Questions to Mature Students (Returning to Education After 5+ Years)

1.

I didn't go from zero to University in one step. I had a prior degree (STEM) but completed that years before. My A levels were largely ineffectual due to my family circumstances at the time which I won't go into here.

2.

I didn't do a foundation year, but I know people who have completed them and in the main it does prepare you nicely for year 1. You'll be familiar with the content which helps in of itself but the main bonus is in having your study methodology already ingrained. Degree can be very different from A level study in this respect.

3.

Yes, I did some preparation before University, the Access course prepares you in a lot of ways. I still maintain Access was the hardest thing I ever did. If you didn't do Access you won't have this luxury but you can still prepare for Uni.

4.

The returning to academic life mindset: I can completely appreciate what you mean by this. Firstly find/make some kind of designated study space within your living space. Optimise this and make it distraction free and as productive as possible. A lot of this will be down to you as an individual because you have to do you but for example I bought a third monitor for my PC, I bought a really decent ergonomic keyboard and I bought some second hand (cheap) textbooks. Oh and my favourite thing in the whole world which I feel every student should have, a wooden bookstand so I can read a book at a comfortable eye level on my desk without having to look down or touch it. I can't remember where I got it, maybe from Waterstones or similar. That being said, I know a lot of Gen Z students don't touch textbooks meaning I'm probably simply old fashioned and like collecting books. I bought a combined cork/white board on my wall also. All my important dates and assignments were put on that at the outset of my Access course and the motivation I obtained from looking at the list and crossing them off was immense. I also found that partitioning my time in the week was useful in maintaining a timetable- I can't remember details but it was similar to: 'right, it's 5 pm, it's study time'. And then I'd get into my office and sit there and work. There are also a wealth of resources available as a student. The trick is setting things up ahead of time so you can be resourceful and juggle about and try things and see what suits you but it needs to be sorted within the first 2-3 weeks I would say. Finding the best study areas on campus (if applicable), the best libraries. Finding shortcuts to the online library, setting up reading lists in your browser, finding the best browser to manage a project, scouring reading lists if needed, the best journals applicable to your field etc etc. A lot of this can be set up or organised before your first lecture even starts. I found that having the things that interest me academically/intellectually about the course closely to hand helps maintain a steady pace and rhythm for study. It was not uncommon for me to have say an anatomy book open at all times on my desk even when studying something unrelated. In those moments where I needed to hit pause, I would read some anatomy instead. Instead of a complete diversion like scrolling Instgram or playing video games, it became a distraction of another kind that kept my focus. If you're going into radiography, you're going to be performing a lot of imaging and so it's logical you will develop an interest in similar areas. Maybe buy a second hand book on cross sectional anatomy so that you get the intellectual reward of being able to recognise basic structures on CT scans (cross sectional imaging of any kind is extremely complex to interpret).

5.

I know a lot of people who work during study. My life and commitments are not the same as theirs but certainly there are people who do this. You have to be organised and dedicated but it is do-able. I guess having a job that isn't too mentally demanding would be useful. Much will depend on the layout and timetabling of your course.

6.

I've never felt out of place whatsoever and I genuinely mean that. I'm fairly socially awkward so if anyone should feel out of place it should be me but it's not something I have ever noticed. University is a very board cohort of people and so people just meld together and get on with it. Everyone brings something unique to the party and I think the nature of most of University sort of obliges people to mature very rapidly. If you're going into healthcare you will be shoehorned into a pretty serious workplace very early on in your placements and so as a mature student you have an automatic advantage as well. Be sure to leverage that.

7.

The only disadvantage I've encountered is that I never participated in any social aspect of University. Sure, meet up and drink coffee or tea in a cafe but I never did the out at night or weekend thing but your circumstances may be different. I met a whole host of different people in various introductory forums in the welcome week. Be sure to attend these and find mature/semi-mature folks you can meet up with between lectures etc.

8.

I became disillusioned with the commercial realities of my previous line of work. I didn't have the interest any longer, my passion for it had waned and it was starting to not love me back, either. There was once a time where the prospect of going to work on a Monday would get me to the edge of excitement and I'd almost have Christmas eve levels of sleep disturbance because of the anticipation and enjoyment I got from it. That went away and I was being loaded with more and more responsibility despite a complete lack of training meaning it began taking far more than I could give long term. I couldn't see it was going to change and I didn't know how I could even begin to approach the subject or trying to change things. I then had a change in circumstances which meant I could give it all up and pursue interest I had held since my childhood, so I said to myself, why not? Closely followed by, how do I start?