How old is too old to go to college ?

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I went to college when I was 42. I just had my graduation ceremony Saturday past and at the ripe old age of 43 I'm just about to start a four year course in psychology at Uni. TBH I can't wait. Best thing I've ever done :D
 
I am considering going back to do a Masters at the decrepit age of 39. I am not so concerned with whether I fit in tbh but I am not sure whether I would still be able to learn and absorb information at that intensity any more. I am also more worried about starting a new career after the course on the same level as much younger people and whether my age would block me from getting that vital first job after graduating.
 
freebooter said:
I am considering going back to do a Masters at the decrepit age of 39. I am not so concerned with whether I fit in tbh but I am not sure whether I would still be able to learn and absorb information at that intensity any more. I am also more worried about starting a new career after the course on the same level as much younger people and whether my age would block me from getting that vital first job after graduating.
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Not necessarily, your age and experience may prove to be useful depending on the job. They may see you as more likely to stick around, and less of a gamble as opposed to a fresh-faced 20-something graduate.
 
I just started college myself and I'm the second oldest in my class at 21. The oldest been a 30-something bloke.

He's not the only person around that age I've seen wandering around as a student either.
 
A few 30-40 somethings on my course and they weren't out of place. Quite the opposite actually because they always went to lectures and were a great source of notes!
 
asim18 said:
What? I just finished a BTEC in IT and now I'll be going to Greenwich Uni to do the BSc Hons IT + Networking course.

Most people managed to get places in uni including a few for computer science.

Can't believe how anyone can fail a BTEC, I spent 80% of my time at college either high or drunk and I got decent grades at the end.
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I didnt fail.. I passed with tripple merits.

I did the B-tec when it was released at my college, When i finished i was told my year were the ginny pie class...., the following year got 2x the ucas points.

College sucks balls
 
nydryl said:
A few 30-40 somethings on my course and they weren't out of place. Quite the opposite actually because they always went to lectures and were a great source of notes!
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Good point made actually regarding attendance and general attitude, Less partying involved with mature students too, They buckle down and get on with it, Rather than mess around.
 
Google is the best school/college/uni for the money imo for a lot of subjects. ;) I wonder if it's possible to just take the tests? Maybe do a day one to one to go over the syllabus and iron out any random things that might be in the test and then just do it? Is that possible?
 
Mint_Sauce said:
Google is the best school/college/uni for the money imo for a lot of subjects. ;) I wonder if it's possible to just take the tests? Maybe do a day one to one to go over the syllabus and iron out any random things that might be in the test and then just do it? Is that possible?
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If you're talking about A levels (I'm wondering what else?) then yeah it's possible for ones that don't include coursework - Maths for example.

I'm doing it, and it's slow going but with so many online resources it's difficult to get truly stuck.
 
Alpherah said:
Recently finished a ND level 3 myself (22 at start, 23 now) and it was quite .. err.. uncomfortable at times to say the least. Rumours soon spread (Pedobear.jpg :rolleyes:)
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err that's quite off putting, 22 is old these days?!

i finished my HNC at 30, youngest on the course was 18, oldest was 48 and everyone respected each other totally
 
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Mint_Sauce said:
Google is the best school/college/uni for the money imo for a lot of subjects. ;) I wonder if it's possible to just take the tests? Maybe do a day one to one to go over the syllabus and iron out any random things that might be in the test and then just do it? Is that possible?
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MIT publish a lot of courses online as do the open university

if personal development rather than CV enhancement is the goal then you don't need the bit of paper and can have free access to courses that MIT students pay tens of thousands of $$$s to take/be examined in. I guess you could probably obtain some past papers and sit your own exam at home if you liked...
 
also in answer to the OP I guess if you mean by colleges the places that 16 - 18yr olds go to then yeah it might be unusual but I'm sure that plenty have done so before. I guess evening classes are frequently offered at that level and access coruses so you might want to look into them too.

As far as university is concerned it would be unusual to not find mature students on just about any course offered - I had a 30 something in my tutor group when I was at uni and a friend had a guy in his 60s on his course - plenty of people will take a career break and do a masters or perhaps decide that they'd missed out in their youth and will go to uni for the first time when they're in their 30s or 40s...
 
Phoenixdancer said:
I didnt fail.. I passed with tripple merits.

I did the B-tec when it was released at my college, When i finished i was told my year were the ginny pie class...., the following year got 2x the ucas points.

College sucks balls
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I got a double merit :p

I see what you mean though. We were the first year to do DiDA, and it was completely pointless.

When I went for my college interview the guy saw my GCSE results and was like "What the **** is dida? a lot of people have put this down this year" and crossed it off the list.
 
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