When we think of university, we tend to think of students who have just left school, moving out of home for the first time and taking their first big steps into the world of independent living. We don’t often consider it an option for ourselves. But the truth is, the majority of universities do accept mature students (that’s any student commencing studies over the age of 21) and many older students do thrive in their studies.
When it comes down to it, there’s no age that’s deemed “too old” to get started with studies and there are all sorts of perks that can come hand in hand with a university education. You may want to study a subject purely for the love of it. You may want to head back to higher education to gain further qualifications and boost your career prospects. The good news is that options are more flexible than ever, so if this is something you’re considering, chances are you can achieve it! Here are a few things to take into consideration when planning a return to education!
Mode of Study
There are so many different modes of study out there. Universities are offering more and more flexible learning options to make their institutions more inclusive and to provide an education to a wider range of people. So, consider your mode of study. If you have relatively few responsibilities, you can do pretty much whatever you please. You could take up full-time study if you like. If you have work to consider, or a family to work around, but have a reliable support system, you may be able to take up part-time study. This will generally make the course take twice as long, but will free up much more of your time, allowing you to work and raise your family. If you have high commitments, take on a lot of responsibility at work, or take on the bulk of responsibility with your childcare, you may want to study online. This allows you to fit your studies in around the rest of your day to day life.
Choosing Where to Study
Again, this aspect of studying can be highly dependent on your levels of outside commitments. If you have little commitment, you could move away to a university of your choice, looking into student accommodation. If you have commitments at home, you may need to opt for a university that you can easily travel or commute to – unless you’re doing an online course, in which case you can study with whatever institution you like.
Looking Into Entry Requirements
Once you’ve decided what you want to do and where you want to do it, it’s time to start looking into entry requirements, so you know what you need to do to get into the university of your choice.
Sure, you might not have deemed higher education an option for you until now. But really, the doors are open to everyone!
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