Be prepared for the changes that you or your family may have to make

As a mature student, one of the main things you may be worrying about is how you will cope with the academic work when you go to university or college.

The fact is that the university or college that takes you on will have confidence that you can cope with the work. This may be because of the life you have led to date, which includes achievements that equate with higher study, or it could be due to your qualifications.

student reading a bookBasic study skills

You should be able to:

  • understand how to learn;
  • organise your time;
  • take notes;
  • read effectively;
  • research, analyse and draw conclusions;
  • write essays and reports.

An Access course will help you to brush up on all these skills, but don't underestimate the skills of which you may not be conscious. For example, if you have brought up a family successfully, there is a good chance that you know how to organise your time and have had to learn new skills quickly.

Family and friends

Your return to study is bound to have an impact on family and friends. Inevitably, as you establish new patterns of work as a student, and possibly even adopt a very different lifestyle, those around you will have to come to terms with many differences. This is bound to change relationships to some extent. Your views might change significantly because you will be exposed to other ways of thinking and this can strain some relationships if you are not prepared for it.

Depending upon your personal family circumstances, you will need to discuss your plans in some depth with all those who are likely to be affected and come to a working agreement about how best to handle any area of difficulty.

Preparation

Sort out in advance areas such as finance, childcare and travel, and set priorities for the way in which you are going to run your life as a student.

It might be a good idea to draw up a schedule of how you will manage your time in a typical week as a student. To do this, you will need to find out the likely timetable for the course you are interested in and work out roughly how much time you will want to spend on campus. Take into account, for example, time to be spent in the library and at social events.

You will meet many new people and make lots of new friends as a student. This will enrich your life and give you opportunities to contribute to the student community. You may not always find your course easy, and life as a mature student will have its challenges, but you will have the benefit of studying with others who have similar interests and are encountering the same problems.