Starting Uni at 22
Hello,
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
Hi there!
Starting university later is completely normal! Most people will not even notice that you are a couple of year older because an 18 year old doesn't look that different from a 22 year old and they will all just assume that you are the same age as them until you tell them otherwise. You won't find it any harder than people coming straight from school to make friends and it's still perfectly fine to live in halls so I would say that you have nothing to worry about!
I hope this helps😃
Lottie, Graduate Advocate
Starting university later is completely normal! Most people will not even notice that you are a couple of year older because an 18 year old doesn't look that different from a 22 year old and they will all just assume that you are the same age as them until you tell them otherwise. You won't find it any harder than people coming straight from school to make friends and it's still perfectly fine to live in halls so I would say that you have nothing to worry about!
I hope this helps😃
Lottie, Graduate Advocate
Original post by ptmills
Hello,
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
Hello!
Lovely to hear you're thinking about your future in engineering and are considering uni 🙂
Your feelings are completely normal and you won't be the only one feeling unsure about what the experience will be like starting a little later, however please be reassured that starting later than 18/19 is totally normal. My best friends at uni when I was 18 were 20, 23 and 25. We all looked the same, and had so much more in common than we had differences and at the end of the day we all got on very well because we were all here for similar reasons - and I'm confident this is what your experience would look like too. In a lot of ways uni is ageless and I don't think people would feel any differently towards you because you are a couple of years older, they will just like you for you.
I hope this helps, best of luck 🙂
Holly
Uni of Bath
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by ptmills
Hello,
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
Hi @ptmills ,
I understand how you feel as lots of people feel like this if they are starting university later than the 'usual' age of 18. However, there are lots of people who start uni at a bit of a later age so you definitely will not be alone in being a little bit older than some other people.
I started uni a little bit later than others at 20 and I was a bit worried about this but it was completely fine! People start uni at all ages and there is really nothing to worry about- when I first started, some people were 18, some 20, some 22 and some mature students older than this too. On your course there will be a big mixture of ages so don't worry as everyone mixes together and you won't be isolated!
I also lived in halls and I knew people who lived in halls too who were older than me (so around your age) so don't worry too much about this! You can usually request things when you apply for your halls, so if you wanted to, you could put in your application that you are 22 and would like to be put with people your age. Or, don't mention this and just see who you get put with! If your friendship group at home is a variety of ages, chances are you will get on with people in your halls no matter what age they are.
In terms of making friends at uni, I would suggest joining a society! They are great ways of meeting lots of new people and making friends so I would really recommend doing this. There will be a big mix of ages involved in the societies too so I wouldn't worry about an age gap when thinking about societies as usually there are people from all years!
You could also have a look on social media before you start too and see if you can meet anyone this way. I did this and it really put my mind at rest as I met quite a few nice people which made me feel better about starting uni and you know you have a few people at least you can be friends with and meet up with once you are there and starting university.
I hope some of this helps,
Lucy -SHU student ambassador 🙂
Original post by ptmills
Hello,
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
Hi @ptmills !
I actually started university at 20 and can definitely say it made no difference to my experience at all! I was able to settle in and meet people the same way everyone else did and also found that there was a large range of ages in my class.
My advice would be to get involved with events your university holds at the start of the year and join societies that interest you if you want to meet like minded people!
I hope this helps and wish you the best of luck!😀
Emily
Third Year Creative Writing Student
Original post by ptmills
Hello,
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
Hi there @ptmills 🙂 I also started university a tad late at the age of 24! I had a similar feeling and wanted pursue my BA after working for a few years! At first it was a little hard to relate to my course mates in a post covid classroom environment but after putting myself out of my comfort zone I joined a few local club and societies, the Student Ambassador and Kingston Language Scheme🥳 This allowed me to meet people of different ages, ethnicities and courses across the university and it was where I made good friends! I hope this helps 🥰
Zhi En
Kingston Student Rep.
Original post by ptmills
Hello,
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
I'm currently 21 and finishing off my apprenticeship in General Engineering, I'd quite like to do further education in engineering (probably Civil or Mechanical pathway - I like design) and id like to go to Uni to do so (either bachelors or foundation degree)
But I'd also like to go to Uni for the experience, staying in my hometown these last few years rather than having the 'Uni experience' has always been on my mind, living in a city (my hometown is only 14k ppl) having a heavy social life, partying, independence etc. But I have seen such a big deal made by other people starting in their early 20's about feeling odd for starting later than 18/19, struggle to find friends, scared they'll have no social life, starting undergraduate by the time some of their school friends have finished and technically being a 'mature student', and this has plagued onto me and is something I now have concerns for.
Anyone who started in their early 20's, how did you find it? could you still have a good social life and live in halls etc. Make friends easy enough? I feel stupid writing this as my hometown friendship group age ranges from 18-23/24 and we all get along well and have the same interests and hobbies, but social media has plagued me, LOL! any similar circumstances would be great to hear! Thanks.
Hey!
I would try not to worry too much about this as the people on my course are a complete variety of ages and we all get on amazingly! We found that going to the same uni / course automatically gives you something in common which mades it so much easier to make friends!
You can definitely still have a social life at 22 so try not to get hung up on being called a 'Mature student ' ! I've been at uni of the majority of my early 20's and always managed to have a good social life!
I hope this helps,
Rebecca, UCLan
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