Mature Students- what's your opinion on UL?

Azures

Is UL a great place to be a mature student? How easy is it to make friends with other mature - ish students? Where do mature students tend to live? Are the clubs and societies 'Mature' friendly? What is the Arts degree experience for matures? ... and all other mature opinions that will help me decide which offer to take up are welcome! Thanks!

mud

Hi,

The first thing I'll say is to stop labelling yourself you're a student just like everyone else. Sorry, this is a peeve of mine, I abhor the attitude that is shown towards "mature" students. If you have a problem with a fellow student, you have a problem with them, not their age or circumstances in life.

As a 32 year-old 3rd year I can say that I found the first year rough going. I was in a predominantly young class and had to wait for some of them to get their heads around the fact that they were (a) Away from home for the first time and (b) dealing with people from all walks of life.

I felt a bit left out as I was rarely asked to socialise with them, this was all cleared up by 2nd year when they and I had a year under our belts and we all get on famously now.

I live away from the campus so can't help you there, although I see that some ads are post-grad/mature friendly.

I made friends with people of all ages and didn't restrict myself to any particular age-group.

I am doing an Arts degree and I find it manageable. The one piece of advice that I would give is to approach the lecturers during their drop in hours or after the lecture if you have a lot of questions to ask. Some people take up lecture time with their own agenda and it doesn't go down well and realistically isn't fair on everyone else there.

Aside from that, you get what you give. Your experience is down to you. There are ace systems in place such as the counselling services should you feel overwhelmed at any stage. I use the counselling service myself and find it great for working out the little problems before they become big problems.

Best of luck with your choice! UL is a lovely place to study

canned_ulkc

Azures wrote: »

Is UL a great place to be a mature student? How easy is it to make friends with other mature - ish students? Where do mature students tend to live? Are the clubs and societies 'Mature' friendly? What is the Arts degree experience for matures? ... and all other mature opinions that will help me decide which offer to take up are welcome! Thanks!

Azures, first - fair play to you for going for it. After being made redundant a few years ago I headed for UL and am now just finished my course.

I think it depends on what course you want to take up - some might be more likely to have a higher percentage of mature students. The teaching course I just did had about 10% mature students.

In general, it will be totally up to you as to the friendships you develop - I found that it wasn't so difficult to be at UL given that I knew a lot of people from the kayak club there from years before anyway.

As a student you can join with any club/society and for the most part I'd say it's generally as much about your willingness to be inolved (but that's true for anyone)

As for "labelling" - I've never found myself to be labelled nor any negative experience relating to being a mature student. The only thing I've ever heard is friends slagging me saying that "fecking mature students are awful sods for asking questions right at the end of lectures". That was just banter, but then I don't think anyone should be apologetic in any situation for trying to ensure your understanding.

For me, it's been the experience of my life.

Tony

paulmacc

Hi Azures,

I'm 35 and just finished my first year in UL. I'm studying Science Ed, so I can't help you with information on the Arts degree. First year can be tough, especially if you've been out of college for a while, but it is very doable.

There are plenty of supports in place for those that are attending college as a mature student. Here are my pointers to settling in:

Have a look at the UL website and find the course director for the course(s) you're interested in. Email them and ask them about the course. Ask them if there's anything you can be doing over the summer to prepare yourself for the year ahead.

Once you've been offered a place, the college runs a mature student orientation before the leaving cert students arrive. Go to it. Meet as many people as you can during the week. As well as meeting more mature students, you'll also pick up some handy hints about getting back into the mentality of going back to college.

When you do the full orientation with the rest of your class, you'll be with a tour guide that will either be doing your course, or something very similar to it. Ask them as many questions as you can. They'll also give you a card with their name and number on it. Use it if you need to.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are various support centres to help you if you're having problems.

Get to know your lecturers, they all have drop in hours. If their drop in hours aren't suitable for you, email them and arrange an appointment.

I live off campus in Milford Grange. There's a lot of students in this area and it can get quite noisy/ messy at times. Probably the quietest place to live would be in the Groody area, or Newtown, Annacotty. Both are within walking distance, but tend to be more expensive than Milford Grange & Elm Park.

Remember that first year is about getting everybody up to the same level, so you won't be on your own if you find it difficult. Go to all your lectures and tutorials and you won't have a problem.

If you have any questions or need help with anything, give me a shout.

All the best,
Paul.

brucechan

I wouldnt worry about being "labelled", sometimes it works in your favour with the young ones!!

UL is grand, and theres a diversity that suits all and can bring all together. If theres a class party in the Hurlers just go to the front bar while the teens are in the back. You'll find that not all teens are into the party scene, some lads just prefer a few pints talking about the football.

Milford Grange is very convenient but can be messy at times and the residents wont be shy about getting the cops out, so on occasion theres confrontation. Elm park is a disaster zone and unfortuately there has been a lot of burglaries, so stay away from there. Annacotty is nice though.

In the end its up to yourself really. You get out what you put in, but most maturish students have a great time. I did and I'm still around. And I'm just back from Canada where I caught up with a few former students and they said likewise.

Enjoy it!

J_E

There are a few mature students in my course. We're all in first year and get on as fellow students, there isn't really an 'us and them' mentality present. In fact, some of the mature students go out more than us, and some are heavily involved in clubs and societies which helps them connect even further. I wouldn't worry about it. Just jump in from the get go and you'll have no problems.

hillviewfarm

I am a mature student in UL. I am doing a post grad course. There is a mature student office for undergrad but if like me you are postgrad you are on your own. I found that there is very little there for mature students, maybe the post grad association or the lady vicar on campus. I have children the same age and older than my classmates so I found that I had very little in common with most of them. That is my experience, hopefully things may have changed this year.
There is definitely a need for something concrete to be put in place for mature students. If anyone is like me a mature student in UL please get in contact with me.

bonnieprince

I have just finished my degree and really enjoyed my time there. It was not perfect but it was not all bad. Some years were hard to get through but managed it all the same. Classmates were excellent considering I was twice their age, never felt left out and learned quiet a bit from the non "mature" students.
I would highly recommend going back but be prepared for some hard graft.
Go in with an open mind and embrace what's on offer.
Its up to you at the end of the day to make the most of it.
For accommodation, I am from Limerick but from what I hear avoid the usual locations areas. Maybe look to move in to a house with postgrads, they tend to be less interested in Thursday nights in the Icon.

Best of luck
bp.

sarah achill

Look I don't want to put you off, as I would say to anyone go to UL, it is a great University and more importantly not everyone has the same experience. I'm very glad I went, and I'm very glad that I got my degree and I did meet some really lovely people, both students and lecturers. But, I would be lying if I didn't say that I also found the experience really testing.
Firstly, the Mature Student office is a complete mystery to me! I have no idea why they are there, they were absolutely no help to me whatsoever. I found them really unapproachable and they made me feel a complete nuisance when I did ask them for help, they just basically just pushed me off. Later on I found out from other Mature Students that they felt the same way. I was going to complain them but I changed my mind and now I'm sorry I didn't. Also, I cannot recall a single time that I was there ever hearing from them.
Also, there is the element of being older than most of your class mates, there were very few Mature Students in my course, and to be honest they weren't very friendly at all. Some of the younger students were seriously nice and very helpful, but then they went onto do co-op and so as a Mature Student I didn't have to so I skipped ahead the class in the next year. Let me tell you this was horrendous. While a small number of the new class I was in were very nice, the rest were just horrible to me. I know it sounds weird that someone in their thirties would be bullied, but that was the case, they abused me on the class Facebook page, were stoney silent in class. It was really horrible, cant tell you how much.
Another problem for me was that it had been some time since I was last in school, so there was a huge amount with computers, writing essays and so on that I didn't have a clue about. Only for a few younger students helped me and one really nice lecturer I honestly wouldn't have made it past semester one. For example to write our essays we had to space the lines, I didn't know how to do this, so I asked a friend of mine who I thought would know. Well two years later I was in the library and a younger student who was in my class was just happening to be sitting beside me. She said she had no credit for the printer so would I mind if she used my credit, I said no problem and when she moved over to my desk she said you haven't spaced your essay right! And so she showed me how to do it right, well for two years I was being marked down on this and no one thought to mention it, and I did ask. Again in my final year, in my final semester one of my lecturers told me I had been doing a whole load of things wrong, and again no one mentioned it before. Oh and another thing, regardless of how bad other younger students essays were, I always got a graded below them.
Also, there is no consideration if you are a Mature Student, if you have a lot on your plate at home, which I did, then no one cares. When I did finally finish the degree I was so drained and traumatised by the experience that I didn't even go to my graduation, I was so sickened, I didn't belong there and that's how the whole experience made me feel. I was totally gutted, I always felt like a complete outsider and a nuisance. And by the way I'm no wimp either, I'm a pretty strong and confident, friendly person, but between the bullying and lack of interest in Mature Students it just wiped me out. It was an epic battle I can tell you to make it.
Sorry for being so negative but I did want to say this in case anyone else is experiencing the same thing. But let me just end by saying again, not everyone's experience will be the same, and you will meet some lovely people and it will be a great achievement when you do finish your course. But UL really needs to be more inclusive of its Mature Students and not treat them like burdens.

NeirBot

Just wanted to let people know that there is a mature student society being set up at the minute, there were a few informal gatherings last semester and it is hoped to get it formally set up in the first few weeks of this semester. It should be a good resource to have, to meet some like minded students (not that all mature students are the same! )
There is a Facebook page set up too: https://www.facebook.com/groups/221374931377784/