Mature student support thread

[Ilovelearning]

I said I would start a support thread for all of us at or going to Uni this September. I'm all packed and ready to move on Tuesday. The uni is just over 2 hours from home and I've never lived on my own before. Got married from home when I was 20 and always been with someone since. I've started to talk to fellow students on FB and am meeting up with a couple of them on Saturday.

Wishing you a great start Ilovelearning. Hopefully you're unpacked and finding your way round campus and having an exciting first day?

In theory I should be at uni in 12 days but things aren't going to well here and am unsure of what happens next. Trying to wing it and pray it will somehow all work out, but tbh at the moment it's far from the exciting fresh start I was expecting, just a continuation of nothing working properly and a bit of a resulting crisis of confidence .

Sorry to hear that Wheelie Bin. I hope things work out for you. I'm settled into my flat and start my Induction Week on Monday. Sort of in limbo at the moment, if I was at home I would have loads of things to do.

It's looking like I'll be going with funding unsecured and just hoping it comes through in time, but it's not looking too good on the timing stakes, and I may have to withdraw four weeks after induction, but fingers crossed. Currently waiting for SFE helpline to be open again.

Love the idea of a new flat to study from, not filled with years of accumulated clutter! Sounds brilliant.
What are you going to be studying?

I'm studying Textiles which covers a huge range of things from weaving, embroidery, design. Just received timetables and receiving induction info. I'm lucky that my friend is also doing the course with me, otherwise I would have been the only mature student on the course.

Textiles sounds fun. Good you're not the only mature student. Hope you've had a great induction week and are starting to get an idea of where things are at.
It sounds like you're reasonably well prepared.

I'm (hopefully) starting Tuesday, but embarrassingly will be falling through the door with little sorted, pretty unprepared, flat broke, and trying not to think about a backlog of major unresolved issues, and trying not to show how chaotic it all is.
I really didn't want to be starting in this position but it's this or don't go, so now hoping I'll get away with sorting things out as I go and we'll all survive.

Hope induction week went well and all the 18 year old freshers weren't too drunk to function --mature students are never too drunk to function, we've had years of practise! Although someone offered to introduce me to drinking games in my freshers week -oh how I laughed!

Anyway, i'm 3 weeks into my 3rd year and really struggling to get back into it after the summer

I have a lot going on at home and i'm really struggling to compartmentalise my brain -which I usually manage quite well

I've just got so many deadlines, work experience, money worries, dd school issues, dd2 feeling a bit neglected, reading, new lecturers -which has totally an unexpectedly thrown me -and it's my final year so i'm already starting to think about post graduation jobs

-sorry just came on for a bit of a rant, thought if I spill my gutts it might clear my brain

Sorry you're not having the best start to yr 3 but kind of reassuring to hear that other students may have a great deal to juggle. It imply's it all may be possible!

(I haven't done my induction week yet but quite focused on post graduation and how to use things well as I'm hoping to use the whole process to make myself rather more employable than people currently see me.)

I've had a great 2 years so far -lots of ups and downs but absolutely the good outweighs the bad and I would recommend it to anyone

I'm usually really good at having a schedule and zoning out what doesn't need to be thought about -if i'm in a library i'm working
I've had various issues over the summer though and need to keep my phone on -waiting for a phone call is THE biggest distraction from doing any kind of quality work

I'm (hopefully) starting Tuesday, but embarrassingly will be falling through the door with little sorted, pretty unprepared, flat broke, and trying not to think about a backlog of major unresolved issues, and trying not to show how chaotic it all is.

I'm hoping to use the whole process to make myself rather more employable ...

Totally fascinated to discover I have a twin ...

Gruach I really hope for your sake you're the better one!

Emochild I hope you get your call sooner rather than later and can concentrate in the meantime.

I'm worried about quality of work being affected but hoping the first few week of 1st year are seen as settling in/down etc and not the end of the world if work doesn't shine particularly.

I used to be good at schedules, focus and prioritising, but life's been taken over by others (with significant impairments) and combined with my own hurdles I've become far to easily scattered and everything's become one big fire fighting exercise.
Common sense has said sort all the issues out first, but that hasn't worked, so down to trying to just go anyway before I miss the last boat out. It should kill or cure things!

Wheelie are you any closer to anything being sorted out?

I know just how exhausting it is when there are enormous obstacles in the way.

Can I join?
MessedUp I was in the same position for weeks, not sure where I was going, whether finance was approved, what I would need etc. And then all of a sudden it was welcome week and although my tuition and maintenance loan haven't cleared yet it looks like they've been accepted and I've done my first day now! Everything seemed to start coming together all of a sudden and hopefully it will all work out. I wish you the best of luck.

Gruach not really, but hopefully it will be at least a bit closer to getting there by the time it starts visibly affecting things. I know I can make it all happen, just not if in time for cut off points. I’m still weeks from having the evidence required for my application to be processed.

Weaslewomble well done, good news that it’s at accepted stage. My understanding is once it’s been theoretically accepted, no uni will ask you to withdraw.

Did the orienteering week which included trips out, and am now shattered, totally broke, and with a house and domestic stuff in chaos and got few things done other than those relating to the course. Will be spending this week playing catch up.

Sorry I've not been around much, I've been struggling after the Uni Health Centre GP decided to reduce my anti-depressants. I knew I should have argued against it, but didn't and consequently lost about 10 days to feeling cr*p. Just starting to pick myself up, but feeling so behind with everything. I wasn't planning on going home in our Creative week, but have decided it will do me more good, and I will do all my voluntary, extra workshops in February when they are repeated.

Ilovelearning sorry you’re having a hard time with GP’s and medication.

From what I’ve seen 10 days at this stage is very catchup-able, so hang on in there, lot's of people having bumpy starts for many reasons, uni's must be used to it.

Not quite sure what a creative week is, but it sounds like self-directed making?

Don’t know how useful any of this is - I’m arts so lots of workshop safety inductions and workshops, plus they keep changing the timetable while I’m juggling an awful lot outside uni. (along with what I’m informed is fresher’s flue.)
I’m struggling with myriad issues including low IT/social media skills and am approx. 8/10 days behind on lots of stuff connected to it, that I’m having to try teaching myself fast. It's taken for granted that everyone has modern equipment and is social media aware, and sorted with everything linked on phones and laptops etc, I don’t, so total sympathy on the stress being behind causes.

You may want to try making friends with the workshop technicians, many are worth their weight in gold. If there’s a workshop for another group on your pathway that you can attend, It can be worth seeing how well attended it actually is.
Mine turn out to often be poorly attended so I’ve managed to do another groups workshops in place of my ones that I was struggling to fit in.
Bit cheeky but no one’s minded, some happy to have numbers swelled.

I’ve also discovered from technicians that there's times other than those advertised that I can get access and informal teaching, especially if you do background research on whatever you’ve missed and show interest.

Apologies in advance if this isn’t an option in textiles.

I'm also sorry not to have re-visited this thread for a while - reasons obvious.

Every word you've written above is true Wheelie - I thank all possible gods a million times a day that I didn't duck out of the IT talk at the start of term! Things would have been a helluva lot harder than they already are if I hadn't found out how to change a password or set up PayPal for the photocopier.

How is everyone getting on now?

For me the first few weeks were about everything other than the work I was supposed to be doing. I was unsurprised (but nevertheless mortified) to find myself completely lacking in every sphere of student activity - was tempted to run away every time I hit a new difficulty. But so much invested! So many people who know ...

I have felt mostly stupid over the first half a term.

Gruach I can sympathise with feeling stupid, mostly with anything computer/printer related . I went home for creative study week as the workshops were optional and are repeated in February, so I will do them then. All |I seemed to do for about 5 days is sleep! Caught up with the family and took some work home to do as well. I came back far calmer than I had gone home. I'm now starting to feel better about doing the work and quite enjoyed the last week.

Sorry to have not been back earlier, have tried a few times but always been dragged away.
Struggling on many levels - both with uni and keeping the rest of life together. Also lacking in every sphere, and apparent terminal stupidity along with insufficient cash flow, definately isn't helping.
First presentation coming up rapidly, totally unprepared and trying to use age and experience to wing it.

MessedUpWheelieBin, sorry to hear things aren't going well at the moment. Hope everything goes okay with your presentation. I'm still struggling with things like Photoshop, but have managed to arrange it so that I attend my own CAD lesson, then stay on for the other half of our groups lesson immediately afterwards. It does seem to be helping. It's only now that I seem to be making sense of everything that has been thrown at us over the last few weeks, so there is hope yet.

Things are still a mess, but age and experience got me through temporarily.
I now have a fortnight to catch up. TBH it's insufficient time given how far behind I am, but hope springs eternal and all that.
I can only dream of photoshop lessons, we're expected to use the internet to teach ourselves - although there are murmurs that may change.

Oh dear! Was it the site or my phone upgrade that lost me all my TIOs?

Anyway, found this again. Will soon have done a whole term! There have been rare, precious moments of almost-elation, when I get something right - and then severe mortification when foot (or pen) lands in the wrong place.

I have a deadline on Monday - but am drinking the good Madeira ...

I've been thoroughly enjoying the work. I'm exhausted and not up to date, but brought plenty home to work on. I've had one week of because FiL whose 86 and lives alone, at the other end of the country was rushed into hospital. We are not trying to sort out him coming to live with us asap. Also finished a week early after speaking to my personal tutor, as DH (who is normally so decisive) is struggling to sort everything out. So just spent a couple of days getting the house sorted, then really going to have to knuckle down and get some works done.

Yay! One more ancient student (...) has survived.

After a week's decompression I'm actually beginning to look forward to next term - though that will be somewhat dependent on how much I get done in the next four weeks.

And yes, the end of term has not been without unexpected hospital visiting - which, in general, is outside the experience of my half-my-age fellow students - so not a trouble I can share.

Actually, that's a thing. It's quite lonely being so old amongst students. They're all totally lovely but it would be a bit odd if I evinced any desire to socialise with them out of hours. So the things I did alone pre-studenthood I'm still doing alone. Not sure how to solve that yet.

Sorry to arrive so late, sounds like you both finished a fortnight + ago. Stragglers here didn’t finish ‘til the 22nd.
Not sure if I can claim to have survived yet, things have gone pretty wrong. Keep thinking nothing else can happen but then along comes something else.
Spent the last few weeks of term having to be propped up medically but still ended up with a main module assessment deferral, after not getting out of hospital on time (had at least warned them) and have failed the smaller one through a combination of poor IT skills, access, and a family death, (with lots of repercussions) in the middle of trying to rescue it.
Throw in financial and fees issues, continuing housing problems, and it’s all a mess, and insufficient time and resources to fix things properly.
My lovely fellow students are very distracted and distracting, and live on social media, including during lectures, yet seem to manage their work load well enough. I’m deeply touched that they want me to see the latest ‘Sqeeee!’ moment too, but so distracted by the constant flow! Recently discovered they’re also able to type up lectures while talking about something else too. I’m in awe.
Despite what else has been going on and how worrying the future feels, I’ve quietly been enjoying a fair amount of the work.