I would really like to do a history degree, but am i too old?

[Totallyfloaty35]

Im 40 now and have not been in education for a while so im a bit scared of applying .
I also am very slow at typing due to RSI from my previous job(i was a Holistic Therapist) where i spent hours doing sports/pregnancy massage.I also have 3 children and a DH that works away.
Somebody talk me out of it (or in to it)

Lots of unis want mature students on their rolls.
All of the students on my Access course were mature students from ages 30-50 and we all got offers from different unis.
The majority of us had no qualifications whatsoever.

I don't think you are too old. What is your reason for wanting to study history? Do you hope to use it professionally or purely because the subject interests you?

FWIW when I taught history in Germany, I had quite a few old age pensionners who had chosen to study once pensioned because the war and so on had put pay to any plans to study when they were young. There were also quite a few teachers from East Germany who had to retrain a bit in order to reach W.German standards (or so the Govt told them) and they would have been 30-40ish. No one had a problem with it.I liked mature students mostly because they had chosen to be there and took it seriously as opposed to many of the young students who end up in university because they don't really know what else to do straight after school.

Education is wasted on the young. When I did my history degree, aged 19-22, I was more interested in meeting men than doing history really. Forty is a much better age to make the most of it

agree with everyone here that if you are interested then of course you aren't too old. And (I'm biased cos it's my subject...) history is a great choice!

There are a few things to think carefully about though, especially in terms of choice of course.

First, if you need to fit other things around it, talk to the tutors to make sure the schedules will work.

Second, it is very important with history to make the most of talking to your fellow students. So, be realistic about who you want them to be, and think hard about whether to go for a course that is aimed at mature students (OU and Birkbeck spring to mind - and Birkbeck's history dept is GREAT). Teaching mature students is brilliant because they tend to be committed and interesting. Many 19 year olds are also those things. But many are not, and it can be frustrating - e.g. if you are left to carry class discussion, let down by people with whom you are supposed to be doing a presentation, or whatever. On the other hand, they may bring other equally good things to the table e.g. different perspectives from your own, and they have been in school more recently so may be more clued up about essay writing etc...!

Finally, look hard at what you will be studying. If you love medieval history, for example, you need to make sure you can do lots of it!

Good luck - it's a wonderful idea.

Thankyou,im interseted in medieval history/crusades/Roman and ...well loads really.
Anyone know if Chichester is any good?I live in Sussex so if i dont go down the OU route i will need somewhere i can get to easily.
DH very supportive but not in the country much so will have to work out childcare etc.
I have no Alevels at all and am bit worried about my lack of qualifications.I did an access course 18yrs ago and did well but it was so long ago.

Yes, most undergraduates are too young, tbh. Do it. You will love it. Do make choices that will support the rest of your life though: my experience is that mature students with commitments are in two camps: those who have lots of support, whose life 'works' currently and who sail through; and those whose life just inevitably gets in the way of their studies. So important to ensure you do have childcare options nearby, family support for exam times etc., good organisational skills.

I had no idea there was a university in Chichester which means it is a new entity. Studying at your local university might well be a way to solve domestic issues, and the teachers will usually be committed and keen. But Sussex University is more well known and has a good reputation. It has been in the news recently because of redundancies etc but I suspect it will still have a good history degree. Make sure you go to open days etc to see what things are like, and ask them difficult questions about how much actual contact time you have with teachers, what the class sizes are, who actually teaches you (specialists? postgrads? visiting lecturers?). Ask also about library and IT resources: as a mature student with a busy life, you will need access to online sources and long loan materials etc..

Good luck!

My dh teaches history,and really enjoys teaching mature students. He taught a retired urologist (known to my kids as the weewee doctor) who completed a degree, a PhD and a book. Dh reckons their handwriting is good too!

DH thinks Sussex may have laid off their pre-1800 history staff, which would bugger up medieval study.

Portsmouth any good?

I like the look of Birkbeck and OU their course content looks good.
Portsmouth is a bit of a trek,so is Birkbeck for that matter though.
Currently trying to get on to an access course or some preperation for study classes.I think i may be a little late for this year

OU is fab, tbh - definitely a good option if travel is tricky.

Totally, there's still loads you can do to prepare without being enrolled on a formal course (and it will look really good when you come to apply). Mostly of course it's just about reading - but reading the right things, especially serious academic history (more so than textbooks, though you do need a sound grasp of the basic information before you can tackle a lot of the more scholarly stuff).

Have a look at reading lists from undergraduate courses if they are online - lots are. Go to the IHR website and look at the material there which is relevant to your interests (this is a GREAT resource - just potter around it for a bit! Lots of web links and good content). Scholarly books can be hard to get hold of, but you might be able to persuade a local university library to give you some form of access, and your local library might have a subscription to online academic journals so you could print articles off.

Go the OU route,its high quality, as an employer I take a lot more notice of someone with an OU degree than one with a degree from a renamed poly.
OU graduates have shown dedication,an ability to balance life and study and not one has ever let me down,go for it...

DO IT DO IT DO IT!

I left school at 16 with no A-levels, but quit my job to go to Uni full-time when I was 25. Okay, it might seem still student-age, but it felt like there was a big gap between me (divorced, worked full-time since 16 years old) and all the 19-year-olds.

When I started making calls about courses, all of the lecturers were very helpful, reassuring, and like other people are saying on here, very happy to have non-traditional students. In fact, they accepted me without an interview as I'd already made appointments and discussed the courses with the relevant tutors! Doing the degree was one of the best decisions I've ever made. You really will feel the same way too!

I endorse the OU (Interest declaration: I have been a Tutor for the OU - not in History - Tutors get good support.)

And Birkbeck (I am a Birkbeck Graduate, again not in History)

regarding the RSI suggest you look into voice dictation software....

Come on in, the water is lovely.

A later life degree can be one of the most intellectually and emotionally rewarding things you will ever do for yourself. You will see the world in a new way and there will be layers of meaning and understanding in your everyday life that you didn't even know existed before.

A third of my undergraduates are mature students and they also say it has changed their lives and it is well worth doing.

You'll probably find with history that you have less contact hours (i.e. tietabled lectures) and more independent work to do (research, reading etc) which may be a bit more manageable wrt childcare.

My uncle is in his 50s and started has just finished his first year of a law degree at a very well regarded university. Before that he was a painter/decorator, but attended a local access course.

Definitely go for it, you'll never regret doing it, but you'll probably regret not doing it.

My gran was never allowed to stay on at school and take up the grammar school place she earnt as a child... so she trotted off to do her A-levels at the age of about 60!

I graduated in 2008 aged 37 and the oldest eprson on my course was 80 so hardly!

And DH has just completed year one of his degree a post redundancy dream really) and has achieved grades incluidng 100%, he's 40 in MArch

If you still need convincing how about a friend who was a single Mum of 5, 2 disabled, and still managed an exceptional degree in ehr forties....

For me personally and for DH it was something we'd always wanted and an immense dream come true, go for it

Thank-you all, i am feeling most encouraged.It seems most likely i will be going down the OU route

My results arrived this morning. I have my 2.1 in Humanities with History and Literature. It has taken four years and it is so worth it. I even got a Distinction in one of my final two courses (19th century literature) although I was working full time, doing 120 points and have three children. It was hard work - but I am unbelievably lazy so if I can do it anyone can .

GO FOR IT!!!!!!

just to add.

i did an MBA part time ( in additional to full time job and 3 kids)

on the first day, a blessed lecturer looked us all in the eye and said the following

" i teach 2 groups on this course. The first is full time and full of 22 year olds with degrees.The second is you lot- aged 35 plus- with full time jobs. The first group think that they know everything but actually know nothing. You lot already know everything but are convinced you know nothing!"

Brilliant news Firstlady!
So true ageing5yearsearch.
Thankyou everyone,im awaiting info from Birkbeck and OU now (i really like the modules on offer from Birkbeck) so very exciting

Access couse would def help with refs and get you back into academic frame of mind. I've just finished a year's Access couse with lots of lovely distinctions and merits and am waiting to hear about place on couse at locallish uni.

Oh and I'm 40 too - don't let that out you off.

A lovely quote my friend (fellow Access survivor) found:

"It's never too late to be who you might have been." (George Eliot)