Has anyone taken A-levels or a degree as a mature student?

Ziggy

Ziggy

Ziggy

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Has anyone on here started A-levels or a degree in their 20s or later?

If so:

How did you get on to the course?
Where did you go and what did you think of it?
What did you think of the teaching standard?
How did you find the experience as a mature student?
How hard did you find the work?
Did it improve your career prospects / let you change career?
Did you enjoy it?

Add any extra info you think would be useful.

Thanks.
 
I'm doing a HND In Manufacturing Engineering. Now in my third year and doing my final project/exams this year. I have one more year to go to do the HND.

How did you get on to the course?

Via interview with the HE Manager several years after having completed NVQ 2 & 3 in mechanical engineering.

Where did you go and what did you think of it?

Central Sussex College, Crawley. Very good so far. Driving to Crawley 3 nights a week after work is a bit tiring, but it's manageable.

What did you think of the teaching standard?

Excellent. All lecturers have loads of subject-relevant experience as well as tons of knowledge. They run support for higher maths which is laid out so well that nearly anyone could follow it (we have a higher maths lecture from the HE Manager who is a PhD Eng. and lectures so fast it hurts trying to keep up. We then have another lecture immediately after to unpack it - the support lecture).

How did you find the experience as a mature student?

Brilliant. There are people there from ~19 to ~50, so I wasn't the odd one out.

How hard did you find the work?

Some of it very hard and takes a good bit of study, some of it not so bad. The workload is stupidly high though.

Did it improve your career prospects / let you change career?

It'd better. :p

Did you enjoy it?

Yes, very much so. I was getting bored to death with my job. Going to college has busted my mind wide open, and I want to learn more (i.e. do a degree).
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Have you considered the OU (Open University)? It can take a while to complete depending what you are doing but is well regarded.

I am just about to start S194 - Introducing Astronomy followed by a Certificate in Astronomy and Planetary Science made up of S282 Astronomy & S283 Planetary science and the search for life. Then might take it further, mainly doing it for the enjoyment and wanting to know more in this area.
 
Just started a degree in Computer Science at the age of 37. Got on the course via experience in the industry. While not the best University it was local which was pretty important as my wife wouldn't be too pleased with me staying in halls...

Teaching standard is mixed, some lecturers are brilliant, others, not so good. But at the end of the day the degree is more about your willingness to learn. So far the work has been relatively easy, but it is going over stuff I already know to one degree or another. Mostly I feel really old, only two other students above 30 on my course and the uni is filled with what seem to be kids!
 
I'm planning on starting some A-Level courses next year, aged 21/22.

If you want to learn with people of a similar age you could try and find an adult education centre near to you. My friend is doing this and he's found it a much nicer environment to learn in, with only about 8 students in the class.
I visited a local college to enquire about taking A levels recently and I was told most of the students were ~ 16 years old with 20+ pupils in a class. I'd hate that.
 
Is there a specific reason you have chosen a levels as your study of choice? Perhaps if you have an end game in mind there may be a better route to eliminate the kids as much as possible.
 
How did you get on to the course?
Spoke to the course director

Where did you go and what did you think of it?
Swansea metropolitan uni - ok facilities for what we needed to do.

What did you think of the teaching standard?
They taught the basics, you learn the rest, but the fact that you had freedom to do what you want for your modules as long as it meets the guidelines made me much more successful

How did you find the experience as a mature student?
fine, got on with everyone but I always get on with everyone

How hard did you find the work?
not very, my issue is keeping my interest in the work

Did it improve your career prospects / let you change career?
I'm now working for one of the top 10 digital agencies in london. so yeah, the basics they taught me and what I taught myself really helped. and it gave me the guts to try and apply for jobs here. I was a nervous wreck but it really is one of those "damned if you do REALLY REALLY damned if you don't! - my ex classmates didn't use their degrees, they now don't do much with themselves. so it's more important to get up off your butt and make your career, my lecturer said it's just some writting on a piece of paper, it's up to you to make a career for yourself.

Did you enjoy it?
was a great experience but I am glad to be out and making a career for myself.
 
How did you get on to the course?

Showed up on the first day that the course started. I had previously studied at the college so knew all the staff. Apart from that you had to have certain a-levels or equiv.

Where did you go and what did you think of it?

Local college, nice new building but apart from that was nothing special

What did you think of the teaching standard?

Some good some bad (some really bad) some just taught you irrelevent things then when you asked you help regarding the actual assignments you got told to find out yourself :?

How did you find the experience as a mature student?

Same as a previous poster there was a big range of ages but it was only a small group. We sort of split into two groups of friends.

How hard did you find the work?

The stuff i had no interest in was hard where-as the stuff i had previous experience in and the stuff i enjoyed was quite eay.

Did it improve your career prospects / let you change career?

Still on my 2nd year, hopefully it will but it will be difficult to improve on the pay of my last job straight away.

Did you enjoy it?

I am enjoying parts of it, but if i hadnt been made redundant i would never of gone to do the degree :rolleyes:

What is it your thinking of doing?
 
greywolf said:
Have you considered the OU (Open University)? It can take a while to complete depending what you are doing but is well regarded.

I am just about to start S194 - Introducing Astronomy followed by a Certificate in Astronomy and Planetary Science made up of S282 Astronomy & S283 Planetary science and the search for life. Then might take it further, mainly doing it for the enjoyment and wanting to know more in this area.
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Good choices :)
 
I've just begun a HCE with a view to going on to diploma/degree in the same subject. Luckily the course is paid for through my work.
 
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greywolf said:
Have you considered the OU (Open University)? It can take a while to complete depending what you are doing but is well regarded.

I am just about to start S194 - Introducing Astronomy followed by a Certificate in Astronomy and Planetary Science made up of S282 Astronomy & S283 Planetary science and the search for life. Then might take it further, mainly doing it for the enjoyment and wanting to know more in this area.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind doing something like that, can post a link with more information please?
 
Started uni when I was 21, had to do a foundation year due to not having any A levels. Now in my final year of a mechanical engineering degree. Loving it, one of the best choices I have made giving up my full time job and taking on the student life. Turns out there are quite allot of other people at uni around my age.

I found out about the degree from searching through university websites and applied through the ucas system.
 
Finished an IT degree at Kent Uni this summer and graduated just after my 46th birthday.

Thoroughly enjoyed the experience - most lecturers were pretty good, and I got along really well with the other students despite being twice the age of most of them. I found some of the programming a bit tricky, while other modules seemed fairly easy to me.

Currently looking for a job - getting a 2:1 isn't enough these days, and my previous work experience in telecoms doesn't seem to count for anything in the IT industry unfortunately.

Financially I'd probably have been better off not going to Uni and clinging on to my previous job, but I was sick of it, promotion prospects were nil and I'd always wanted to get a degree as no-one from my family has ever been to Uni before.
 
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