Any mature Masters students out there?

[MasterOfScience]

Hi all.

I'm 43 and about to start a 2yr bioscience MSc (face-to-face, RG, commuting). I'm slightly nervous about being back in school, all of the closed-book exams (one for every module), and being the oldest bird on the block. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into the challenge, meeting new people and extending my skills/knowledge.

Anyone else starting, or already on their postgrad journey? What's your subject area? How are you feeling about things? Those of you who've already started, any tips?

Your commute must be quieter than mine was, @ThePenguinIsDrunk. (Stupidly about 3 and a quarter hours door to door, one way, with about 2 and a half hours of that on trains. It was possible to work in the mornings, but the evening trains were so rammed with people - and I was mostly so exhausted - that no work ever happened.)

My trains are similarly rammed in the evenings unfortunately but my elbows are sharp...I think it may be wishful thinking but may try just to keep on top of the work (or just catch up on knitting/reading if I can concentrate).

So far, so good for me on the commute front. I'm fairly lucky, I board before the train gets super busy on my inbound journey. My outbound journey tends to be before the mass exodus of peak PM commute from the nearby city, so I'm sitting down before the crush. I'm about 1hr door-to-door, so no great shakes.

I don't bother with laptop etc on the train either @ThePenguinIsDrunk. Whilst I would have time and might find it necessary later on, there's not a vast amount of room unless you get a quad table (hen's teeth!). Being able to decompress a bit on the train with a podcast or a non-course-related paperback is a welcome relief. I've got plenty of prep and whatnot to do too, it's going to be like that from here on in. Today is my day to do that, actually.

@Edmontine , that was a demon commute! How did you manage train disruptions? Did you drive in or WFH on those days?

Yes face to face!

Fortunately, after the first couple of induction weeks - during which I stayed with friends / relatives - I only had to travel maybe twice a week, sometimes three - and terms were short so I just had to grin and bear disruptions. (Including one instance of a two hour train journey taking five hours …)

Once I was accepted for the course I had anticipated moving to the intitution’s city. Didn’t happen for complicated reasons. The commute was honestly punishing - but worth it in the end!