If you’re 31 and thinking of going to college then you might be wondering whether or not 31 is too old to start college.
This post will show you a number of reasons why 31 is not too old to start college and some things that you might want to consider first.
So, is 31 too old to start college? There have been people that have started college much older than 31, there will likely be students around your age at the college and it will provide you with a number of new opportunities. This means that 31 is not too old to start college.
There are actually a number of reasons that 31 is not too old to start college but there are some things that you should think about first.
It will provide you with more opportunities
The main reason that 31 is not too old to start college is that it will provide you with a number of new opportunities.
At the moment, there will likely be a number of jobs that you do not qualify for since you do not have a degree. By getting a degree you should be able to qualify for these jobs and the extra experience that you might have will help in getting them.
In addition, over a 40-year working life bachelors degree holders are expected to make 66% more than those without a bachelors degree. Seeing as you still have a reasonably long working life ahead of you it is likely that quality of life will improve after getting the degree.
However, something to consider is that different degrees provide different opportunities. Some degrees, such as those in the STEM field, will tend to give good job prospects, while, degrees in certain fields will not.
Before choosing your degree it would be worthwhile for you to research the job prospects that it comes with. You can use this website to see how well each of the different majors pay.
You’ll have a stronger sense of purpose
One way that you might actually have an advantage, over the younger students, is that you will have a stronger reason for going to college.
Often, students will go straight into college without thinking about why they are doing it. This can cause them not to take college seriously, to struggle to motivate themselves to study and not to enjoy college academically. Since you will likely know exactly why you want to go to college it will help you to study more effectively and to enjoy college a lot more.
In addition to that, something that students also often do is change their majors multiple times throughout college. While it is ok to do this when you realize that a major is not for you, it can cause some problems. Changing majors can mean that classes that you have already taken will not count towards your degree and you might have to take the rest of your classes in a less than optimal way.
Since you will likely have a better idea of why you are going to college it should be easier for you to choose your major and to stick with it. This could help you to graduate sooner and to take your classes in the most optimal sequence.
You’ll be able to appreciate the value of the classes
Another way in which you might actually have an advantage over the other students is that you will be able to appreciate the value of the classes more.
Often, students will struggle in classes when they do not see why the classes are important. Since you will have had more real-world experience and a stronger reason for going to college it will be likely that you will be able to see the value more easily. This should help you to find it easier to pay attention in class and to study outside of class.
There will likely be other students around your age
Something to consider is that it is not uncommon for people to start college at around your age. Many people enter the workforce straight out of high school and then decide that they don’t like the field that they are in after having worked in it for a number of years. It is likely that there will be some people, like that, at the college that you go to.
In 2018, a projected 12.3 million college and university students will be under age 25 and 7.6 million students will be 25 years old and over.
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372
It is also not uncommon for people to work for a few years, after graduating from college, before enrolling in grad school. This means that it is likely that there will be many graduate students, on the campus, that are a similar age as you are.
There might be older students than you
It is also not uncommon for people to start college when they are in their 40’s and 50’s. This means that it is actually likely that there will be people that are older than you are that are enrolled as students.
People are bad at judging how old people are
Another thing to consider is that people tend to be bad at judging how old people are. It is likely that the other students won’t be able to tell how old you really are.
In addition to that, it is also the case that college is a place where people are supposed to go to learn. So, it is unlikely that the other students will really care about how old you are anyway.
Things to consider
While going to college at 31 is perfectly fine there are some things that you might want to consider first.
The degree
As mentioned earlier, the degree that you choose will have a big impact on the position that you will be in upon graduation.
While it is important to choose a major that interests you, it is also important to choose one that will put you in a good position upon graduation.
This means that before choosing your degree it would be best to research the job prospects that it comes with and how well it pays. You can use this website to see how well each of the different degrees pay.
How much time you’ll have
Another thing to think about is the amount of time that you will have that you will be able to put into to studying.
If you plan on working while getting the degree it will be important for you to take measures to ensure that you maximize your efficiency and to make things easier for yourself.
Things that you can do include:
- Taking slightly fewer classes per semester than usual.
- Planning your entire degree out early on so that you are able to identify any potential problem areas and to spread out the more difficult classes.
- Use ratemyprofessors.com to get the most highly rated professors. Make sure to schedule classes early since the classes taught by the better professors will fill up fast.
- Ensure that you study throughout the semester so that you don’t need to cram the information in at the last minute.
- Planning out the semester so that you can plan your work schedule more easily.
The college
The culture of the college can vary depending on a number of factors. The age, location, size of student body, acceptance rate and type of college can all have an impact on its culture.
Before you enroll in a college it would help to consider what you want, how well the college is known in your degree field and how well its culture fits with what you want.
The alternatives
Another thing to think about is that it might not be necessary for you to go to college.
Many of the jobs that say they require a bachelors degree will consider candidates that have a lot of relevant experience. If you have already been working in the field that you want to enter it could be that you already qualify for the jobs that you want. Before enrolling in college it might be worthwhile for you to see if you can already get the job you want.
Community college
Something that older students commonly do is go to community college for two years and then transfer over to a 4-year university afterward. Doing this can help save money since community colleges tend to be much cheaper.
If you decide to do this then make sure that the classes will transfer over well into the major that you want to get at the 4-year university.
The SAT and the GRE
Since SAT and GRE scores expire after 4 years you will likely have to take them again before applying to college. Make sure to do this sooner rather than later so that you have time to get your results back in time and to take them again if necessary.
If you plan on going to community college first then you’ll likely not need either of them to enroll. However, you will likely need them in order to transfer over to the 4-year college so you will still have to take them eventually.
