younger student's perspective living with an older student? I don't want to end up regretting it and being a nagging parent but at the same time I don't want to be living in a boring flat with no social life.

Thanks. I think its a bit more nerve-wracking being a mature student moving into an environment with an overwhelming majority of younger students. That extra confidence gained from life experiences is washed away with the fear of not being accepted.

Thanks. I think its a bit more nerve-wracking being a mature student moving into an environment with an overwhelming majority of younger students. That extra confidence gained from life experiences is washed away with the fear of not being accepted.

I'm starting uni this September at 33 and have decided to live in halls for the first year just to make it nice and simple and to ensure there's plenty of opportunities to meet people and hopefully a better chance of finding people I gel with. My uni accommodation doesn't separate mature students from younger students so there's a good chance I'll end up in a flat with a load of 18/19 year olds. I hope that wouldn't be a big issue socially as generally I find most people more my age a bit boring and have quite a few friends in their early 20's. Just depends if they will mind someone my age being involved in most of what they are doing rather than ending up being pretty isolated.

I like to drink, I like to fave fun, I like going out (just maybe not every night of the week anymore!) and I'm pretty tolerant of the issues that come with sharing a flat with younger people i.e. mess/noise. But everyone say's I'm crazy to be going into halls and will regret it. I want to be living with people who know how to enjoy themselves rather than being around people who want a quiet night in every night of the week!

Any mature students had any experience of what it's really like to live with younger students or what it's like from a younger student's perspective living with an older student? I don't want to end up regretting it and being a nagging parent but at the same time I don't want to be living in a boring flat with no social life.

8 months later on and I'm here at uni in halls full of 18/19 year olds and honestly, I'm having a great time! Everybody involves me just as much as I want to be involved. I get asked to come out drinking with them all the time. In most respects I'm treated exactly the same as anyone else. I don't mind the mess and the noise and I'm definitely seen as the one people come to for advice. I've even been included in people's plans for getting a student house next year already so I'm definitely not excluded in the whole "uni life". Anyone who's in their 20's or even early 30's, if you're tolerant, get on with younger people and know how to have a good time then go for it!

That's a great post - I've read an awful lot of posts in the past three months from 'mature' students worried that no-one will want to talk to them, or they'll get treated like a 'dad' or something like that. Despite assurances that this won't happen, it's always good to hear recent evidence of this in practice, from a current student