Age is no barrier to getting a degree: you can study in your 30s, 40s and beyond
…in their 20s
If you've taken a few years out to work or travel after school before going to university, it might be a shock to find that it involves a very different style of study.
You might have just one lecture a day rather than the more intensive attention teachers offered during A-levels, so developing the discipline to manage your own workload and get back into the swing of the academic process is a necessary first step.
Many young people now live at home for longer, points out Professor Stephen Palmer, director of the coaching psychology unit at City University and author of Coping with Stress at University, A Survival Guide. So even for students in their mid-20s, the first couple of weeks as a fresher can mean feelings of homesickness.
Being slightly older can make this group of students feel "they've moved beyond typical fresher activities", says Helen Bowman, student support officer at Manchester Metropolitan University, so making an effort to integrate through clubs and activities is vital.
On the plus side, however, mature students in their 20s are usually more focused on their course because it has been a definite decision to go to university rather than something they've just fallen into, says Margaret Holbrough, careers consultant at Graduate Prospects.
"And if you've been in a job, you may have a cushion of money behind you, so you're less likely to have to work a significant number of hours a week," she says.
…as part of a career change, aged 30-50, with kids
This can be the most stressful time to embark on doing a degree, as students will most likely be juggling a host of other responsibilities.
"The organisational issues can be hard to negotiate," says Holbrough.
You'll need the backing of your whole family, suggests Palmer, "because while a degree is hard work for you, it's also likely to involve more work for everyone else."
The guilt of not having enough time to do everything well can get in the way of enjoying your time studying, he explains, so people need to think in advance about how they will make time for their children and partner.
Planning for how finances are likely to be affected is also a necessity. Having to adapt to a much lower family income is the reality for virtually every mature student.
When it comes to the social life that going to university is famed for, mature students who may well be working at the same time as looking after children and managing a home can easily feel very out of things, Holbrough notes. Making contact with the mature students' societies that many universities have can be helpful, as they can provide a peer group of people who share the same outlook, pressures and motivations.
However, Holbrough adds,"it's a really exciting and challenging thing to do at this time of life. Usually people of this age are more disciplined, and if they're making a career change they're incredibly motivated."
As an older person studying, you're likely to give it your all, as you're more aware that time is precious, says Palmer.
… out of interest, aged 50+
Studying for the pure pleasure of pursuing an interest is a luxury, but is perhaps the greatest benefit of starting a degree as an older person.
"Financially, you may well be more sound, and if you're doing it for fun, you don't have to get the best grades, so there's an enormous sense of freedom," says Palmer.
Getting to grips with an unfamiliar institution can be confusing for older students, and using technology can also cause anxiety.
Bowman recommends introduction to technology courses run by local FE colleges as essential preparation. And Holbrough points out that the study skills sessions offered by most universities are a lifeline.
The confidence that comes with age will carry many older students through some of the difficulties, the most obvious of which is the generation gap between themselves and first years who are still teenagers.
Nicola Alcock, 40, is a single parent about to start the third year of her BSc in forensic and applied biology at Worcester University
I did A-levels, but then had my children and did clerical jobs until my husband and I separated a few years ago. Being on my own with the children gave me the final push – and the confidence – to start building my own career.As a single parent, having so many other responsibilities is the biggest pressure. I do my degree full-time and work part-time; then there is running a household and making time for my children, which is hugely important.
Being a single parent means that although there are financial strains, there is also help in terms of extra grants and loans. And knowing that all this study has the very concrete aim of getting a good career in forensic science makes me very focused.
It was a relief realising that there are plenty of other mature students in their 30s and 40s – doing a foundation year before starting my BSc was a good way to ease into university life and get comfortable with being in an academic context again. And I think I'm more organised than I might have been if I'd gone to university much younger; you don't have the distractions of the social whirl to contend with either.
Low point: Managing the pressure of deadlines, and coping with the emotional and practical fallout of getting divorced.
High point: I'm proud of myself that I've managed to keep going through the most difficult times.Starting to get good marks, when initially I thought I'd be glad to just scrape through.'m reallyproud of myself that I've managed to keep going through the most difficult personal times.