Joining University at the age of 23

Bengaboy

Bengaboy

Bengaboy

Soldato
Joined
1 Sep 2007
Posts
3,902
I am thinking of leaving the Navy and doing the minimum service (4 ish years) and going to Uni. I will be 23/24 by the time I leave.

I was wondering if anyone had any sort of experience, either through themselves or through a friend, of anyone who has joined Uni at a later date.

Also, would I get any backing from the government or any help to pay Uni fees, or because I have not joined in the normal timespan, am I not eligible?

Also - I only have 7 C Grade GCSEs. But through the Navy (and working at PC World before hand) I have got 2 Level 2 NVQ Apprenticeship qualifications. 1 in Retail and 1 in Business Administration. Would these go towards my UCAS points required to apply for a Uni course? I am also going to be doing a Business Studies A-Level on the upcoming deployment in September, so this will help.

Plus, am I mad wanting to go and do a Computer Game Programming degree....? :p

Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
Age isn't an issue and it really shouldn't matter.

I suggest you check that your "game programming degree" is reputable as there are many useless ones out there. A better choice would be to get a Computing Science/Software Engineering degree if you want to work as a game programmer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I imagine you'll find the 18/19 year old crowd an insufferable bunch of scrotes who you can't relate to without wanting to punch them in the face with some Important Life Lessons You Learned Whilst Working.
 
I start uni in september im 29, have a family etc, but I want a career change and a degree in social work is the only way to do it, so no age doesn't matter.
For the Uni to count your experience as opposed to a levels then generally you need to be over 25, so you might have to do an access course.
Student finance doesn't discriminate on grounds of age so you will get funding
 
not a problem at all and you will find that its about half and half between 18yr old college leavers and mid 20s - mid 30s students anyway
 
I went to uni at the age of 24 after working full time since the age of 18. I'd recommend it to anyone. It's as much about getting different experiences and meeting new people than it is about getting a degree. You'll probably find that there are a few people your age and older on your course, I certainly did.

With regard to fees, I would check but I'm pretty sure that you are classed as a mature students and will not have to pay fees. Although this was under the old system where it was max of around £3000 so now it may be different. Also, your entry requirements may be different as they don't look at points in the same way they do if you are coming straight from school (I didn't have any A-Levels, but practical experience).

I'd also be sure that you want to do a computer sciences degree. If you have an interest in business, you could try something like the degree I did, Business Information Systems, which mixes business and different aspects of IT.

Oh and go to Leeds if you do go! ;)
 
I know a few people who've gone as mature students and they've tended to find it a very rewarding experience, as a bit of a stereotype they've also usually got good marks because they haven't just gone straight from school so are there because they have a better idea of what they want to do and will work hard to get it. As with most things if you actually get involved and are interested then you'll usually find it to be worth doing, it's possible that you'll find some of the younger students to be annoying but that depends on your personality - there is also the consolation that the ones who definitely aren't there to study usually get weeded out after the first year or so.

As for computer games programming - where are you planning to go? I won't say outright it's a terrible idea but there are a number of courses offering it and many simply aren't worth doing instead of say a straight computer science course. You should probably look to what the course consists of, how it is regarded in the industry and what sort of employment rates it boasts - that's assuming you want to get into the computer games industry, if that's not the aim then fill your boots and do what you want.
 
I went at the age of 28, still there 16 years later (MEng, PhD, post Doc. and now staff) :).

If you've non-standard qualifications best bet is to call wherever you're interested in going and discuss it with them. I had a partially completed BTEC HNC back then and got in off the back of that to do Elec Eng at Notts Uni.
 
I'm starting this year at the age of 22. I managed to get onto a foundation degree course without any A levels and after two years I can study for a full degree and enter straight into the second year.

It is true that some Universities are more lenient with the entry requirements for mature students who have some experience. Just make sure you write an amazing personal statement.

I also think an Access to HE course would be ideal for you. It's only 1 year and most Universities now accept them. Or you could do what I've done and try and get straight onto a foundation degree if your chosen subject has one.
 
I went at 21 and it was fine. You'll have to take a few deep breaths at times (18 is a lot younger than I remembered) but if you want a degree don't let age stand in your way. A good mate of mine is just starting medicine now at 25. You might also find it a bit weird being surrounded by people who are there just because it's the 'done' thing, and they aren't interested in the degree. Coming to it a bit later, you'll be way more focused than 80% of people.
 
Age doesn't matter as people have said :P.

And hmm, yeah... what university exactly? 3 years ago now in my first year we had a little 48 hour game jam where you have to make a game in 48 hours.... all sponsored by microsoft and I think channel 4 back then. It involved several Universities and was a lot of fun xD. I mean fair do's we used XNA as it was microsoft hosting it so to speak but that's besides the point, what we could do in our first year was easily comparable to what people were doing in their 3rd year. Some also only learnt XNA mainly throughout their whole course when we spoke to them. Which is definitly not ideal.

So the content of the course is pretty key to be honest, also who you're being taught by is a strong point when choosing. There are literally only a handful of games programming courses out there that are the best to do, maybe I can even count them on my one hand, any other course you should probably avoid.

Edit: I should also say even if you've been to a computer games programming course and get a degree from it, you still need to of done more than that. Have lots of personal projects you can show off your ability with, also those projects help you learn a lot as it would be self taught. The best games programming courses teach you a little theory and point you the right direction and help you get round some difficult concepts, the rest is self taught. As stupid as that sounds at a University :P, it's something that cannot be spoon fed or read from a book. A very large portion of you skills while at Uni doing a CGP course should end up as self taught. One reason why people at my Uni get a placement at Lionhead after 2 years for their placement year for example. That was shameless advertising wasn't it? :<
 
Last edited:
Went to uni at the age of 36, after failing my exams badly back in 1989 as school. passed the first year easily, was in fact easier than gcse's.


Also do not do a games dev course. This is the course i chose and they suck badly (unless you manage to get into Abertay? (sp?)) If you want to go onto a games dev career choose a comp sci course instead it will give you a much better skill base.
 
Last edited:
I don't say this very often, but I think going to uni would not be the right thing for you.

The main thing to consider is cost vs reward. I think if you do games programming you'll not be successful - and you'll probably not get in with your qualifications. I think if you're going to be a student you should be looking at a business course, resulting in some kind of middle-management job.

My point is, with costs included, I don't think that'll pay better than staying in the navy and trying to work your way up or into a position you prefer.
 
Also went down the work for a few years before going to Uni route, best decision I've made - just don't stay on campus with the freshers. Although I was a bit horrified when the admissions guy called me a mature student at 21 :(.

I'm not sure how applicable this is but in Scotland certain bursaries/grants can only be applied for if you have a gap of less than x (I think it's 3) years between A-levels to Uni either way you would still get the same amount in support just have to pay back slightly more.

I wouldn't do computer games programming, I would do computer science or software engineering because it opens up loads of opportunities outside the actual scope of the degree.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom