by Anne StClair

Created on: January 02, 2007   Last Updated: August 21, 2008

As someone doing first year University at the age of 55, let me tell you that you are never too old to get an education. In fact there was a man in Australia a few years ago who gained his PhD at the age of 92. Let me repeat that: he was 92 (and he's going in the Guinness book of records).

So, compared to that you're probably a spring chicken, just as I am. I thought I would be the oldest person studying for a BA in Literature and Composition, but I have met many students older than myself. I've stopped even thinking about my age now. I don't even think of myself as a mature age student - I'm just a student.

I am finally studying what I have always wanted to study and I'm loving every minute of it. Should I have waited until I was 65 or 75 to start studying? I don't think so. If you want to return to study, then in my opinion it is better to do it now than wait until later. Why wait, after all? But even 92 is not too late. Life is a journey, and for many people, part of the journey includes studying things you really want to know about. And it is never too late to start.

Yes, it's hard work, and you do have to prioritise and make time for study. I don't have any time for television any more, and I have had to turn down invitations at times because an assignment is due. But my mind is active and I can almost feel my brain expanding, and it is well worth the sacrifices you have to make. Your mental capacity is like anything else in your body and if you don't use it you lose it. Being a tertiary student means that I am exercising my brain every day.

I decided to do a degree in Literature because it is something I have always wanted to study. I have always felt uneducated in this because I did not have the vocabulary to talk about the books I love to read. I felt like I had never really had the education I wanted, and I am finally getting it. I'm not even doing the degree for a job or for a certificate, I'm doing it for the education itself.

And I'm loving it. It isn't for everone, but if you want to go back to school, college or university, then my advice is: DO IT! You won't regret it. Don't let your age stop you, because it's actually your best ally. Your extra years of life, wisdom and maturity have given you experience and a reason for the studying. If you are like I was I had no idea at 18 what I wanted to do. Now I'm older, I have matured and have a much better understanding of what I want to do and why.

Just remember the motto of the Open Universities in Australia: "Nothing can stop you now."

Nothing can stop you. Just do it.

Update: August 2008. I am now in my 3rd year at University, and still loving it. I have no regrets whatever about setting off on this new adventure. And in fact I feel as though my real education is just beginning.

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