Any older students going back to school here?

Hi, I'm 52 and starting my Master's degree. I think I'm probably nuts for doing that - but I'm doing it. Doing very well with it so far. I will probably be in debt forever though.

Are there any other older students like me here?

My goal is first of all getting my master's is a life's goal - and secondly, I really need some decent employment and hope this will do it.

Just curious.

I am currently completing my last semester for my Bachelor's, and am in the process of applying to grad schools. I am 41.

I have completed a BA & MA in phsychological counselling, and am currently on the home stretch of my Ph.D. specialising in holistic family and relationship counselling. I'm not saying I'm old but it was harsh in the ice age without this new thing called electricity

Serafim etal - way to go! I earned my BA when I was still in my 20's - so my hats off to you! Keep up the good work.

Rhiannonsmoon - awesome! W/o electricity? Wow - I usually mention the "dinosaur age" when I speak of my own age - LOL

Well - way to go!

I am 51 y/o and really would like to go to grad school but I can't go back until my son is self sufficient. Not really sure if I have the energy for three years of full time school.

Yoda, hmmm - well, only you will know for sure when you can do it. I have found energy is a funny thing - when you are faced with something you are passionate about, you can find a lot of energy you didn't know was there.

But see what happens - just don't close the door on it. Best of luck!

cocoa, I am an older student and have recently started back to school for my Master's. I have completed one quarter of the 11 quarter program. Only 10 more to go! I am enjoying it. Classes start up again next week. I hear you on the debt. I'll probably never be able to retire. But I am really glad I am doing this. What are you studying?

Sunrise,
Hello and congrats for your efforts! Awesome and way to go!

I am studying Psych - still in my required subjects so I started in Health & Wellness Psych. But I am considering switching schools and going with a program that Walden U has called Psychology of Cultures.

I am considering the switch because I have such a strong intercultural, foreign language, etc background. I also had the same type of additional emphasis/background when I earned my BA in Gen Psych in 1980.

So right now just doing main required courses - basic stuff - how about you? What are you studying? (and glad its going well for you)

Thanks for the understanding on the debt - I'm glad I'm not alone on that!

Yay! People going back to school.
This is a dream of mine too. I did go back to get my bachelor's degree but I was still pretty young (23). Then I had a more mild form of depression in my later 20's and frittered away a lot of time in jobs I did not like (mainly customer service). Turning 30 meant a bout with severe depression and several breakdowns. But I am *hoping* I will come out of it all a wiser person and be able to return to studying/school once again.
Good for all of you!

Elana

Elana05 - Just believe in yourself - and you can come out a wiser person - even maybe go back to school or if not do something else with your life - its up to you.

Depression is a hard battle but there are coping mechanisms and ways to deal with it you can learn - I have learned some myself and they work - when I work them.

Sometimes I think when we've had depression, we are "told" we can't get better - and I think sometimes that's why we don't!

Anyway, just thoughts - but you can do it. Believe in yourself - depression can be conquered - you might still feel it - but I believe it can be dealt with.

Hugs! And best of luck to you!

cocoa, my program is to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Right now most of my classes are nursing basics, like pharmacology, nursing skills, etc. Plus, I have clinicals. The first one last quarter was in a nursing home. Later in my program I will start on my specialty.

I am interested in Health Psychology. Is Walden an online university? I have a friend doing a degree through them, I believe. She said they are expensive! Is your current school online or in person? When you finish the degree will you become a therapist? Or is your degree more academic-oriented rather than practice-oriented?

That's something I hadn't thought of, cocoa. There are some people who will tell that to a depressed person, aren't there? I think it's really important not to kill hope for the patient, but there also has to be realism too. Some people do struggle with depression their entire lives, but some people are depressed, then do get over it. I was clinically depressed for a couple of years, but I'm fine now, so it does not last forever for everyone! Elana, I hope you will come out of it in time. In the meanwhile, hang in there, keep going, and do what you can. I hope you can return to your studies one day too. Do you know what you would like to study?

I started my masters when I was 57 but didn't like the field I was in and decided I'd rather spend the money on other pursuits so dropped out after a couple semesters.

When I went back to school (for my bachelors) I was so full of hope and energy. I was driven. For the first time in my life I was doing what I wanted to do and I was filled with confidence. Right after I earned my degree I just petered out. It was like I ran out of steam in terms of doing the things that I enjoyed. I ran out of confidence and worked behind the counter in retail for about seven years. It's not that I put this type of position down at all. These positions do have their place in the work world. I just hated it. Often even the thought of going to work made me feel nauseous.
When I went back to school originally it was to study biology.
However (because of the program that I was in, which was quite internship-related, I graduated without several basic sciences: chemistry and physics). Sigh. Then a few years ago when I tried to go back again to take chemistry it was during a major depressive episode. So I had to withdraw from the course. Now I would like to go back. But I also now know how dense the subject is. I now know that there is a reason many call it the central science. Wow. Every part has a million parts. Yet I find interest in all of them...
I love the elements. For instance, did I know that oxygen turned into a stunning pale-blue liquid around -180 deg C? No. Or that mercury dripped from the walls of caves in Almaden, Spain - and formed pools in which nothing could sink due to the metal's density? It fills me with wonder.
But to be honest: Right now I don't exactly know where I am going.
I know I want to keep setting time aside to study. In order to (at least in part) know what I'm doing when I get back to class. I love art as well as science and have usually considered this to be a failure. (One should have a clear path. Things should be black or white, not both).
But I have been thinking a lot... Maybe these two loves can be joined in the area of art preservation, or artifact conservation? I do like the notion that humans have such a strong desire to care for the stuff of our past, to not see it crumble or fade under the natural hand of time. It's like we want to harness the laws of nature and rebel against her natural process. So we preserve things without oxygen, or piece together fibers to hide an item's damaged past. So maybe that's it. All I know is that there has to be more to me than asking someone, "can I help you?" or "would you like that gift wrapped?" I have done enough of it. I just need to replace "how can I help you?" with "how can I help me?"

I'm 29 and still working on my B.A. You are not alone!

I am 39, went back a year and a half ago to work on bachelor's in Medical Lab Science. It's been interesting going back at this age. Different perspective but the atmosphere has changed too, students' perspective and outlook in helping one another and respect for professors, lacking in both areas.

It has been an adjustment in more ways than one, besides recent medical changes and trying to manage it all. This will pass and to take it all one moment at a time...

Well, hey, its not for everybody. We all must sort out what's good for us and what's not. You made a decision for yourself and hope it has worked out.

I started taking undergrad classes again in Fall of 2008, one a quarter for 7 quarters until my pre-reqs were complete. I actually had a really good experience. I was old as the hills compared to most of the students in the classes, but in general they were pretty nice. I saw a lot of students helping each other, especially in the lab classes. In some of the lecture classes we had group projects and everyone in my groups seemed to contribute to the projects and pull their weight, all with a decent attitude.

One difference now is that many students take their laptops to class and use them to take notes. I find this very distracting. The clacking on the keyboards is quite noisy and I find the screens of students immediately ahead of me or to the side are visually distracting. It is within the professors' authority to say "no laptops" but no one did that, so I guess I can't blame the students for using the laptops since the professors allow it. One professor made the laptop students sit in a separate area of class so they wouldn't distract others. I really liked that. And sometimes if an especially noisy laptop sat next to me, I would move. Some students don't use their laptops for taking notes, but for surfing the web, reading email, etc. I wonder why they bother attending class?

I didn't find the students particularly disrespectful to professors. On the whole, my professors were pretty decent, though, so there was really no reason not to respect them. I did have one professor who was an abysmal lecturer and I did not have much respect for him. It seems like instructors should trouble themselves to learn basic teaching skills. He was so bad I dropped that class after a few sessions.

Another change from when I got my undergrad degree was that the classes were much larger. That is due I'm sure to my taking the pre-reqs at a different sort of institution than I attended way back when. But it was kind of a shock to have 200-500 students in each class! And the students pay a pretty penny for that education too. It seems like you get less these days for your dollar, but I guess that's true in many areas, not just education.

Cocoa, I'm not a student anymore, but returned to school at 45 to complete undergrad classes so I could start grad school. FWIW, I had several professors tell me they liked having "mature" students in their classes because those students were serious about learning.

Good luck to you. KEep us posted on your progress.

I agree but I know many times it is for attendance or in case they might miss something. I see this a lot too and more times than not when on the laptops or PDAs. However, some of the lectures do leave something to be desired at times. I still learn material better by writing it out instead of typing for some reason; there is a better connection and helps me to remember easier.

I have really enjoyed being back in school: the learning, the challenges, and interacting with most of the students and the profs. It has been great. Some struggles here and there but overall I am glad for having gone back.