uni later in life

[rom]

hello

im 28 and just wondering if anyone has gone to uni at this age after working since they left school? (not done a bit of studying or exams in this time!) its just something i have been thinking about as my little brother has just started uni and i feel like i am stuck in a rut and my job is taking me nowhere. i rent a flat and have a small amount of debt that would still need paid blah blah blah. anyway, i was just wondering if anyone had been in this position and had any advice/words of wisdom etc!!

thanks xxx

[meltoadhall]

well i turn 40 in 3 days and i am 6 months away from qualifying as a nurse after 3 years at uni. with family and kids it has been hard work but well worth it - go for it

[dot.hawkes]

I went to university as a mature student full time in 1997 and graduated in 2001 , It was tough but i am glad i did it, didn;t make the most of it though, make sure you do, i was in my late 40s when i went and i was able to bring my life skills to it, enjoy the chance.

[saxy_jag]

I went at 36 and I loved it. It was blooming hard work and if I'd realised what I what I was letting myself in for, I'd never have done it. Having said that, though, it was the best three years of my life.

I wouldn't recommend it without any prior study though (I had some vocational qualifications and an OU course under my belt). In fact, I doubt you'd be accepted anywhere but the Open University without it. Your best bet would be to have a look at prospectus at your local college and see if they run any kind of Access course, usually run under the auspices of a university in any case.

Other than that, there's the Open University. They run courses from introductory level right up to doctoral degrees and they're well worth a look. The advantage is that you can study whilst you hold down a job - they're very geared up to this.

[taliesin238]

Hi there im 30 and im coming up to my last year at uni!! I studying history and was working as an auxillary nurse for ten years before having a complete career change!! For me i always thought that i would go to uni because i was due to go and do my nursing training!! Due to certain issues i decided not to go along with it and do something completely different instead!! It was scary, but sssooooo exciting!! I really did feel like the world was my oyster when i made the change!!

I would most certainly go for it, hey we are only on this earth once, we only get one shot at this life thing!! Look into it first and weight up everything so you know what is what!! Im lucky because i moved back into my parent to live whilst being in uni!! It was a tough decission because i left home at 17. Definetaly worth it finance wise.

You take care and let us know what you have decided!! Do you have any idea what you would like to do in uni??

[rom]

thanks so much for your answers guys !! its given me loads to think about ! not sure what i even want to study but i am going to take saxy_jags advice and look around for some access courses locally

well done all you guys for doing it though, its given me loads of inspiration!! x

[cruddysnake]

Access courses are fab they prepare you on how to present and research your assignments to uni standards which is great if youve been out of education and they support you through the ucas application process. Presently doing an access course fulltime, whilst working fulltime,with three kids under 10,2 dogs ,three goldfish and not to forget the hubby. Really hard going at times but with good time management it can be done. Good luck and go for it!

[boojp]

Good luck with your course, boojpxx