can a 26 year old go back to college/ university or is it too late?

Question

i would love to go back to college or university or even both and get the career i have always dreamed of as an artist or something in the art industry.

im married and have bills to pay so i have to have a job.

is it too late for me to go to college and how would i manage everything? any advice or experiences? i'd love to hear them. thanks louise xx

Answer 1

it's only too late when you are pushing up Daisey's and 26 is still young. Go Louise, go to school. Ask family and friends that you trust if they will be able to help you!!

Answer 2

of course you can go back to college/university!

If you do not have any children, or if you have children of school age it would be even more convenient for you, however if they are young they can always go to a day nursery.

Being married isn't a problem, i have a friend who has been married for about 5 years and is in her final year of getting a degree. The only complaint she has or had even was that it was hard to manage her time but they managed to make a "timetable" that works for both of them.

as regards to the cost, you can always try and get a students grant or loan, depending on your local services

its very admirable that you would consider going back into education, i hope you all the best in having your dreams come true!
good luck Louise

Answer 3

your not too late, in fact you would do better than the younger ones, as you actually want to go and will have chosen something you want to do... most young people go to college or uni as feel pressured to..

i am doing a course (i am 23) and am the youngest!! everyone else are... mature students........

it may take a while to get your head back into the whole routine of studying etc, but go for it! talk it over with your hubby, is there anyway he could do more hours? or do a part time course so you can still work... there are ways around it, just find what is best for you, but if you don't do it now you may regret it and put it off....

good luck, hope you acheive what you want :)

Answer 4

Hi

AsI am sure you heard by now, its never too late to go back to school. This is very true.
Here is an example: I am 30 years old and just went back to school at the begining of Sept, 2006. I have been married for almost 2 years now. My wife is 25 and she went back to school this fall as well. We both have a couple of BS degrees each.

Prior to going back to school, I was a corporate traier at a law firm, and my wife managed a dentist office. We both have car payments and other bills.

Over the summer we decided to attend med school. We gathered every dime we could and paid off as many debts as possible (not enough) the cars are still left aalong with some other things. Licing off loans, we both dropped our careers and headed back to school full time. At the moment, we both have over 24 credits per semester worth of classes, no income and bills to pay.

Its hard, sometimes very demanding and challenging; not to mention emotionaly exhausting. But the way we llok at it, in a few years, this will all be worth while. After all, we make sacrifices now, so we can enjoy our lives later.

Yes you can go back to school. Yes, it is difficult. Yes it is challenging. Yes it is exhausting. Yes you will have to study (hard), and Yes you will want to quit as soon as you start. But take a good look at your life, is this where you want to be in 5 years? Because 5 years will come and go and you will ture 31, no matter what.

The question is, do you want to be 31 and still be where you are now?

That is the questio I had to answer, and look at me now, 30 years old and I have just begun med school.

I sencerely hope this helps you.

Good luck

Answer 5

Jeeze...I'm a senior citizen and I just graduated from a community college with AGS and AAOT degrees, and have been accepted to a 4 year university for my Bachelors in Nursing. I will enter as a Junior in the Spring.
I probably have about 15 - 20 good years to work with terminally ill children (my goal), while continuing to take microbiology classes so when I can no long lift patients I can either work in the field during epidemics/pandemics, or do disease research. So, to answer your question...you are not only never to old, but you would be surprised at how much pride you have in yourself for accomplishing your goals.

Answer 6

Believe me it is never too late, i went to college when i was 40 and gained an HND in my chosen subject.
I now have an HND, BA and Msc and i am only 51.
I managed to get (what i think) a good job, with good wage, company car, pension and medical insurance, i had to work while i was at college and University, it was difficult juggling both but i was fed up being in low paid job and being treated like an idiot at times.
You go for it and the best of luck.

Answer 7

It's never too late to go back to university or college! You're still just a puppy, married or not , 26 isn't OLD. My aunt went back to take a degree in French in her mid sixties. I was in university with a woman of 55 taking her ba/b.ed degree.

You can go to night school and take a course at a time and still have your job and raise your kids. True your spouse may have to help out more and you and your children may be doing homework together but then that might be a motivation for your kids to see you getting a higher education and think wow , if he/she can do that I could too.

Go for it . If you want it bad enough you'll find ways to do it.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I'm 38 and go at night, I'm lucky enough to have an employer who also reimburses me for tuition and books as long as I get a C or better. I'm working on a 4.0 average right now, seems a lot easier now that I don't have to worry about boys or partying. There's also an advantage to being an adult student, they don't seem to care about SAT scores or manuscripts when your not a teenager out of highschool. I can get into any University, none of this worrying about acceptance letters, etc.

Answer 10

Hell no, go for it, I was a mature student at 45! Loved every minute of it, and grew in many ways for the achievement!
People rarely stay with one job or career these days, and need to move on, learn other skills! Good luck!
P.S.
I am retiring in less then 6 months - and I STILL cannot make up my mind what I want to do when I grow up!!!