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Older Students entering first year

 
Old 06-24-2011 at 03:46 PM   #1
aw07
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Older Students entering first year
What is your opinion on first year students who are much older? like 20 +? I do not mind because I personally feel age doesn't matter when it comes to educations but I have also heard some ignorant remarks on older first year students! Please share
Old 06-24-2011 at 03:49 PM   #2
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I find a lot of them look like they're struggling and have a harder time than other students. Probably due to also having a job/family/home to look over.

I also think it's harder to learn when you're older.
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Old 06-24-2011 at 04:14 PM   #3
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I think you should just ignore all those ignorant people who says negative and degrading remarks. Most likely those people are young and haven't had a real job and so they don't have any idea of the current job market.

I personally admire older people who go to university because you need motivation to go to university when your older than 20 because most likely you have to juggle other things like family and a job.

So don't think that everyone sees your badly.

Good luck with everything!

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Old 06-24-2011 at 04:51 PM   #4
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it's not harder to learn when you're older... as in, your capacity doesn't really change. what is different is that you sometimes need to update your base knowledge and for sure your priorities and worldview aren't the same.

as far as people saying mean things, it's considered a sign of ignorance and immaturity.

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Old 06-24-2011 at 05:08 PM   #5
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There is nothing wrong with older students entering university!!! Every age should have an opportunity to learn and experience university or college. Some people may have never had the chance to go when they were younger, so kudos to them going now - it's never too late!

I will be 22 when I start in September, and prior to going here, I've gone to school with individuals in there 30's and 40's!!! And quite frankly, they happened to be some of the top students in my class because they never got caught up in the partying and were always focused and determined and yes, some of them did have a family to provide for, but I think that gave them more incentive to do well.

So, high five to anyone 20+ that decides to go!

Old 06-24-2011 at 05:24 PM   #6
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I went back when I was 29 so can shed some light from the other side.

For starters, walking into my first university class was one of the hardest things I have every had to do in my life. Not only had I been out of school for 10 years, everyone was 10 years younger than me. Being in my late 20's, I was too old to pass for a normal student and too young to fit in with the students in their 40's. Being an older student is very lonely since 99% of the school wants nothing to do with you unless they need someone to buy them beer. I met one person in first year who I actually new by name and have never seen her since.

School is also much harder for an mature student. Its not harder to learn based on intelligence, its harder to learn based on life. Though I don't have a family to worry about like some mature students, I do work 40 hours a week at a job that is an hour drive each way and I take 4 classes a term. That is a lot to deal with and it is very exhausting both physically and mentally. Believe me it sucks to have 3 hours of classes, an hour drive to work, and hour back only to have to spend 8 hours on a paper even though I have to be back at school in 10 hours and then work after that. Even with that load I have a 10 cumulative average after 2 years in social sciences which from what I've been told is good.

Its not harder to learn, its harder to find the time to learn and going at it alone makes it much harder. There are no study groups for me, getting papers off friends or test questions from friends that are TA's and my favorite of doing online test/quizzes with 10 other students in the same room. Not that I'm saying all students do this stuff but I can hear people when they talk.

I can understand that some mature students are worse than others. I am here because I decided for myself that I wanted more in life than my current job and I got into university with my high school marks so I am not technically a mature student, I am just older. Many mature students are there now because they lost their jobs and are almost forced too. Sitting in class can be particularly stressful cause its not easy. Believe me, I wasn't exactly the most respectful person growing up but some kids I see at school take it to a whole new level. I hate to say it cause it makes me feel old but most of the kids I see I just along for the ride and don't realize their opportunity. People should be forced to work a "real" job for a year before going to university. If people truly understood the alternative, they might think twice about coming to class and talking the whole time, watching movies, facebook or just generally being a disruption. Now imagine if you have seen real life and you have to sit there and watch the privileged few treat it like a joke. It is very frustrating.

I can't account for everything mature students are responsible for but if they make ignorant remarks I'm sure it was justified or no where near as bad as some of the stuff I hear from regular students mouths. Depending on your program, I know some people, including me, that get annoyed by the amount some older students talk or answer questions in class. Part of that is just the need for interaction, even if it is with the prof, the other part is because we can usually relate to the material better based on experience. For example, its hard not to talk a lot in say in a first year labor studies class when they are talking about something you do for living.

In many cases I think mature students are actually better students cause their is a lot more at stake and they want it more. I understand that every one is under pressure but there is no going back to live with my parents when I'm done school. This has to work or I risk losing everything. That's not just financially but emotionally as well. Believe me there are more people waiting for me to fail than there are encouraging me.

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Old 06-24-2011 at 05:57 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by darkstar View Post
Being an older student is very lonely since 99% of the school wants nothing to do with you unless they need someone to buy them beer. I met one person in first year who I actually new by name and have never seen her since.
That sucks a lot.. I'm nervous about that, even though I'll probably just be 5-4 years older than most. But I found even in the previous school I attended, being 3-4 years older than the others made it somewhat hard too. They were all still so "clicky" from high school and wanted nothing more to do with someone older. The only time most bothered talking to me was when it came time to study for something or do a project, and they needed my help...

Quote:
Though I don't have a family to worry about like some mature students, I do work 40 hours a week at a job that is an hour drive each way and I take 4 classes a term. That is a lot to deal with and it is very exhausting both physically and mentally. Believe me it sucks to have 3 hours of classes, an hour drive to work, and hour back only to have to spend 8 hours on a paper even though I have to be back at school in 10 hours and then work after that. Even with that load I have a 10 cumulative average after 2 years in social sciences which from what I've been told is good.
Good for you being able to keep a 10 average! I couldn't imagine juggling both a heavy job and school work... My stress level would probably sky rocket.


Quote:
Sitting in class can be particularly stressful cause its not easy. Believe me, I wasn't exactly the most respectful person growing up but some kids I see at school take it to a whole new level. I hate to say it cause it makes me feel old but most of the kids I see I just along for the ride and don't realize their opportunity. People should be forced to work a "real" job for a year before going to university. If people truly understood the alternative, they might think twice about coming to class and talking the whole time, watching movies, facebook or just generally being a disruption. Now imagine if you have seen real life and you have to sit there and watch the privileged few treat it like a joke. It is very frustrating.
I totally agree with you here. I think most students (though I'm sure not all) coming straight from high school to university at age 17 don't usually have that set goal in mind and don't realize the opportunity that this diverse learning can give them. I know if I had gone to university right out of high school I would not have been prepared in the sense that I didn't truly know what I wanted and how hard I wanted to work for something. But that's just me. If more people had a taste of the "real world" they would probably be more inclined to try harder in school and realize their potential, because working a dead end job sucks and drains the life out of you. It's so much more rewarding to have a career where you know you're doing something you have a keen interest in.

As for the disruptive ones in class... well, let's just say I don't really look forward to having to sit near any. lol
Old 06-24-2011 at 05:58 PM   #8
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We have two older students in our Comp sci group of 20 odd people. It's great having them both in, their knowledge in some things is much better than ours which is a benefit for us since we get to learn from them too.
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Old 06-24-2011 at 08:17 PM   #9
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I think it takes courage to go to university as a mature student. I'm only 23, but I'm starting a new college in the fall and I'm nervous because most students will be 17 or 18 years old. I can't imagine how difficult it is for older students.
It's important to keep in mind that, when most mature students graduated highschool, it probably wasn't the norm to go to university. So it makes sense that we're seeing more and more mature students now, as more jobs are demanding higher education. Regardless, I have tons of respect for mature students. Most are probably juggling a house/family/full time job, which makes their transition back to school even more difficult.
I have heard people in my first year comment on mature students, and it just shows their immaturity, ignorance and general lack of knowledge of how the world works. While it can be hard to deal with those kinds of people, the best thing to do is just shrug them off. A few years down the road they will look back and realize how incredibly stupid and rude they were.

Reagrdless of what some ignorant students think, unviersity is NOT only for people straight out of highschool. Everyone has the right to education and age has nothing to do with it.
Old 06-24-2011
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Old 06-24-2011 at 10:11 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aw07 View Post
What is your opinion on first year students who are much older? like 20 +? I do not mind because I personally feel age doesn't matter when it comes to educations but I have also heard some ignorant remarks on older first year students! Please share
I'll be going into my second year at Mac in September and I'll be turning 21 a few weeks into school. When I first started last year I was a bit worried with how things would be since I was typically 2 years older than most first years but it turned out not to be an issue at all. For one, I look younger than I am so when I made friends and would tell them I was turning 20 a lot of them were surprised and said they never would have guessed. It is also becoming much more common for people to start university a few years out of high school because of one reason or another.

I did notice that some first years seemed quite immature to me and were still in a high school state of mind, but this is not true for everyone and depends on the person of course. I think another poster mentioned this too, that a lot of kids (again, not true for all) coming straight from high school don't really know what they want out of university, while older students are typically more driven and have had to work a lot harder to get here.

I personally never heard anyone making any ignorant remarks about older students, but I know it does happen sometimes (usually towards those that are noticeably older, say 30+). In my opinion I think it's great that someone is that driven to go to uni at that age

Last edited by dreamer21 : 06-24-2011 at 10:23 PM.

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Old 06-24-2011 at 10:21 PM   #11
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It is no big deal; however, people will say things behind your back. A couple of my immature friends made some snide remarks about a ~30-50 year old in our Calc II class. Haters gonna hate
Old 06-24-2011 at 11:55 PM   #12
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Had a 70 year old guy attending Math 1LT3 lectures. Nobody sat next to him... Nice of him for wanting to learn more calculus.

Last edited by Watoko : 06-24-2011 at 11:57 PM.

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Old 06-24-2011 at 11:56 PM   #13
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True Haters gonna hate.

I knew two people who were older. One of them I became pretty good friends with even though he was 10 years older than me. At first I thought we could have nothing in common. But we found things, I learned from his perspective and he learned from mine.

In engineering, you actually find alot of older students.

I remember this one guy, must be in his 30s who I always saw hanging out with 3 18/19 years all year and they looked like they always got along.
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Old 06-25-2011 at 12:42 AM   #14
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This past fall I started my second degree at the age of 24. I found it only took a few weeks to get back into the full swing of things. However, I was only out of school for just over a year after I completed my first degree. I realized that I wanted something a little different as my passions changed. So I decided to purse another degree while I work on contract.

I agree with a lot of the comments made in this thread about the maturity level and attitude of the incoming 1st year students. A majority have the same mind set I did when I began several years ago. Its amazing the way your views change over a quick 4 years.

Having said that, I found I was able to get along with the 1st years quite well. Most of them were shocked that I was 24 when they found out and figured me to be 19/20 at the most. I do however get that a lot in different situations, where people think im 3-4 years younger then I really am. Not complaining about this at all I was able to make a few very good friends and the rest could be thought of being more of class acquaintances.

Overall, I think that mature students are at an advantage since they know what is at stake and take the studies more seriously. The extra life experience doesn't hurt either. Finally, I feel that I was able to interact/communicate with the profs and TAs with a lot more comfort compared to the younger classmates as I had a lot more experience when dealing with people both in an academic and business setting.

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