"Mature" Mature Students (past, present & future)

kelloggs36

dankosheemo wrote: »

:hello: Hi Kelloggs, well done for getting a first and getting to where you want to be! :T I'm due to start my PGCE in September after have a few years out of Uni - how did you find juggling the work with homelife?

I must admit, the Student Finance group have been brilliant and well worth speaking to if anyone's thinking of heading back to Uni this year. I've been able to get get my fees paid, a maintenance loan and a supplementary grant - without that additional support I don't think I could go back and do it all! I may still need a P/T job of an evening and juggle my Uni work as there are still bills and a house to pay for! I may be able to get access to bursaries once I've started but we shall see.

Nevertheless, I'm excited and looking forward to doing something I've been wanting to do for a while now.

Best of luck to everyone who's studying and going back to Uni!

Juggling home life with uni wasn't too bad - not sure about PGCE as I have heard it is quite tough as it is so intense - hence I did the 3 year Primary Education degree! However, it is term-led so there are the breaks to look forward to! Just make sure you don't leave assignments to the last minute - I used to write an essay over a week and then have a couple of days left to revise it (I used to leave it for a couple of days and then re-read it). I also got my hubby to proof-read for me - it is amazing how many errors you miss yourself! The other key thing was to make sure you are critical of everything you read - so you do have to read lots! I used to read a bit, then start the essay, stop and read a bit more, go back and edit what I had written taking into account things which were now relevant. Ask hubby to take children out for a play in the park to allow you to concentrate!

Holidays were great though - a chance to relax and re-charge!

Good luck!

kelloggs36

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Don't rely on this. I very much found myself in this situation and can't remember anyone discussing their subject!

I agree - the most common topic was either what happened in the club the previous night, or where they were going that night! Hence not much to join in about - only in seminars where you were supposed to come up with something to say at the end did people actually talk about the subject!

dankosheemo

kelloggs36 wrote: »

Juggling home life with uni wasn't too bad - not sure about PGCE as I have heard it is quite tough as it is so intense - hence I did the 3 year Primary Education degree! However, it is term-led so there are the breaks to look forward to! Just make sure you don't leave assignments to the last minute - I used to write an essay over a week and then have a couple of days left to revise it (I used to leave it for a couple of days and then re-read it). I also got my hubby to proof-read for me - it is amazing how many errors you miss yourself! The other key thing was to make sure you are critical of everything you read - so you do have to read lots! I used to read a bit, then start the essay, stop and read a bit more, go back and edit what I had written taking into account things which were now relevant. Ask hubby to take children out for a play in the park to allow you to concentrate!

Holidays were great though - a chance to relax and re-charge!

Good luck!

Oo thanks for the tips Kelloggs! :A I've started to buy some books bit by bit so I don't have to stump up for it all in September :money: MSE! (I was never very good at going to the library when I was at Uni :rotfl:). I'm finishing my F/T job two weeks before I start the course so I'm hoping to get myself sorted with some reading. Are the support groups good on the teaching courses? Are you able to get additional support? I always like reassurance that I'm on the right tracks!

BorrowingMoon

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Don't rely on this. I very much found myself in this situation and can't remember anyone discussing their subject!

If that fails, I'll attempt to blend in a bit after a few drinks at The Student Union.

Oldernotwiser

BorrowingMoon wrote: »

If that fails, I'll attempt to blend in a bit after a few drinks at The Student Union.

Lots of universities have Mature Students Societies; you may get more friendship through this if your fellow students are all very young. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw who else is on your course. I don't think you'll find people unfriendly, just not always that interested in their studies.

HockeyDuo8083

I am going back to Uni this August to do my PGDE after a break of nearly 5 years.
I am looking forward to it this time as it was all very daunting when I started straight from school. More time was spent partying and playing sport than actual work. Although I got through my course and passed I feel I will be more prepped this time and I WANT to do the work as opposed to just doing it.

I also think that this time around I will be more focused plus I will be doing a 1 hour commute there and back so I won't be doing all the social stuff. Got a mortgage and bills to pay and OH will be supporting me for the year so I feel I owe it to him to knuckle down! I'm not going to uni to do the student experience I am going for the qualification alone!

I really think it's a bonus to be going to uni in a 'mature' capacity. I wish I had known what I know now when i did my first degree.

dankosheemo

HockeyDuo8083 wrote: »

I am going back to Uni this August to do my PGDE after a break of nearly 5 years.
I am looking forward to it this time as it was all very daunting when I started straight from school. More time was spent partying and playing sport than actual work. Although I got through my course and passed I feel I will be more prepped this time and I WANT to do the work as opposed to just doing it.

I also think that this time around I will be more focused plus I will be doing a 1 hour commute there and back so I won't be doing all the social stuff. Got a mortgage and bills to pay and OH will be supporting me for the year so I feel I owe it to him to knuckle down! I'm not going to uni to do the student experience I am going for the qualification alone!

I really think it's a bonus to be going to uni in a 'mature' capacity. I wish I had known what I know now when i did my first degree.

Snap Hockey! Best of luck with your studies!

Sarah_Joanne

Really good reading about everyone else's experiences.

i'm 26 next month and leaving my job in September to get married then come back to start uni (having missed freshers' week as I'll be on my honeymoon - not too worried about that though!)

I'm really excited about going back, but as I already have debts I am worried about the financial side of it!

I'm hoping there will be a few students on my course of a similar age, as although I'm not going for the social side of it (as in getting drunk every night and blowing your student loan in the first 3 weekends) it woul dbe nice to meet some new friends with common interests.

My struggle now is to decide where to go. I live in Leeds and have applied to Leeds Met, Leeds Trinity and Huddersfield. Hudds is the best uni for the course but would involve lots more travel time, and travel costs so am unsure what to do.

So many things to think about!!

soco1

I'm coming to the end of 4yrs FT at uni. I'm 41 and have been doing a BSc in Forensic Science.
I was lucky enough to be able to go part time with my employer so I could keep up the mortgage and afford to live but it has been hard as most terms I've had to me in uni every day M-F.

Although I've made loads of friends on my course I haven't participated in any other aspect on uni life as a) the getting !!!!ed up at any opportunity doesn't really appeal any more and b) my work, sleep and assignment committments took up most of the time I wasn't at uni.
Now I'm getting very familiar with 5a.m as I try and get my dissertation written - I only got home from work at 11.30pm!

There's loads of us oldies at uni these days and the younger students don't bat an eyelid. I'm even going to someones 21st birthday party in a couple of weeks - been a while since I did that!

Agent_C

I'm doing a Master's degree at the age of 35, after graduating from my first degree 14 years ago.

I don't know whether it's because I'm on a postgradauate course, and age differences seem less important as you approach your mid-20s, but I haven't felt differently-treated by the people on my course, who are all great. Although when I went to register, and gave my date of birth, the very-young-looking and wide-eyed girl who checked me in said she really admired me for studying 'at my age'!!! :rolleyes:

I have found that having years of work experience behind me has really helped in my course, and I feel so different to the 21-year-old me whose main focus was socialising. I think better, I learn better, and I can relate theory to experience so much better. And I work harder! I enjoy going for a drink with my fellow coursemates, but I haven't really participated in much else - I had my own life before starting Uni, and so don't feel the need to get too involved.

One disadvantage I have found is in applying for funding to continue my study. I don't know if it's because I'm at a red-brick University, but the funding scheme seems very much geared to younger people with a lot of recent experience of academia. No hint of an equal opportunities policy here - our department even put out a memo stating that they would give priority for funding to 'early-career' individuals - a euphemism for 'young' that would fall foul of age discrimination laws were it to appear in a job advertisement!

But don't let that put you off if you're not in it to enter an academic career. I can almost physically feel my mind expanding! Go for it!