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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if 26 is too old for halls

66 replies

thedaywewillremeber · 19/09/2020 11:45

Ds1 has decided to defer another year as he doesn’t want to attend university as he feels he won’t cope at the moment. He would like to go into halls so he can live independently before properly moving out.

OP posts:
notso · 19/09/2020 12:31

It completely depends on personalities, DD was in a flat share with a 24 year old, a 21 year old, DD was 19 and the other three 18. Everyone got on really well, they're all living together again this year.

TurkeyTrot · 19/09/2020 12:33

Agree with pp about post grad halls. Some people will be doing PhDs and will be middle twenties.

nevernotstruggling · 19/09/2020 12:33

I was in halls at 26 I hated it.

Itwasaquarterpast11 · 19/09/2020 12:33

He would probably have fewer social opportunities as the typically aged freshers will see him as much older, and may not want to hang out with a 'proper' To be fair, he might not want rampaging 18 year olds shrieking outside his door at 3am either. Def suggest house share.

Itwasaquarterpast11 · 19/09/2020 12:34

A 'proper' grown up...

LowLou · 19/09/2020 12:34

My 22yo is in 2nd year and opted for Halls again this year. It's private Halls and they put mature students together. There is no guarantee you'll get exactly what you want but they all had a form to complete and could preference age range and gender.

He moved in this week and is in a flat of 6. Youngest is 21 the oldest 30. Basically they are all 1st 2nd and 3rd years all in their 20s except the 30yo.

Thneedville · 19/09/2020 12:38

No, highly unlikely to work unless he is very immature!

18 year olds are still kids.

We had a 24 year old living with us when we were 3rd/4th years. It was fine, although the boys were exceptionally immature (but loveable) 20 year olds, but she either rolled her eyes or mothered them a little. We also had some older foreign students too to dilute the craziness. But if we’d been first years it would have been hellish for her I think.

zingally · 19/09/2020 12:54

If the only option is with the 18/19 year olds, then yes, 26 is way too old.

But many unis have some halls for post-grads/older students, and although 26 would still be probably the oldest there, he wouldn't stand out so much.

Bluepolkadots42 · 19/09/2020 13:14

26 is way too old for halls unless they are specifically designated for mature students.
As an 18 year old in halls I would have HATED having someone that age in my flat in halls and as a 30 yo I can tell you I would HATE having to live in halls with 18/19 year olds.
Houseshare/flat share with other mature students is what I would recommend.

EarthlyTent · 19/09/2020 13:29

I was 24 when I went and they put me in a flat (6 rooms) with other students in their mid-20s. I didn't have to ask or anything, that was just their standard procedure. The other flats in the building were a mixture of ages, mostly 18-20 year olds obviously. Was nice because my actual flat was the older group but there were still other age groups around too.

Rentacar · 19/09/2020 13:38

I think that it depends if he's lived out of home before and on his maturity levels. I went to Uni at 24 and lived in halls and it was fine. I didn't feel that much different from the other Freshers.

Rentacar · 19/09/2020 13:39

I was way too young to hang out with the other mature students. They were in their 40's.

SarahBellam · 19/09/2020 13:41

Check if they has accommodation for mature and postgraduate students, or accommodation suitable for students with anxiety so he could be placed in quieter, calmer, halls.

MintyMabel · 19/09/2020 14:09

My first year in a uni-run house there was one 23 yo and the rest of us teens. It didn’t work, basically. She tried to boss us and we loathed her

We had a student like this who was our age. It’s about the person not their age.

Original poster
thedaywewillremeber · 19/09/2020 18:20

ivfbeenbusy Can I ask why you would be uncomfortable with this just curious? Thank you for the replies everyone looks like for the most part it won’t be suitable for him. We will ask about if these halls for mature students.

OP posts:
SilverOnToast · 19/09/2020 18:56

26 is definitely not too old. No idea why a PP would feel uncomfortable with an older student tbh. I was in halls as an 18 year old and my peers seemed pretty immature and silly, then I moved back into halls as an older student, and absolutely loved it. Turns out it’s the people rather than the age that makes the difference.

One thing I liked about halls was the simplicity. No figuring out who pays what for each bill, and no petty disputes. Also proximity to campus really helped. It was also a ton cheaper at the time (though this may not still be the case depending on the uni).

TheArtOfStoryTelling · 19/09/2020 19:01

I moved into halls aged 23 and they put me in a flat with other students aged 21-26. That was nice I guess, but I became best friends with two 18-year-olds from another flat in our building and rented a house with them in second and third year!

formerbabe · 19/09/2020 19:12

In our halls there was a guy who was 23...he seemed very old compared to all the 18 year olds and struggled to fit in.

InFiveMins · 19/09/2020 19:15

Nah, 26 is still young!

ChelseaDaggers · 19/09/2020 19:20

They often have postgraduate halls for his age group. I wouldn't have been able to stand halls at that age personally.

We also had in our halls, an older, postgraduate student who lived in halls with us and kept an eye on things. I can't remember what her title was, but I believe she got paid to do it. Maybe he could look into that?

BewilderedDoughnut · 19/09/2020 19:21

Way too old in my opinion. The vast majority of the people in my halls we 18. I felt ancient compared to them and I was 22.

Sparklesocks · 19/09/2020 19:26

I think it depends on the group you get in those particular halls so a bit of a gamble. It might be a mix of people, maybe a few international students, mature students, or quiet people who keep to themselves but like to eat dinner together a few times a week - but also it could be wall to wall 18 year olds who stay up late partying and making noise.

FilthyforFirth · 19/09/2020 19:28

Too old from me too. We lived on campus and had a 24 year old living with us and he was lovely but noticabely older than us and didnt socialise much with us etc.

We got on with him but it was politeness rather than anything else. He hung around with other mature students and did say he wished he had lived in more appropriate halls.

TableFlowerss · 19/09/2020 19:29

I would say it’s a bit old tbh. Could he not get a house share?

Terrace58 · 19/09/2020 19:31

Both uni I attended had “quiet” halls. They didn’t exclude young students, but everyone had to abide by much more stringent rules. I had several friends that chose that option. I would have done it too even as a young student, but my Uni had a specific hall for the top incoming students to live together and I couldn’t pass that up. It had rules between the general and quiet halls.