noam

Hi guys,

I'll try to keep this short but I think it's important I give some background about myself and why I want to go to college.

I'm 24 years old and am an Israeli citizen. Israeli males go through three years of mandatory military service. I was a paramedic during my service until I was injured and was transfered to IT.

When I completed my service, I decided to work and travel for a while. I got a job in IT, traveled to Australia and New Zealand for three months and still didn't feel like college - so I took another job.

My latest job relocated me to Chicago where I've been living in the passed 12 months. I feel pretty much assimilated in terms of culture, language and people skills. I work as a presale engineer which means that a big part of my job is forming relationships and I've gotten very good at it. I'm also making very good money ($140K / year if you must know).

It seems like I cheated the education system and made it without a college degree. I enjoy life very much, but I feel as if I have a little hole inside of me. The reason being, that as a child and during high school I was somewhat of a different person. I was overweight, kept to myself and lacked self confidence. Today I am very confident, in good athletic shape and have pretty good people skills.

I am seriously considering applying for a 4 year undergraduate college in 2007 (I'll be 25 when the schoolyear starts) simply for the "experience". I don't mind putting my career on hold and infact I am a little scared of not going to college as my job ages me much faster than my biological age. I have a strong desire to get crazy and have fun, and not with 30 year old professionals...

However, I do have some reservations:

1. Obviously the age difference. I will be 6-7 older than the other freshmans. How common are 25 year old freshmans? Are they typically outcasts?

2. Will it be more dificult for me to gain admission than a 18-19 year old applicant?

3. It's very important to me to be able to participate in team sports. However, I have no high school background and I'm afraid I just wont be able to make it into any teams. All I have going for me is very good athletic shape (my 10K run record is 34:24)

If you've read this far - thank you! I would really appreciate any thoughts or advice.

sonofsam

I can't believe i just read all that... anyways heres my advice

fuck college... you're 25 and making 11 something grand a month.. you don't need to go to college parties to enjoy yoursel...

plus... why make it awkward for yourself? cause you know you'll be 6-7 years older then 90% of the people around you... and you'll feel hurting going to one of their parties.. kinda like hanging out with your little brothers friends...

if you need to get that shit out of your system.. you have more then enough disposable income to have some fun... buy yourself a nice car... hit the clubs with some friends and pick up girls there... seems like you're not looking for a relationship right now, but more of a having fun kinda thing... and clubs are perfect for that, since they are mainly filled with gold digging sluts... but as long as you know that and are okay with that - you can have your fun

so go all out for a couple years, fuck strippers (doesn't matter if you're ugly... you have the money) get drunk 3 times a week and don't do shit all

i think that is more then adequate to fill that "college years" gap you're talking about..

good life with the midlife crisis dude

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Shortbread

My honest opinions are there:
Yes, 25 will be too old to get the whole college experience, but it shoudnt be about the experience it should be about the education. I went to college for 2 years before university and I felt way too old for it cause I was with kids 2 years younger.
Being that old you probably wont want to live in residence and that is most of the experience there, plus it excellerates the making friends and connections part of college.
You probably wont be able to get onto any sports teams but you may be able to join some rec teams that are only competitive withing that specific univeristy and not between universities.
It wont be too hard to gain admission. The university here thinks anyone over 25 is a mature student so they dont have compete too much with kids out of high school for spots.

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munki

Go for it bro... no reason to drop the day job to get it done either.

24 usable hours in every day.

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2HousePlague

If your ambitions are entrepreneurial, I would say don't look back. You say that, as regards your job, you're "very good at it", so I'll assume you also enjoy it. The money is obviously damned good for someone your age. My advice: make solid contacts in this field... people who will remember the diligence, care and honesty you showed when you were someone's employee. They would have no reason to expect anything less when you are the boss at your firm.

As for the "college experience", I can't comment very instructively. I was a nerd who commuted and did his homework on the subway. On monday's I would hear about the frat parties and such, and can tell you... even at this remove of years, I don't feel I missed much. However, you are a young man, with a social life to pursue. The relationships and associations made during this time can be important, especially for someone coming from another country as you did.

If this is just a pang, set it aside. Take advantage of the momentum you have achieved. It's true, you will be the "old guy" in class, but you will also probably be the only person who has already managed a very respectable degree of autonomous success.

It's not an easy decision. How big is your "hole"?

2hp

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noam

I start crying when I watch college movies.

sonofsam

you should strictly watch scary movies where college kids get killed

that way you'll develop a fear of college instead of an urge to attend

then your problem is solved , and it's a cost effective solution also...

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2HousePlague

Quote:

Originally Posted by noam I start crying when I watch college movies.

College is nothing like in the movies. When you wake up hung-over, not having studied for the midterm, the uber-hot coed you miraculously bagged the night before will not suck your cock into oblivion. Nor will her daddy own a company, employ you and make all your youtful folly a part of some grand adventure.

2hp

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Gentle_Ben

good advice 2hp!

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goldrush

I can definitely say that you will find there is a big developmental gap between yourself and the rest of the younger students, especially if you have been living and working independently all this time. I have recently been finishing off my bachelor's degree after a break of several years and unfortunately I've found the students to be quite immature and not very worldly. Socially things have been a real let down and I feel that I have little in common with the younger students. However, there are tons of hot and lusty late-teen-early-20s babes who are ripe for cock, once you get past the nervous bitch shields.

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sacX

just do it, if it's really not what you expected you can always drop out. I do a couple of college classes just because I'm interested in the subjects and am 31.
I don't participate in the whole social thing though.

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sacX

oh yeah chicks like older guys too.

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goldrush

I actually found that a lot of the chicks were quite intimidated by an older guy, to the point where it was quite hard work to get them to come out of their shells.

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$5 submissions

Go for it, bro. In my opinion, one can't have enough education. Just keep in mind that you're doing it not so much for occupational training or money but for education and opening your mind to the classics, to liberal education, and to meet a wide diversity of people. One can never be "too old" for education. I remember when I was in grad school I had a classmate who was in his 50's. It was cool hanging out with him and he had a lot of experiences to share. You're only in your 20s so if someone in his 50s can hang, so can you. Enjoy it and congrats for at least CONSIDERING further education!

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Drake

Don't do it. Stick with what you're doing now, unlesss you're absolutely certain you'll have no problems re-entering your field and making the kind of money that you do. It's not worth throwing that away for a few years of "American Pie" style fun - and the reality of partying isn't always as amazing as it seems in the movies. Many of the college kids will still be living at home and be very immature compared to you (something you'll get bored of quickly at your age). You're an independent guy with an actual life. A guy in your situation can handpick chicks ... including college chicks without actually going to college yourself. Girls like self sufficient guys with good jobs. I say get some girlfriend(s) and party that way. You're not missing out on anything that's worth putting what you have on hold. The only thing every guy in college is trying to do anyway is get laid.

Drake

As far as sports go, don't sweat it. Join a men's league. You'll have just as much fun and probably meet up with more like minded people.

Drake

If you were going for educational purposes it'd be different. But just for the 'college experience'. Forget it, you have better things going for you now.

Zarathustra

Its not like the movies noam. But why not hang out at the uni or the plaza with the kids first and see how it is? That way you can see before you invest 4 years. Part of the college experience is going through the same experiences as your colleagues such as what you are going to do with your life, how stupid the prof is etc...you wouldnt have these same experiences and it might be a little wierd to you and the kids. But its your life so just do what you feel you need to do

BlackCrayon

lol, i can't say its been my experience that girls like self sufficient guys with good jobs. i mean, sure they do but if you don't have the look/attitude they want, none of that will matter much. also this depends on the age of the girls but if this guy really wants a taste of college, maybe he could take a couple classes. that would give him a bit of an in to the parties and such if he wanted it and he still gets to keep his good job.

i did the same thing, was making 100k a year plus when i was 20 so i figured no use going to college. now im 28 and kinda regret not going but mostly for the social factor. meeting chicks when you work from home wasn't always so easy. it seemed impossible to just come up to some girl i didn't even know at a bar and try and talk to her without seeming lame and obvious as hell. with college its all about meeting people so approaching strangers might not come off as ackward i guess.

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EdgeXXX

Well I can only speak about how it is at colleges and universtities around here (but I would be willing to bet that they are the same everywhere), so here are the answers to your questions:


1. No, you being 25 will not make you an outcast (unless you are trying to be a frat boy, and even then I doubt age would matter). Don't believe the movies, there are plenty of 30+ year old freshmen.

2. No. You will be held to the same admission standards as anyone else. It is actually illegal for them to discriminate on the basis of your age (and trust me, the admissions people could care less about how old you are).

3. As far as sports go, if you want to be on an NCAA team, you have the option of being a "walk-on". This means that you have to try out for the team; and if you want to make it, you better be really good. There are also various Intramural sports and teams that you can sign up for.

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ADL Colin

I was the second oldest undergrad in my school and definitely did not feel like an outcast. I spoke with the guy who was the oldest (one year older than me) and he did feel like one. I think you make of it what you want.

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Doctor Dre

Putting your career on hold while making 140k a year with no education would just be foolish...

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The Demon

You know dude, if it worked for Van Wilder, it could work for you..

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SilentKnight

I went back to college in '89 at age 25. Took two years of computer graphics and technical illustration.

As for being "an outcast" because of my age at the time, I never experienced a sense of that. We had quite a number of older and mature students on the course and there was no shortage of people my age to associate with.

I discovered that I had a lot more focus and academic discipline for learning than I did in the latter years of high school. I had the benefit of eight years of 'real world' working experience and was able to more easily determine what I needed to gain from the course rather than naively go along with every bit of pseudo-knowledge the so-called 'educationalists' thought I needed.

In some cases, I was probably more qualified to teach a few courses than the instructors themselves (the college was notorious for hiring inexperienced and under-qualified instructors). As a result, I concentrated on learning the things I knew I'd need later in the real world, rather than waste my time studying peripheral garbage that didn't mean a hill of beans in the workplace.

scottybuzz

but it may be something he would regret later on.

My advice is this, is that if you are 99% sure that after college you can go back to what you are doing and still be making as much as you do, do it.

Dont however go to college for the fun factor, although it could be fun, there are other places where you dont need to be a student to have the same type of fun.

Go for it / Dont go for it


Sports wise, join a mens team

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psili

If you're just going there to learn something then do it.
If you have the mentality of an 18 year old, then do it.

Otherwise, I think you'll want to beat your head against the wall having to put up with how stupid college kids are. Just speaking from knowing how dumb I was and everyone around me was at that age.

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Sarah_Jayne

I got the most out of my education when I stopped caring about having the 'college experience' and just started caring about what I was actually learning.