Anybody go back to college mid 20s? NECRO

Compnewbie01

Senior member
Aug 8, 2005
603
4
81
I will be starting college again real soon and wanted to hear some of the experiences of those that went back to school in their mid to late twenties.

I am 26 and will be pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. My first two years will be at a local community college and then I hope to transfer to a university for upper division.

Part of what I am curious about is how likely am I to meet people my own age? I am currently taking a prerequisite math class and I am by far the oldest person. I know every city/college will differ but is it common to find older people in classes such as calculus, physics, or beyond? Any other bits of information that I may find interesting?
 
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TallBill

Lifer
Apr 29, 2001
46,017
62
91
I got my AS in Science when i was 27. Was easy as hell. I really didn't meet anyone, and had more in common with my professors. The whole community college + transfer is the way to go though.

Getting my Bachelor's in Finance at 31 now.. also easy as hell.
 

Cattlegod

Diamond Member
May 22, 2001
8,687
1
0
there will be a few but not a lot - one of my best friends is finishing his EE degree and he is 33.
 

Leyawiin

Diamond Member
Nov 11, 2008
3,204
52
91
26 is nothing. Most people around 20ish will probably not even notice you're a bit older than them. I went to Fresno State when I was in my late 20s/early 30s and most of my friends were 5-10 years younger. I was invited to their parties regularly. Just relax and enjoy the time.
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,225
136
I started my first college degree at 26 years of age, my second at 38. In both instances, I tended to be one of the older students in my classes, although I wasn't the oldest by any means in either case.

There are advantages to not being a child in college....one of which is you've probably already figured out how to manage time (hopefully). And hopefully you also won't be "intimidated" by the instructors/profs. One trick I used quite effectively during my two college stints was making a point to visit each prof/instructor within the first two weeks in his/her office during open office hours to ask a "stupid" question about something innocuous from the class. While there, I'd try to interact on something of a personal level with him/her, like asking about their kids/pets/etc., if they had a pic of them on their desk, or what they read from examples I'd see on their bookshelves, etc. Really paid off in a few classes, like when I had to take two semesters of Spanish during my second degree.

I found it advantageous to be something more than just a name and a face in the sea of classroom faces. But that was something the "kids" rarely if ever did, until they were sinking with their grades and beyond help. Saved my bacon, if you can pardon the pun, in Spanish.
 
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Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
My tip: Please don't be "that guy" that always makes a point of speaking up in class and orating about things you've done in industry that relate to the topic at hand. Everyone else will hate you.
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,024
868
126
My gfs mother got her masters when she was 55,this was around 20 years ago. Never too late.
 

dbk

Lifer
Apr 23, 2004
17,685
10
81
Good luck to you mang..dont worry about the age thing since youre only 26. There will be plenty of people there that started a bit late and dont forget graduate students (if ur school has graduate programs)
 

Ksyder

Golden Member
Feb 14, 2006
1,829
1
81
I found it advantageous to be something more than just a name and a face in the sea of classroom faces. But that was something the "kids" rarely if ever did, until they were sinking with their grades and beyond help.

Agreed... I had the experience of being a poor student when I was young... always skipping class, not doing the homework.

I returned in my later 20's to finish up and became the guy that always went to class, sat in the front, asked questions, and found out that the instructors practically bent over backwards to give you the information but many people just didn't want it or didn't care.

I found if you always went to class and made an effort, the professor would tend to be more helpful towards you, giving specific information about what to study, things like that. Or maybe even give you special consideration if something came up in terms of a problem that interfered with the class.
 

Ksyder

Golden Member
Feb 14, 2006
1,829
1
81
My tip: Please don't be "that guy" that always makes a point of speaking up in class and orating about things you've done in industry that relate to the topic at hand. Everyone else will hate you.

That is true. However, whether or not everyone hated you in a class means jack shit since you will likely never see any of those people again.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
49,288
5,838
136
I got my AS in Science when i was 27. Was easy as hell. I really didn't meet anyone, and had more in common with my professors. The whole community college + transfer is the way to go though.

Getting my Bachelor's in Finance at 31 now.. also easy as heck.

Yup, same boat here. Decided to go in a new direction education-wise. I do see older people in class, and I did when I was younger, especially in night class. School is incredibly easier as an adult. I wish I had had this much maturity & focus when I was younger. It's a breeze!
 

JManInPhoenix

Golden Member
Sep 25, 2013
1,500
1
81
I got my AAS at 36 and BS at 41. All classes were at night and pretty much 30 to 50 year olds in all of them with a handful of younger kids. It is very doable at night but you may have a lot of roadblocks from time to time (between getting my AAS & BS, I went through a divorce, bankruptcy & job loss - it set back my timetable but in the end I got back to it and finished it).
 

Strk

Lifer
Nov 23, 2003
10,197
4
76
It depends on the classes. I'm 31 and doing the same thing. In your basic gen eds (psych, English etc), you're going to be the "old guy" in the room. As you move up, it tends to be a mix depending on the type of class, but you'll start running into older people.
 

Udgnim

Diamond Member
Apr 16, 2008
3,669
114
106
got a bachelor's around 22

went to community college later in life

don't see myself ever pursuing a different bachelor's or some higher level degree

open to taking community college classes again
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,562
1,741
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I finished my degree at 35.

Try going to college after working a night as a midnight security officer.

I'd work 12am-8
Drive 1 hours to school.
Drive back to my house which was 1.5 hours away

I'm lucky I didn't fall asleep at the wheel.
 

SketchMaster

Diamond Member
Feb 23, 2005
3,100
149
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When I was going around your age I did feel like the old fart in the room in my first class, but then I realized no one cared. Another thing, at 26 there will always be someone just as old or older than you in a community college class. Just don't be that guy who talks about "back in the day" or all the jobs you've had and most of the people in the class will be easy to get along with. Gen-Eds are where you will likely see most of the younger kids, once you move into more advanced classes you will either find more people in your age or who have more maturity.

The older you get, the easier college is. After working a full time job for a few years you realize college really is just practice for the real world, so going from the real world to college is actually a fun vacation; it will be a challenge, but nothing like you will see in the workplace. The skills you've built up will make everything very manageable. The ironic part is, the older you get the harder it is to go back to college.

If I could offer one bit of advice that I'd beg you to listen to, I'd say once you're in college you can not ever stop until you graduate. Trust me, one semester off is all it takes to lose traction.
 
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child of wonder

Diamond Member
Aug 31, 2006
8,307
176
106
I went back to school when I was 24 to get an Associate's degree. Being that I barely looked 21, it wasn't a big deal. There were some guys in their 40's in the classes, too.

Going back to school later in life is pretty much normal now that no one bats an eye at it.
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
71,327
30,866
136
At first you may loathe your profs for being egotistical jackasses. They will offer approaches to problems that no one in the real world ever uses nor has time for. Keep in mind, that this is exactly why you are going back.
 

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
Older returning students have a huge advantage over traditional students in everything but social issues which most don't care about anyways. Everyone learns differently so, take the time to research how the profs. teach in the important classes before signing up. Scheduling is only important in relation to other responsibilities and how you learn. Pay attention to your circadian rhythms. For instance, I know I'm not as alert and focused between 2 and 5 pm. I returned to the University for my first degree in my thirties.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
I went back to college around 28-29 for a Comp Sci degree, since my engineering, biology and chemistry degree background was irrelevant to my new career path.

There were some older people than me in many classes.

On the women side of things, it was excellent. By 1999-2000, lots of even great looking chicks were doing the Comp Sci/related things. Got numbers just offered to me to 'study together one night'.

If I could I'd be a part-time college student always.
 

BarkingGhostar

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2009
8,409
1,617
136
I was considered by UF as a student of non-traditional age. They made me to go a seminar during the first week of my first semester at the university. This was a period after I had my associates. I think I was 26 when I took the seminar.

It really depends, I think, on what college/university. I was surprised to find other people in their twenties in undergraduate and early graduate paths. Jeez, and this was something like +20 years ago!
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
4,949
4,075
136
I'm thinking about going back to start my PhD at 25-26. I'm a 24 year old part time MSEE student / full time working EE now and I really need to focus on either research/school or work .. and research/school is winning to me right now, though it'd be hard to take the pay cut from $80k a year to $20-30, especially since I'd want to do it in expensive California.

The awkward thing would be asking somebody at work here in Boston if they could write a good recommendation letter for me for a bunch of schools in California about 10 months before I plan on leaving..
 
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