starting uni at 20

hi is anyone else starting uni at 20, i feel so old even though there’s older people starting😭 just wanted to know if anyone else is also in my place rn

Reply 1

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

hi is anyone else starting uni at 20, i feel so old even though there’s older people starting😭 just wanted to know if anyone else is also in my place rn

Hi @anonymous #1

I turned 20 a month after starting university. I have found that there is a wide range of ages at university, so you will probably not be the only one who is 20. A lot of people do one or multiple gap years before starting university, or even have a different career before starting.

Hope that helps!

Sophie.
BCU Student Rep.

Reply 2

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

hi is anyone else starting uni at 20, i feel so old even though there’s older people starting😭 just wanted to know if anyone else is also in my place rn

Hey there,

Totally understandable how you're feeling, but please try not to worry. I started uni at 18 but my closest friends in first year were other first years who were 20 and 23. To be honest, everyone was in the same boat hoping to make friends and in a group we all looked the same age. Its really not something that your peers will think anything of. Its perfectly normal to not know immediately what you want to right out of sixth form and to take a couple of years out. If anything the experiences and reflection time you've had will put you in a better position to start uni 🙂

I really hope that helps, best of luck this year!

Holly
University of Bath

Reply 3

LancashireRep1

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

hi is anyone else starting uni at 20, i feel so old even though there’s older people starting😭 just wanted to know if anyone else is also in my place rn

Hi there,

It's normal to feel like this. It's something I felt as I was 19 soon to be 20 when I started university. My class had a few more students in my age group rather than younger. I ended up becoming friends with even older students too so I'm sure you'll be fine. Many students are in the same boat and just want to make connections and friends without taking the age group into account too much. Being someone that has experienced this, I wouldn't worry too much about this and I wish you the best of luck in your new venture.

Hope this helps, ^Zac

Reply 4

Walbrook London

I started uni when I was 20 and all of my friends were pretty much the same age, even in the student halls I lived in I think the youngest in my flat was 19. 20 is really not so different from 18, and you'll find a lot of people are a similar age to you. You'll look back when you're 30 and realise just how little age gaps feel.

If anything 20 is a great age to go as you have *slightly* more life experience which you can apply to your studies/life but you're still young enough to enjoy the 'traditional' uni experience!

You'll do great!

Alex 🙂

Reply 5

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

Honestly don't worry about it, there's barely any difference between an 18 year old and a 20 year old. Nobody will know unless you tell them, and even then they won't care.

I was 20 and 3 quarters when I first started uni, because I stayed an extra year at sixth form college and then I took a gap year.

My daughter will be just turned 20 when she starts (as in she turns 20 three days before freshers week starts) because she's a September baby plus she's taken a gap year.

There are so many people that don't start at 18, you most definitely won't be the only one.

Reply 6

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

hi is anyone else starting uni at 20, i feel so old even though there’s older people starting😭 just wanted to know if anyone else is also in my place rn

Hey

Don’t worry at all! You are definitely not alone. Many students don’t start university at 18. Some come as exchange students, some switch courses, and others just take a little more time to figure out what they want to do. There is no right or wrong age to start university!

Southampton is such an inclusive and welcoming place. No one, whether professors or students, will treat you any differently because of your age. I have made some amazing friends here who are between 20 and 23, and honestly, age has never been a big deal.

So don’t stress too much, think you belong here just as much as anyone else. Welcome to Southampton!

Best wishes
Junfan university of Southampton students rep

Reply 7

Stormgrad

The age difference between 18 and 20 is nothing, if anything your few years of lived experience will give you a leg up starting uni. I say this as a man that will be turning 40 during his first year as an undergrad

Reply 8

username7368346

28, so you have many years yet to worry about! Don’t fret.

Reply 9

username6415730

Original post

by Anonymous

hi is anyone else starting uni at 20, i feel so old even though there’s older people starting😭 just wanted to know if anyone else is also in my place rn

hi this may be a possibility for me too.i feel like a pathetic loser especially since my sister will finish her uni degree at 21 the "normal age".when I compare myself to her I get really upset because both my parents worked their a-- off for me and I cant even pass college it brings me to tears especially since growing up my dad would do anything for us and we aren't exactly privileged/ rich. I feel like the odd one out when it comes to education and on top of that marriage?? how am I supposed to fit marriage in all of this if I start uni at 20 and finish at 23 I would be considered too old?? Idk im stressing I just want to prove myself to my parents.please pray for me that Monday and Thursday goes alright this is my only real shot at securing my grades

Reply 10

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Note at 20 you aren't actually even considered a mature student formally (unis consider students "mature" students if they're over 21), and there's virtually no difference between you and any other school leaver as well. You're essentially a school leaver plus 2 gap years (or restarted A-levels/retook A-levels plus gap year) - not uncommon, and people starting after 1 gap year are very common.

Remember that uni (and more to the point, everything else in your life from now until you die) is not age segregated in the way that school was. While I appreciate the anxiety over such matters because up until now that's all you've known in life, it's essentially immaterial going forward. In your degree, in the modules you take there may be students of a variety of ages - not just due to mature students, but people retaking modules/the year, students from other courses taking your modules as an option, people taking the same optional modules as you but in a later year of their degree etc.

There is nowhere near the level of homogeneity in age demographics per "course" or cohort at uni as there is in school.