Got accepted into Oklahoma State University. Think I’m going to get a scholarship too. Problem is I’ll be 23 by the time I go and I’ll be a sophomore. I understand State University students are usually younger in age. I don’t want to party every weekend but at the same time I’d like to get a fun college experience and be able to have a good social life. Going to a state where I know nobody is extremely nerve racking. I don’t know if I’d be considered the old student.
You’re not going to be considered old. Students in their early-mid 20s are common. If nothing else, you could always hang out with grad students.
Congratulations! For admission and potential scholarship. There will be plenty of students in their early to mid-20s. Not everyone goes to college right out of high school and judging by the 6 year graduation rate percentages published by colleges, a lot of students do not graduate in four years either. You will meet other people your age, just be patient about building real relationships. Yes, uprooting yourself and moving to another state will have its stressors, however, it is also a great adventure if you embrace it. Best of luck to you.
My husband was 26 when he started college almost four years ago. He’d served in the military and was returning to get his bachelor’s degree.
He doesn’t party every weekend, but he definitely goes to parties and has both traditional-aged and other non-traditional students as friends. He ended up getting elected as the drum major of the marching band, and also has an internship with a small tech start-up. He’s enjoyed his college experience so far.
23 is still pretty young - the other students probably won’t even realize that you’re much older than them.
Even if you are considered an older student, you’ll find people who’ll want to befriend that maturity and meet with people who share similar party attitudes. 23 isn’t that much older and as long as you don’t make a huge deal of it, others wont either.
I’m 29 and I’m a junior at UIUC. My age has never really been an issue at all for me. You’ll be fine.
I didn’t go to school until I was 34! I had no intention of going to college out of high school, joined the military, then was a stay-at-home-mom. It wasn’t until my youngest child was in full time school that I went to community college, then got into the University of Colorado. It was a bit weird at times, since I had more in common with my professors than my fellow undergrads, or even the grad students, they often saw me more as a peer than a student.
Your age difference is much less than the one I dealt with, you will have a lot in common with many of the seniors and grad students.
However, I did learn quickly that the more mature approach to education made it a LOT easier. I found college to be incredibly easy and ended up almost finishing three majors in 3.5 years, since I no longer viewed classes as a chore - they became fascinating opportunities instead.