Any 'Mature' Students starting science in September?

esposito

Hi all,

I'm starting Omnibus Science as a 'mature' student in September even though i'm only 24!

I have to say I am very apprehensive about it all; wondering if I'll cope with the coursework and making friends etc. yet at the same time I'm excited about the whole prospect.

Anyone else starting Science this September that aren't coming straight from school? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Fad

While neither a mature student or starting this year, I am a science student!

There will be a fair few mature students, the older ones do tend to stick together to an extent, some of the younger ones mix with school leavers a lot too. You'll be grand!

Course work in 1st semester is fairly gentle if you do it as you get it (Warning if you do bio: Dont leave the trout report till the last minute/dont decide not to do the trout report......you'll see what I mean when I start)

Enjoy

esposito

Fad wrote: »

While neither a mature student or starting this year, I am a science student!

There will be a fair few mature students, the older ones do tend to stick together to an extent, some of the younger ones mix with school leavers a lot too. You'll be grand!

Course work in 1st semester is fairly gentle if you do it as you get it (Warning if you do bio: Dont leave the trout report till the last minute/dont decide not to do the trout report......you'll see what I mean when I start)

Enjoy

Cheers. I hope to mix with both school leavers and the older mature students! We shall see...

Won't be doing bio so no need to warn me about trout report! Will be doing Physics and a bit of geology.

I hope to join some clubs/societies aswell. They say it's a great way to make new friends:)

rainbow kirby

esposito wrote: »

I hope to join some clubs/societies aswell. They say it's a great way to make new friends:)

Have to agree with that, I met far more of my friends in college through clubs and societies than my course. Have fun

rantyface

The mature students in my class mixed with us. There's a mature students' society which is really active too, and they range from 23 to retired! A lot of smaller societies are full of postgrads, most of whom are 23-27. There were a lot of people in my year in science who tried other degrees first, or took a few years out and were a bit older starting.

Geology is great fun, I wish I had done it, at least in first year. Science is about LC standard in first year so there's plenty of room for socialising!

Of all things you don't need to worry about in science, it's meeting people. Long hours mean lots of contact time and a real class spirit by the end.

I didn't get too into societies, I just went to debates, celebrity visits and talks I was interested in. My faculty had a society and we just used it as an excuse for money for nights out! (and of course some semi formal talks by visiting scientists) Mathsoc, biosoc, pharmtox soc, chemsoc and rocsoc pretty much all do that. Great fun!

ghostchant

Also the physics society is starting up again this year, so would be worth your while looking into that too

dr gonzo

Im not doing science but i, like you, went back to college at 24 so i was a mature student but i felt young. I havent gotten involved with too many clubs/socs but ive just been very open minded and easy-going about the whole experience. All i can say is chat to people everywhere you can, enjoy every moment, theres no set things that you should do so just take it a day at a time.

You'll be absolutely fine, good luck in your studies.

esposito

Thanks for the advice!

What are you studying? Did you find yourself making more of an effort to talk to people your own age or older or the 17-20 year olds?

dr gonzo

esposito wrote: »

Thanks for the advice!

What are you studying? Did you find yourself making more of an effort to talk to people your own age or older or the 17-20 year olds?

When i started i found myself gravitating to the mature students a bit more because i went in with the mentality that the younger students would be immature and silly rubbish like that but within a few days i had friends in there of all ages and nobody cares, 19 year olds hang out with 50 year olds and its just completely normal. The best part is now that UCD and im sure other universities are getting such a huge influx of mature students its becoming an great experience of college that groups of friends incorporate people of all ages.

To be perfectly honest and no offense intended to any mature students that are having a tough time but its only ourselves that make us aloof, in other words the younger lot have no issues with age but the older ones do. Nobody cares in there as long as youre a nice person so dont worry about that aspect.

Im doing arts by the way which is probably the worst course in the college for trying to carve out your place and a group of friends, im sure you'll have no problems at all in Science.

lonestargirl

Although the lectures are big in Science you will be in smaller groups for labs and tutorials and it's easy to make friends. I did physics and there was 11 in my year, we worked well together as a group and did a lot of our problem sheets etc together, again physics labs are good for chatting to people and the demonstrators and lecturers are very friendly. My class chipped in to buy a fridge, microwave, kettle and toaster and we all used to convene together for lunch, good for the student budget.