Will i be left out at UCC?

knifeyspoony

Im a 22 year old female and Im starting a course in UCC in september, Realistically, am i going to be isolated by other students who are younger than me because im a bit older? Feel free to be brutally honest!
I want to be able to make new friends with people in the course who are 18-24. Will i be excluded by the other students?
I dont really know anyone who goes to UCC as all of my friends have finished their courses and Im really nervous! I also plan to stay in student accommodation (apartments)!!

TheBunk1

I honestly can't see any possibility of that happening. It's college. 99% of people are outgoing and will be in the same boat as you. Just be yourself and you'll be fine. You'll have a ball. It's a great University and Cork is a great city. I've been here 10 years and they still can't get rid of me

Opics

I'll be your....friend

AnotherTool

The likelihood is that quite a few of the class coming from Leaving Cert will be 19, pushing on 20. And then considering people repeating or who have changed courses it's getting closer and closer to your own age. In all honesty 22 is not that much older. If you're outgoing, sociable and up for the craic your age will be insignificant.

FluffyCat

It depends on the course really and the people in it. I was completely treated like a disease along with the other mature students.

I just put it down to the age of younger ones but I was only 3/4 years older than them!

maglite

22?

Would you even notice the difference between 19/20 and 22?

whydoibother?

It's as much about your own outlook as anything else. I couldn't see them wanting to exclude you for being 22, but I do know that people who are slightly older, and maybe have lived away from home and looked after themselves for a couple of years can find the behaviour of people who've just finished school slightly immature. This is not a massive problem, it just means that sometimes you've got to make a conscious effort to mix with your class, when you might prefer to mix with housemates or other friends your own age. But it sounds like you've got the attitude that you will anyway so I can't see any problems. The good news is people grow up quickly once they go to college imo and even if you do feel the difference between 18 and 22, it'll be significantly less between 19 and 23.

Manach

In my expericence as a mature student doing a course at UCC, it did not really matter, at least in that case as the age profile was fairly well scattered. Also, we all united against the common enemy, exams.

nadialbala

knifeyspoony wrote: »

Im a 22 year old female and Im starting a course in UCC in september, Realistically, am i going to be isolated by other students who are younger than me because im a bit older? Feel free to be brutally honest!
I want to be able to make new friends with people in the course who are 18-24. Will i be excluded by the other students?
I dont really know anyone who goes to UCC as all of my friends have finished their courses and Im really nervous! I also plan to stay in student accommodation (apartments)!!

Hello !! I have same fear !! So u feel better I am 28 ! 29 in September so I am much older than u and I don't know anyone so I am quite worried to go there :-( we can be friends ....

Bloody Nipples

I'm 22 and about to graduate and personally I'd find the idea of being in a lecture theatre with 1st years to be fairly abhorrent.

Though there were ~300 people in my first year, and lecturers had to spend a lot of time shushing people who just wouldn't stop chattering. I'd feel in hindsight that it takes people a while to get out of the secondary school mindset and approach college with a mature attitude (I'm guilty myself of this). Feel free to take this with a pinch of salt though. I'd look more towards getting involved in clubs or socs that have a shared interest.

pecker1992

nope you wont..im 22 & starting in UCC in sept also..theres a ton of age groups throughout most courses...& believe me its college ull have no problem makin friends..i was only in UL 1 month i was 21 and made a bunch of friends so dont stress

ReacherCreature

Absolutely not. You'll be fine. Also remember that there's mature students in their 20s, 30s, 40s etc. and they're working away/graduating. No need to worry.

knifeyspoony

Thanks everyone i feel so much better! I still get asked for ID everywhere i go so I still look 18/19 So id say no one will even notice anyways
Cant wait to start UCC!

kob29

Yea I agree shouldn't be a problem. The maturity of the students in the course can depend bigtime on the course- higher points tends to equal more mature students. Definitely dont go advertise that you're older than the leaving cert crew, but at 22 you'll hardly notice the difference because classes in general in college are much more diverse than they used to be. Being friendly and making an effort to talk to people, especially the ones that look lost and lonely will pay great dividends.

SuitedAces

Hey OP, do you mind if I ask what course you're planning to do??

starlit

Hey OP,

I went back to college in UCC two years ago as a mature student to do a postgrad course, would have been 24. To be honest there was more people older than me than the same age as myself. Only one or two were younger than me. Some were close to my age. My biggest fear was that it be mostly guys rather than girls or I'd be the only girl in the course as it was an IT course. As it turned out there were more guys than girls on the course but all the girls gelled well with each other even though there wasn't many of us even so we all got on great. We are still friends since! There was more of an age difference between us girls than the guys though. But it didn't matter we were still students in the end of the day doing a course, we were studying the same stuff so luckily as a class we got together as one and all gelled and got on well despite the gender and age differences! It didn't matter. So don't worry be yourself, say something to break the ice there is always something, if you do so the first day it be a good thing, it will take a few days to get to know people don't be in a rush to get to know everyone at once, it will take time.

Its worth making an effort to chat to people you be sharing with in student accommodation if you plan to do that, its a great way to make friends and make friends with their friends/classmates. I'm still friendly with my former flatmates have still kept in touch with most of them as we got on so well, and I got on well with their friends and classmates too. Go out and have fun, there might be class parties go to them its a great way to get to know your class outside of college! Be sure to have a social life outside college and have friends other than college classmates, its great to get a good circle of friends too. Try to keep in touch with them cause not everyone will make the effort to stay in touch.

I remember when I first went to college as a first year in another college after leaving cert, most people were late teens early twenties but there wasn't much a of a difference between us since we were close in age, might be a difference for those 17 or 18 their maturity wouldn't be up to scratch until they pass 19 or 20 but at the the same time they mature fairly quickly and really in truly there is no difference between those 20 or 22! There were mature students in our class and we younger ones got on grand with them, if not better than with some other people in our class.

We were very much a united class so basically if we had an issue we all came together to get it sorted out! Mature students are a lot more diverse these days ranging from 20's, 30's and 40's even 50's or 60's even!! So to be honest if there are mature students in your class you are likely to be younger than them! So don't sweat it! Its those who be over 30 or 40 will probably notice the age gap a bit more due to life experiences and what they be into be slightly different to you but then again they be studying the same course as you so not much of a difference there!

Age shouldn't be a big deal its maturity really and getting on with people really. Be yourself! That's all you can be, it won't matter to your other classmates what age you are you be into pretty much the same things like.
Best of luck in college!

Nah,seriously 22 is noooooooo big deal:)

You're gonna have a ball and make a ton of genuine friends:) Ucc is the place to be!

Solair

I really don't think you've anything to worry about. Depending on the course you're doing, there's likely to be a decent spread of ages in the class. Although, the majority will be just entering from Leaving Cert.

22 is still pretty young. You will see mature students there in their 40s, 50s, 60s and even older.

UCC has a fantastic range of clubs, societies and an extremely active newspaper and radio station.

Social life for me always revolved around those kinds of things and not really around my classmates.

I would strongly suggest that you get involved with whatever interests you on campus.

As universities in Ireland go, UCC has by far one of the most active campuses in Ireland so make use of it.

You'll find lots of people to hang out with and you'll have a blast!

Don't forget there are plenty of us postgraduate types who are in their 20s,30s,40s+ too. So, you're far from in a minority on campus, even if your class is a bit dominated by school-leavers.

Clubs:
http://collegeroad.ie/clubs/index.html

Societies:
http://collegeroad.ie/societies/index.html

UCC 98.3 / Cork Campus Radio:
http://www.ucc.ie/ccr/ (Website is being redeveloped due to possible rebranding)


UCC Express:
http://uccexpress.ie/


Students' Union:
http://www.collegeroad.ie/ (Spoof of the Government's www.merrionstreet.ie)

Also, you should make sure you attend the clubs and socs day which usually takes place in the multifunction hall in the Student Centre. Every club/soc will have a desk and you can have a chat and see what you're interested in getting involved with.

I cannot stress strongly enough what a lively campus UCC is. I have been a student elsewhere in Ireland and really nothing quite compares in terms of college life.

I wish you all the best with whatever it is you're doing at UCC and rest assured, you will have a blast!

daisyscience

I agree with all the above, you'll be fine. I went back as a mature student at 25 and on the first day made friends with a 20yr old as we both found the 'just out of school' people pretty immature and yet a lot of the mature students were very boring.
I went on to make many friends from 17 to 50s+
Put yourself out there and chat to nervous looking people standing on the edge like yourself, and you dont have to be best friends with the first person you meet either.
Its going to be soooo much fun and you'll look back at your first day with fondness in the future. (hopefully!! )

Michael..

Hey guys !

I'm 23 and I'm also starting a course in UCC next year. I must say, I was a bit apprehensive about the age gap. However, this thread has really banished my fears.

The huge range of societies on the students' union website look amazing. I for one can't wait to start in September. It's going to be an interesting couple of years.:)

knifeyspoony

Id like to say thanks to everyone who replied and made me feel a lot better about starting college at my age Im really looking forward to UCC now and if they are anything like you guys i should get on great

Knex*

knifeyspoony wrote: »

Id like to say thanks to everyone who replied and made me feel a lot better about starting college at my age Im really looking forward to UCC now and if they are anything like you guys i should get on great

If you have the confidence I'd advise thinking about being a class rep. I know a few people who started college at a similar age to yourself and they found it really helped them and they got to know people quickly as a result. Also it puts you "In the loop", so to speak, straight away and might allow you to bed in more easily.

Also the mature students always get voted in because they're assumed to be more reliable for some unknown reason

Its a responsibility but its really not as hard as some people think, did it myself last year (was in 2nd year) and the only daunting thing about it was the quick speech you have to give when nominating yourself.

Anyways, just a suggestion OP! Not sure I got across exactly what I was meaning too but I've been saying for the last two years that college damages your IQ

Best of luck and enjoy!

knifeyspoony

Knex. wrote: »

If you have the confidence I'd advise thinking about being a class rep. I know a few people who started college at a similar age to yourself and they found it really helped them and they got to know people quickly as a result. Also it puts you "In the loop", so to speak, straight away and might allow you to bed in more easily.

Also the mature students always get voted in because they're assumed to be more reliable for some unknown reason

Its a responsibility but its really not as hard as some people think, did it myself last year (was in 2nd year) and the only daunting thing about it was the quick speech you have to give when nominating yourself.

Anyways, just a suggestion OP! Not sure I got across exactly what I was meaning too but I've been saying for the last two years that college damages your IQ

Best of luck and enjoy!

Hey Kinex, Thanks for the advice! I was a class rep in college before and wasnt really hard work or anything but was tough getting everyone to agree on stuff/places to go. I dont think id do it again was a little stressful that way lol, but i see where youre coming from! Haha I wonder what you said in your speech, sounds funny, i didnt have to say a speech at my last college lol thanks again!

Knex*

knifeyspoony wrote: »

Hey Kinex, Thanks for the advice! I was a class rep in college before and wasnt really hard work or anything but was tough getting everyone to agree on stuff/places to go. I dont think id do it again was a little stressful that way lol, but i see where youre coming from! Haha I wonder what you said in your speech, sounds funny, i didnt have to say a speech at my last college lol thanks again!

Think most courses in UCC require you to give an account of yourself/nominate yourself for class rep role.

Mine wasn't too bad, was in 2nd year and I'm fairly outgoing/social so I knew most people in my course ( over a 100 in my course :eek: ). Just went up made a joke about the person before me taking hours ( shes a good friend so took it well ) and said what I thought I could offer etc.

Didn't fancy doing it in 1st year though!

Aoi

Don't worry about it, my friend's mother is on the same course as me, she gets on grand =]

Babyblessed

Ah Jeez, lads!! Try being 40! Final year and all that but I am still the oldest!

That said great bunch of students!

Manach

Babyblessed wrote: »

Ah Jeez, lads!! Try being 40! Final year and all that but I am still the oldest!

That said great bunch of students!

Ye youngsters of 40 need ta show respect to the older mature mature students like meself.

Babyblessed

Aoi wrote: »

Don't worry about it, my friend's mother is on the same course as me, she gets on grand =]

My daughter is just qualifying whilst I have another year to go!

Dermighty

I was about to say that you should be realistic but you're 22! :P

You're not not 62.

There will be no exclusion.