by Billy the Ex-Bethelite 27 Replies latest members private
your sense of humour will carry you through. If you ever think of taking up standup think of the material you'd have.
Keep perservering you are there for you so stuff the kids and their stupid attitudes. It will work out. I started my Uni course in my 40s it takes time to adjust. I would also feedback your experience to the university concerned they obviously have no idea.
I went back to school at 31 and still take classes from time to time. It will be different when classes start although you will notice two things:
1 Most of your fellow students who are "normal" college age are immature dolts. Not their fault, they are still in the process of growing up.
2 Your professors will love you, as you will be the one (maybe the only one) in the class who comes prepared and asks intelligent questions (wacth the look on the prof's face when the gets asked for the 2405849058225th time if this is going to be on the test).
All of you telling your experiences of going back after 35, . Thanks. I may go back in a year or two myself, and that would put me on the other side of 35 :)
Tammy
Greetings, dear Billy, and peace to you!
I have to agree with dear Juli, first, and dear Anne B. (you have a PM, m'dear!), next - peace to you both! I went back to school (university) at age 40 and law school at 44. I know all college campuses are different but my experience is that the traditional recruiters are geared to help the "traditional" student, so you might want to try and find some non-traditional folk to help you. As dear Anne B. stated, the campus website might be helpful (although I have found that some college websites are... well, so onerous, if not chock so FULL of stuff, that one really has NO idea where to even begin).
Most schools have a non-traditional/returning student type programs, however, and even if you don't want to take advantage of that, it might help to speak with a counsel associated with those programs. They might be able to guide you others who you may feel more comfortable with. But I would encourage you NOT to be discouraged and/or give up! My later-in-life "school" days were WONDERFUL and I miss them, terribly (although, I do NOT miss reading all those legal cases! ).
But, in 8 years of upper level schooling, I have to say that I did not have ONE instructor who did not compliment/encourage me or say to me something along the lines of, "I am SO glad you are in my class. It is so REFRESHING to have someone who remembers the... " 80s, 70s, 60s... whathaveyou. A whole lot of instructors really don't like dealing with some of the younger set who, today, often bring a whole new meaning to "airhead." All those "'we're the bright minds of the new millenium" that you see on TV? Doesn't necessarily exist on a real campus. At least, not on a less than ivy league campus (which wasn't within my budget... or intellect). Truthfully, most don't do the assignments, don't show up to class... and/or don't have a clue. Many are there because Mommy and Daddy said they'd better be or they're out on their duffs.
But I would do it all over again, in a heartbeat. If I could afford it, I would quit work and go enroll in an LLM program today! I totally understand why some never really leave the academic environment but instead either pursue additional/higher degrees or become instructors themselves. It is a different world... one I loved and perhaps you will, too.
So, don't let a few folks throw a monkey wrench in what you're trying to do. You stand to benefit from the experience, if not the education, and so should let nothing... even idjits like these... stand in your way.
Again, peace to you!
A [educated, but for my own purposes and nothing more] slave of Christ,
SA
I previously worked in transfer and non-traditional admissions at a highly competitive, top 25 private liberal arts college, plus I was a transfer student myself, and I also organize one of the largest annual transfer fairs in the U.S., so maybe I can give you some input. (By the way, regarding some of the comments here: Ouch! I promise, we higher ed people are not that evil. :))
First, this might seem like a silly question, but are you positive you were at the right open house? Most colleges and universities hold separate open houses or information sessions for traditional students, transfers, and non-traditional students. If you were getting looked at strangely and didn't see any other non-traditional applicants wandering around, it's possible you were at the wrong event. It happens, and most colleges will still try to accommodate you at the open house you do attend, but it might explain why they were a bit confused by your presence. Check to see with their office about events specially catered to non-traditional students.
That could also explain why the table for non-traditional students was poorly staffed. They may have set it up as a "just-in-case" table and stuck a student worker there to staff it. (We used to do that in case we ran into similar situations.) I can almost guarantee you that they didn't tell you about all of the services available for non-traditional students, so you might want to go onto their website or call your admissions counselor to learn more before you assume nothing else is offered. If you don't know who your personal admissions counselor is, check their admissions website for a special section for non-traditional and transfer students, or view their "Meet the Staff" page (if applicable) to locate yours.
Colleges that offer non-traditional lounges are usually ones that either do not offer non-traditional housing or offer only a very limited amount. That is an inescapable reality that you'll just need to accept now -- you may not get on-campus housing. And if you do get it, you may be one of a very small number of non-traditional students on campus. At colleges with relatively small non-traditional student bodies, most don't want to live on campus because it can be very awkward for them. At the college where I worked, about 10% of students were non-traditional, and of those, only about 20% chose to live on campus. They had one floor of one rather isolated dorm dedicated to them, and there was usually a wait-list involved. So if on-campus housing is essential for you, you'll really want to consider the percentage of non-traditionals living on campus, what the housing options are like, and what type of social expectations you'll have. (Related note: When you said you didn't want to take another tour from a freshman...another thing to accept now is that most students will indeed be 22 and under. If that's going to bother you and you're not going to want to hear about teenage concerns or wait for them to catch up on certain things in class, that's probably yet another reason to consider an institution with a greater non-traditional presence.)
Finally, there is one big difference I've noticed between traditional and non-traditional students: Traditionals approach open houses and other admissions interactions like they're being interviewed, while non-traditionals feel like they're interviewing the college. Traditionals ask questions and have a general attitude about them that's basically, "What can I do to impress you?"; non-traditionals can have a more demanding presence, as in, "What can your institution do for me?" There's no right or wrong way, of course, but I think that the more blunt, at times even harsh approach that some non-traditional students take can be momentarily jarring for admissions reps, because it's not what they're used to experiencing 99% of the time. They're not judging you badly for it; they're just going to have to take a minute to adjust their approach. When you described your first interactions, that came to mind for me as a possible contributor to your experience. Admissions reps pretty much expect students to come up to them, introduce themselves, say which program they're interested in, etc. So if they were giving you odd looks, it was probably because they were waiting for you to extend your hand and say, "Hi! My name is Billy, and I'm planning to apply as a non-traditional student in the ______ program for the Fall 2011 semester." That's kinda expected of everyone, not just non-traditional students, so you might be assuming you were getting the cold shoulder due to your age when, in reality, it was probably more of a presentation thing. :/
If anyone has any questions about the process, wants to know why certain things are done certain ways, what types of non-traditional services to look for, etc., please let me know. :) I'm so happy to see so many people who've gone on for higher education!
Wow, thanks for ALL the input! I knew I could count on help and encouragement here.
Actually, I'm over 40... but I'm well preserved. I've since talked to a professor who explained that university is going to be bigger, more complex, and challenging, but as soon as they get my application and transcripts, I'll get more practical assistance. And my fellow students assured me that although I'm not a kid, I fit in fine.
Palimpsest, That was very insightful. Thanks for explaining the other side and what I can do in the future. It was the right event, I just needed to be straightforward in my approach and I probably would have gotten better results. I think things went well with the Honors reps, because I was more complete with my introduction and intent.
...okay, now I'm off to class not... and then homework...
Maybe they were intimidated because they knew you weren't one of the silly recent high school grads that just came there to party and that you might might actually know something...
Snoozy
Ooh this thread is just perfect for me, I went to a uni open week last month and really loved attending the lectures. So I am convinced that I'm going to go back to school now. I have A-levels from 20 years ago (I'm in the UK), back when I hadn't made up my mind about getting baptised and so on (D'OHH), but I will need to do a more relevant one for the course I want to do, which will be some combination of English-based subjects. So hopefully I can start that this autumn, then get into a uni for October 2012. I have procrastinated for about 3 or 4 years now, stupidly, but what can you do about the way the mind works, I guess I wasn't ready for big change yet. Or maybe it was disassociating in December that finally set me free to plan for the future. But everyone's comments here are super helpful and so is your newer thread Billy. I will be 39 when I start uni if it all goes to plan, and I know it will be tough and I will get some stares from the kids, but they will soon realise I am probably less mature than them and definitely less worldly-wise in a whole host of things. I will be majorly interested in your experiences Billy, please keep us updated as you progress onwards. And good luck man, I really do believe that we can rise up from the ashes of the past and make new lives for ourselves. We have had shit kicked in our faces by people on the ministry and by the org all our lives, there is nothing that can put us off now! =)
Bookmarked, and your new one too. Do you have any older threads about this subject, maybe about your initial thoughts on returning to education? Would love to read them.
[EDIT: just saw your links in your new thread, to your Why I'm a loser and Old dude... threads, going to check them now.]
Cheers and all the best
Millions
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'Millions Now Living Will Never Get An Education'
