When is it too late to go to college?

Lounge
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I want to go back to school for physics but think I may be too old. I am 31.

What do you think?

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I am 33 and think I am old for going back to university but when I was in university there were some old people, one was 40 or 50.

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That’s comforting to hear.

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I went back to school at 35 and earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees… it’s never too late to learn.

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I don’t think whether or not you go back to school should be a matter of age. It should be a matter of whether not you can handle it and whether or not its worth it to you. Either worth it just for the sake of learning or for actually using the knowledge.

Why does it matter how old you are in numbers? What difference does that make?

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Thanks! This makes me feel much better. What did you study?

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I studied food and nutrition sciences…it included organic and biochemistry, microbiology, a lot of metabolism classes…it was actually very fun, and I got to be everybody’s “aunty”!

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I guess you’re right. It shouldn’t matter.

It’s about time to go back to school.

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I love science. I have always enjoyed studying physics. I’m fascinated with how the universe works.

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I first went to college when I was 23 in 1984. I attended for a year then didn’t go back until 1991 when I was 30 I attended community college for 5 years. I stopped again and didn’t start classes again until 2010 when I was 50 and I started taking online classes. I just got my diploma when I was 61 this year.

The average age of a community college student is 28 years old.
The average age of a university student is 24 years old.

No one at college cares that you’re 30. You’ll see many older students there.

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Congrats on getting your degree!!

I got my A.S. and A.A. from my local community college back in 2018.

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And congratulations for those. It takes a lot of work.

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Any age- if you’ve got good independent living skills , and you’re not psychologically screwed up.

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That didn’t stop me.

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You’re a lot less psychologically screwed up than me . It being a different thing than a dx of schizophrenia,schizoaffective, bipolar 1 etc . I rate you as having a lot more common sense here than most,including me.

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Thanks @firemonkey.

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I went back to school age 25 after my second psychosis. Graduates with a BSc age 33.

It’s never too late.

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I’d say, after 11pm it is a bit late indeed.

Joking aside, the brain retains some capacity to absorb new info all throughout your life, but it won’t be as easy at 40 as it was at 20.

You should go for what you like, though. Pleasure makes learning or working much easier.

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You can study and learn all your life. When I was in college there were older students. I looked up to them for being go getters, continuing to learn and bettering their lives

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My sister finished a degree in accounting last year and she’s 35. She spent her earlier years addicted to drugs. My mom never finished college cause children. She and my dad divorced the second time when I was 18. She was in her forties. By her mid fifties she had a masters degree. It’s never to late.

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