Mature student worries

Mrshaworth2b

Hello

I'm due to start a degree in September and having been out of education for seven years (not a long long time I know) I'm worried about whether I'm doing the right thing. I have two children/husband/house/part time job and after trying to do my personal statement for UCAS I've had my first easy reminder of how hard this is going to be with family life getting in the way.

So I'm on here to ask if there are any fellow mature students who can share their successes with me to help me feel less overwhelmed. I know I want to do this degree and I know it'll help me get to where I want to go but I'm worried I'll struggle to balance everything I guess.

Thanks in advance.

emsywoo123

Mrshaworth2b wrote: »

Hello

I'm due to start a degree in September and having been out of education for seven years (not a long long time I know) I'm worried about whether I'm doing the right thing. I have two children/husband/house/part time job and after trying to do my personal statement for UCAS I've had my first easy reminder of how hard this is going to be with family life getting in the way.

So I'm on here to ask if there are any fellow mature students who can share their successes with me to help me feel less overwhelmed. I know I want to do this degree and I know it'll help me get to where I want to go but I'm worried I'll struggle to balance everything I guess.

Thanks in advance.

Hello!

I tried a couple of times to go back to education, particularly OU, but it didn't work for me, so I went back to a "brick" uni last September, I am just finishing the first year.

I am a single mum of 2, work supposedly part time but always do overtime so nearer to full! I work in education, which possibly made it a little easier, as my lecturer is a colleague

Most of my class are in a similar boat, some are 18/19, but a fair few mature as well. I do not regret it at all (although perhaps grumble a lot at essay submission time :rotfl: )

I remember this time last year waiting for the degree to start, feeling quite overwhelmed by it all, but once you get in the swing of it, you sort of forget what it is like before you were an undergrad!

kingfisherblue

When I was 18, I didn't feel ready to go to university, but knew that I wanted to at some time in the future. At age 35, I decided that the time was right. I was married with three children. I wasn't working, but one of my children is disabled so I was (and still am) caring for him. I attended part time, and had to volunteer in a school. It was a foundation degree in Supporting Learning and Teaching.

Halfway through the first year, my husband left us and started a new family elsewhere. I was convinced that I couldn't carry on with my degree. My friends and family persuaded me to continue, and my fellow students were very supportive. I graduated just 1.7% below a distinction at the end of my three year course.

I was offered the chance to 'top up' to an Honours degree, part time over two years. Out of two places offered, I chose Inclusive Education. Once again I graduated, this time 6% short of a First.

During the five years, I became a single mum. My divorce was very messy and took four and a half years. I continued to care for my son, with support from family and friends who looked after the kids while I was at uni. My ex didn't help, except for a few hours at the weekend. I had to chase him for CSA payments (CSA eventually took him to court).

Yes, it was hard, but it was definitely worth it. I was the first in my family to go to uni, and my mum is so proud. I couldn't have managed without her support, both practical and emotional. The day I graduated, I was accompanied by Mum and my daughter (only two tickets allowed, and my boys are much younger than my daughter).

It's scary returning to education, but I would say to go forward and enjoy it. It won't be easy, but you get such a sense of satisfaction, knowing that you have worked hard to achieve your degree.

Good luck and enjoy your course.

KFB x

missbiggles1

Mrshaworth2b wrote: »

Hello

I'm due to start a degree in September and having been out of education for seven years (not a long long time I know) I'm worried about whether I'm doing the right thing. I have two children/husband/house/part time job and after trying to do my personal statement for UCAS I've had my first easy reminder of how hard this is going to be with family life getting in the way.

So I'm on here to ask if there are any fellow mature students who can share their successes with me to help me feel less overwhelmed. I know I want to do this degree and I know it'll help me get to where I want to go but I'm worried I'll struggle to balance everything I guess.

Thanks in advance.

Given the student funding available to you (and other financial savings, like council tax), mightn't it be possible for you to give up your part time job?

TheMagician

I suppose you wouldn't be able to call me a mature student as I'm in my late 20s however I definitely know what you're going through.
I'm a single parent to one boy so I suppose that's pretty close to two parents with two boys.

I've been studying part time for 2.5yrs now, I'll finish Feb 2017. Throughout I've been single and working full time.
I'm not going to lie - it won't be easy. But my view was - there's no other way for me to achieve what I want to achieve in life without doing this and it's only 3yrs.

I think the first thing you have to do is get everyone on board. I only had my son but what I did was talk to him a lot about how important education is and how it will change our future. Travel we'll be able to do, house we'll be able to buy. Depends on their age but hopefully they're big enough to see the bigger picture and support you. Cause support you will need. It's no good someone moaning at you when you have to put in a 12hr study day. Get your husband to do as much as possible when it's getting closer to exams, after all it will benefit him too in the end.

Be very very organised and cook loads and freeze for days you're too busy studying to cook.

And when you're not studying, spend all the time in the world with them so they still feel like they have their mum and wife and understand that there's highs and lows in studying patterns - it won't always be this crazy.

Lastly, what I did, was encourage my son financially. For every exam I pass first time he gets £10 if he was understanding and helpful. He is absolutely ecstatic every time.

I think this can be used to your advantage. Your kids especially can learn the importance of education, how it works and how it benefits your future - delayed gratification is something all kids need to learn about. This can also bring you your other half closer if he becomes your rock.

So be positive, be strong and prepared - you can definitely do it and make this a positive result for all.

Good luck x

emsywoo123

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Given the student funding available to you (and other financial savings, like council tax), mightn't it be possible for you to give up your part time job?

I do not get any of that personally; it depends on the number of hours the degree is counted at.

For example, I am studying at full time rate (Honours degree over 3 years) but the number of hours in a classroom per week are not enough to qualify for any assistance.

Mrshaworth2b

emsywoo123 wrote: »

I do not get any of that personally; it depends on the number of hours the degree is counted at.

For example, I am studying at full time rate (Honours degree over 3 years) but the number of hours in a classroom per week are not enough to qualify for any assistance.

How many hours do you do? Just wondering because my course is a couple of nights a week

emsywoo123

Mrshaworth2b wrote: »

How many hours do you do? Just wondering because my course is a couple of nights a week

I think it is supposed to be 8 hours a week? It is one day anyway.

krlyr

I was 'only' 24 when I went back to education, but in a full time job so having to do evening classes. 4 years on, I'm still going (just 2 years to go, woohoo!). I don't have kids, but two dogs and a boyfriend to take care of

It's a juggle at times, things are hectic at work at the moment and sometimes the last thing I want to do is lose my evenings to study, but I'm currently doing a distance learning type course (we have live online sessions, and then it's up to me to book my exam when I feel ready and do the revision myself - we have books and a forum as well as online practice papers etc.) which I find much more flexible than when I was going to a physical college (that was the first 3 years of my study)

We've made tweaks to our life to accomodate - for example, my boss lets me do 8-4 on my class days (and I carry this on when classes finish to have those two days set aside for revision) so I'm home a bit earlier and lose a bit less of my evening, without losing any pay. We plan quick dinners on those days - so I batch cook chilli, bolognese, etc. and we'll have that with rice (also frozen in mealsize portions) or pasta, so it takes 10 minutes to cook. My OH has now started a gym class on one of those nights - it gets him out of the house, so he's not distracting me, and means he doesn't feel like he's being ignored while I'm trying to concentrate.

We make the most of half terms and breaks between modules. My classes often fall on a Tuesday which means we miss out on the two-for-one cinema tickets, for example, so come half-term we take the opportunity to go to the cinema and I'll chill out. I make sure holidays are holidays too - we recently went away, I took my books just in case but I didn't fret that I didn't get around to looking at them, I was there to chill and overdoing it won't help anyway.

As an adult, you get better at recognising that you do need to study, but it does help to have encouragement too - my OH makes sure I don't start to slack when an exam is coming up, and calms me down if I'm stressing on the night before an exam (I always panic that I'm not ready!)

I'm not saying it's easy, but if you remind yourself that there is an end date in sight (break it down if you need to - I know I've only got a month until another module is out of the way, 9 months until this year is done, and after that I'll be in my final year..6 years over and done with, at last!) and that it's all for good reason, it helps!

missbiggles1

emsywoo123 wrote: »

I do not get any of that personally; it depends on the number of hours the degree is counted at.

For example, I am studying at full time rate (Honours degree over 3 years) but the number of hours in a classroom per week are not enough to qualify for any assistance.

Classroom hours aren't what's relevant for degree level study.

Are you still with the OU?

missbiggles1

Mrshaworth2b wrote: »

How many hours do you do? Just wondering because my course is a couple of nights a week

So not full time then?