Going back to college at 30?
 

Anyone done this here? I have maybe a half a year of college. I've been doing computer work(mostly UNIX sysadmin) for the last 10 years. I make a decent amount for not having a degree (>$80k a year). But I've been thinking of getting a law degree, and focusing on DRM and copywrite law. I'd need to get an undergrad degree, but I don't want to go CS/IT.

Input welcome....

t

Go for it. Don't let society's tired ideas regarding what is the "right age" get in the way of what is important--fulfilling your personal potential.:thumbsup

Try University of Phoenix or other nontraditional colleges where you can get a quick degree then focus your sites on law school.

My step dad did pretty much the same thing. Was a phamacist for 10 years or so, quit and went back to law school. That was oh about 17 years ago. He seems to like it. But boy was it a stink when he did it...wow, my grandparents wouldn't talk to him for a loooong time.

My brother works for Boeing at NASA...

Got his Master's when he was about 45..

It's never too late if that's what you want to do..

Going to college at 30, better be in Graduate SChool! ;)

nah...that's not true. Go for it - i'm sure you will feel great. There are alot of people in their 30's at my college. And they fit right in.

I'm back in college at 42. Nearly 40 percent of college students are over 30.

Never too late I guess ... LOL

Unfortunately University of Phoenix is very expensive. Just FYI.

The hubby started college at 32... and he got me to go at 38. So ignore the remarks or strange looks. ;-) It's alot of fun and you pay attention more when you're older. The only problem you really run in to is, the learning curve gets longer for most people as you age. Especially in math and the really technical work. It just takes a little more work but you can do it!

I plan on going back at some point for odd and ends classes that I wanted to do but didn't need them for my degrees.

If you have a community college close, start there. Its more reasonable, smaller classes usually and you'll find a LOT more older people there from businesses and such that send their employees in for updating or retraining etc. So the comfort level is higher. :)

One thing the both of us learned being older.... if you have a gut feeling you won't like an instructor the first class? Go change to a different class that very day. lol You can adjust when you're younger but age sets your ways and if you dislike the teacher than the class work will show it.

Oh and we also learned in college you no longer have to hold up your hand OR get a hall pass for potty breaks!! lmao:Graucho

Grandparents pissed cause they lost their vicodin hookup?

You're completely wrong, and don't know what you're talking about.

I'm taking a very tough anatomy/physiology class where 80 percent of the students are 20 year olds.

Half have dropped the class, and most are failing. The average score in the class is 50 percent.

Only me and another student have A's. I'm 42.

I'm much more disciplined, alert and learn much more quickly at this age than when I took similar courses in my '20s.

The younger students don't even open a book. If they do open the book, they give up quickly because the material is "too hard" for them. Many simply don't have the mental ability, motivation or discipline.

No matter how many times basic concepts are repeated in class, they don't get it. I've seen it first hand.

Ask any college administrator about the stats on science classes.

You'll find the younger students are flunking in droves.

Well trog, it's obvious your comprehension s*cks.

- I said MOST - oops I didn't allow for YOUR genius!

- I did NOT say a word about flunking or dropping

- I never mentioned the younger people at all

- Good for you on the grades

Reread what YOU just said... you said the very same thing *I* did, just in a different way. Sheesh. Might want to see if they have classes to remediate that quirk. :glugglug

Whats your major and GPA? :Graucho :Graucho Hmmm?

Gemini:

If, in fact, the learning curve is better when you're younger --- which is what you claimed --- presumably younger students wouldn't be flunking science courses as much as they do.

I understand the younger students not grasping all of the material, but I'm constantly amazed at how they can't comprehend the really simple stuff.

Note: I'm a nursing major with a 4.0 so far, although my previous college credits from my '20s bring that average down to about a 3.5.

go for it

The younger kids flunk for the same reasons they did when we were younger Trog. They don't pay as much attention, they want to run and do this and that. They all think its boring and they have plenty of time to catch up etc etc etc. And then they are 40 and find themselves BACK in school. lol

Older folks have the higer curve, BUT we also have the patience to sit and work harder at it. ;-) Like we only had to have ONE math class... show up in college 20 yrs later and oops, they all had *3-5* math classes. Umm trig in High School? I doubt if many of our TEACHERS knew trig. lmao

Jump into a double major in engineering and see how you fair... at ANY age. Then add 16-20 credit hours per quarter. They counseled the older folks just coming in and they had the facts about the learning curves and alot of scary stuff. It was to make sure we understood that we had to basically DOUBLE our study time due to the problems with retaining and comprehension.

if you flunked when you were a kid what makes you tink you are still not a worthless loser?

lots of older guys at my school, and most of them know their shit through effort and studying.

See the part in my original post where I said I make >$80k a year currently. I'm quite happy with where I am right this second. However I'm also a fan of planning for the future.

yeah go back to school:thumbsup a degree always helps plus the college chicks are still hot

Go back! I am going back this coming summer. I am 28. I am not at all concerned with fitting in or anything like that. Honestly I miss being in school.

I was thinking more along the lines of
online courses. I'm legally blind due to glaucoma and don't have a driver's license anymore. Although I live 2 miles from UCSD, getting there on foot is still a bitch. Plus I work fairly odd hours due to what I do(mornings are just out of bounds untill 11am, have to sleep sometime)


Was looking more at places like

http://www.onlineuc.net/degrees.html


In most cases cheaper than UoPHX, and 'better' schools.

good luck with you man:thumbsup

They actually told you this at the college? What college are you talking about? That's bizarre, to say the least.

And I don't buy it.

I'm familiar with studies of cognitive/memory skills with older adults versus younger. There's little difference.

Unless you're really old --- like over 60 --- learning and memory is pretty much the same. Obviously a lot of it depends on the person. It goes back to the "use it or lose" theory. Even the elderly can greatly improve cognitive skills with learning/memory exercises.

All I can say is a lot of the 20 year olds in my class are dumber than the day is long ... and I'll take my brain over theirs any day ... LMAO.

If you think it will bring you extra cash or open to you new options you should go and study. :thumbsup

Hell yah, I don't see why anyone can't go back to school at any age.

Holy shit, did I post this drunk? I have done the same, only I am a little younger. ex-Unix admin turned pornographer. After this semester finishes out, I am not going back for my own reasons. Since you have the background, and are used to working long hours, go for the CS degree, get it out of the way, then off to law school. Best of luck!

there's no right age for education.....life is a continuous learning...:thumbsup :thumbsup

I'd be interested in learning of your experiences in this vein....

What about me, do you think it's too old to go back to school at 25???? The worst part is that I have to start ALL THE WAY at the beginning because I royally screwed up when I was younger ( I moved out when I was 19 and had to work full-time to support myself) so now
I have to start at the lowest of the low
which is community college :helpme and
transfer to UC after 2 yrs. The only good
thing is that I look very young for my age and I can pass for 18,19 . Other than that it sucks being so old and having to start from scratch.

I want to go to law school too, mainly because I'm better in English than science or chemistry. If I was good in science and Chem I would want to be a pharmacist or a dentist. But lawyers make good money too, as long as I can
make over 100k a yr I'll be happy.

I figure I need to go back to school NOW because I have some porn income coming in (not a lot of money, but just barely enough to pay my bills) so it will be so much easier to go back to school. I can't work a full-time real life job and go to school full time too, because it's just too stressful, so I should do it now before I get even older. And by the time I get out I'll be 32 and hopefully look 25 so it shouldn't be so bad.

Gemini, about the higher learning curve for older people, do you think that applies to 25 yr olds? :helpme Or is that young enough to sort of be on the same wave length with the 18 yr old kids??

if you even end up in law school i'd be surprised.

Why is that? I'm taking some GE classes right now and I'm getting all A's so far, even an A+ in my history class. I just want to make a lot of money, what's wrong with that?

So, sometimes I might write things that are a bit "airheaded" on GFY but my grades are good, and when I actually have to write "properly" for essays, I write well, I just don't feel like being all intellectual for GFY

25 isn't old. And I don't think it matters if they are on the same WL as you. You just need to learn while you are there.

My wife goes to art school. She's 27. Some dumb fucking people she has to interect with....but thats everywhere you go....

nothing is wrong with wanting to make money, but i think you're thought process is a bit flawed.

I think college is obsolete.

Internet is the future http://www.thefly.net/

There should be no age limit for learning. Plus lots of young honeys to look at. :Graucho

I went to Univeristy after I left the military and was mid 30's when I entered. I already had an Associate Degree and most units I had aquired were transferrable. I didn't fit in to well with the younger crowd...they were not my cup of tea...but go for it if that is what you want to do. Thirty is still young.

Not really, because going to law school requires good English, reasoning and analytical skills. A lot of the people who go to law school major in English or History. While pharmacy and dental fields require you to be good in the sciences, their entire admissions tests are ALL Chem and Bio stuff. That's not flawed logic, that's a fact.

Ah, unless you want to go into something like patent law. Without a science degree you really can't.

No, I'm not interested in patent law or anything scientific. Probably litigation, but I'm not sure yet, I still have a long way to go. But you are right, one would need to have a strong science background if they wanted to go into patent law.

Go for it! A lot of colleges and universities will substitute work experience for credits also you can pay and just take an exam (not sure the name of this) to get course credits on classes needed for your BA/BS. Then off to Law School! Best wishes.

I never thought my college degree amounted to much unless I wanted to continue with my education to be a teacher, doctor or lawyer? :)

true....doing my masters program with them. if my real job didn't supplement I couldn't do it. going it online isn't as easy as i thought it would be either. they still expect group projects every class, something i hate. still, perfect for someone that travels alot and needs the flexibility.

make sure you get some nice young pussy if you are going back to school...

Then its ok

Phogirl... you shouldn't have much of a problem at 25. What they told us, was mid to late 30's and up you start slowing some so one thing or another might be harder to grasp.

I knew one guy that couldn't do a word problem to save his life. lol He flunked Algebra 2, three times. 4th and last try they'd let him have, he finally caught on and did fine thru the next 4 math classes. He was 41 and had worked real life word problems all his life, he just couldn't take what he KNEW and translate it to the words. He thought in numbers.

It doesn't apply to everyone, and it depends on the class study as well and if you knew anything about it to start with. I hadn't had alot of Math in high school. They didn't offer that much either. So I was scared going in to pre-algebra. And the room had more YOUNG kids than older people. Why? Because they had flunked it in high school or SAT's- ACT's. I passed, half the 18-19 yr olds took it again the next qtr.

I had done very well in High school, but face it, 20 yrs had passed and you have to take HISTORY for an engineering degree?!?! Who added THAT lil gem?!?! lol The age detriment also includes the things that you flat forget due to the 'no need clause' we all laughed about in high school. Has ANYone every tree branched a sentance in real life?? After 20 yrs, who remembers the poetry you had to learn? lol

As far as community college? GO for them. As long as the instructors are good, you learn better there. Smaller classes, you do NOT have TA's (usually), you can talk to your instructor easier and more often, the classes are offered more often and its almost always cheaper.

I'd have never made it had I had to go to OSU from the start. It would have overwelmed me totally. Oh and at 25, I was taking my certs to be a machinist and did just fine. ;-) So don't worry about it.

I sweated bullets over the technical woriting class as well. The instructor had **35** books to his credit. I had done well in English (contrary to how I post) and the class was easier than I could have dreamed. :)

My mom did it at 37 and tripled her previous income. Go for it!

Go for it, it's never too late.
People who think it is are the people that never get anywhere in life as they always have en excuse of why not to do something rather than why to do it.

I'll ask the question again since you didn't answer it earlier.

What college told you this? What is the evidence, if any?

Are you saying they rounded up all of the older students and told them they were less likely to succeed because they are "slower" and would have to work harder?

I've never heard of any college doing this, and I've attended five of them --- all in different regions of the country.

If you're going to post this nonsense, at least provide some kind of explanation and/or basis for it.

:321GFY I "tink" you might want to go back to school and learn the basics of spelling and grammar.

Considering your post not to long ago about your credit problems ...

This doesn't surprize me ... LOL