This series is just a reflection of my college experiences from a mature student perspective.
College is rapidly approaching and after an unavoidable year off from finishing my degree I am heading back to the class room to finish my degree. Originally I took up blogging as a way to reflect on the difficulties of college from a mature student perspective I never got around to doing that for the first three years of my journalism degree. Hopefully for my final year it will be different as the year off has been both a blessing and a disappointment.
Being a mature student can suck because you are old so it is difficult to fit in, the same fears as the younger students except, you know, they are not as old. It is hard to get across just wanting to get a degree, to not be stuck doing menial jobs or things that don’t interest me. There comes a point where you are expected to have your life together and here I am trying to do that. This of course is my own hangup and it is something I have to overcome and get on with it. On the other side of being a mature student is knowing that I know why I am doing my chosen course and how to approach each task that is required to do well.
After a year off I will be going into a class that has had three years together so that will be a challenge in itself, and to top it off I am not the most outgoing person, I will try to be but it is hard. I know it would seem strange to study journalism, it is more I enjoy asking questions and having conversations about particular subjects for me, the dynamics are different. Another challenge I am facing is the college has also had an upgrade (going from a technological college to a university) and they are now using a different online system, so I have to learn that as I don’t want to have unnecessary speed bumps.
Currently working what final projects I want to work on going into my final year as there are a number of projects we have to do. Colleges have a lot of online material available for writing essays, how to research online which are great resources that a lot of students (from my experience) don’t avail of. In this regard it is better to be a mature student, you’ve done all the stuff that they want to do now and you can focus on what you need to get done.
Categories: Thoughts on my life
Robert Geoghegan. 
My friends have found that their experience and knowledge are respected by younger students. Professors tend to appreciate mature students even more bi hope it works out this way for you.
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Thank you for you kind words. Hopefully it will be 🙂
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I took twelve years off before I finished my degree. The advantage was that I knew what I was doing by then, and why I was there. I wasn’t just going through the motions and doing what was expected of me, the way some of the younger students were.
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Thank you for your words of encouragement. I do feel I am prepared this time.
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