Is there a university where I won't stand out in terms of my age?

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I'm currently a 21-year-old community college student. I started at university in the Fall of 2015, but things didn't go as planned and I dropped out after one semester. I enrolled at a community college the following fall(2016), and I am now in my second year at that college, with plans to transfer to another university next year. However, I'm kind of self-conscious about my age. I was already old for my grade to begin with(October b-day), but with this recent setback, I would be 1 to 2 years older than my classmates at most universities. I really want to transfer to a university where I can fit in in terms of my age. For instance, I'll be turning 22 at the beginning of my junior year and 23 at the beginning of my senior year, and I was wondering if anyone on here knew of a college where it's common to turn 22 during junior year and 23 during senior year. I feel like there has to be one college like that in the USA. Thanks in advance.

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Type: Question • Score: 7 • Views: 669 • Replies: 9

I'd be surprised if anyone cared about a delay as small as that.

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@leadermilk,

You are worrying over nothing. I had to work through college and it took me 7 years to graduate. I sort of liked it that I had new people in my classes and not the same ones who liked to share answers with me. Ages of the students didn't seem to matter at my college.

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@leadermilk,

I just got my MS last year. I was 54.

Nobody gives a damn about your age, particularly when it's that close. You are worrying over nothing.

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@leadermilk,

Are you planning on living on campus? If so, talk to a counselor and ask to be placed in a dorm where there are older or married students.

If you are commuting and just attending classes, this is a non- issue.

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@leadermilk,

No one cares how old anyone else at university - or college - is.

People have their own business to take care of.

Some people start early.

Others return / start as mature students.

They don't care about anyone else's age.

They don't care.

My mother's best friend started university when her husband retired. She was 68 when she got her BA.

No one cared about her age. They were busy with their studies and were only interested in her because she was a good lab and study partner.

I completed a number of university programs in my 30's and 40's. No one cared about my age. They cared about how we could work/study together.

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Like others said this isn't a huge difference in age. And like someone else mentioned - the only thing that might be a bit uncomfortable is if you live on campus. If this is the case, reach out to the school and see if you can get alternate housing. At my undergraduate school they had an off campus (not far and with shuttle service) housing - I found that some older students - similar to your situation liked to stay there or those that just were not as comfortable in the typical dorm or on campus housing.

Another thought is that we actually made friends with other students that were slightly older - they tended to take more evening classes - you could opt to do that if you want to be around more people your own age. But we did have students that were older than the typical average age in our regular "day" classes as well - just that the night classes had more "older" students on average.

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@leadermilk,

Concentrate on transferring to a university, or college, that offers you the best opportunities for what you wish to study. Everyone interested in learning "fits in" at any university.

It is time for you to put your age self-consciousness behind you, or to try to understand why this sort of social anxiety is still affecting you and the decisions you will be making about your education and your adult life.

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ASU has a wonderful online bachelor program.

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@leadermilk,

I finished my undergraduate degree in my late 20s after working several years. It was a little odd, taking classes with 19 year olds. You learn a lot about life between the years of 19 and 27. The math and science classes didn't matter. I took some sociology and philosophy classes that involved class participation. That is where the age difference felt the strangest (as in these kids really haven't experienced anything).

You might feel a little weird at times. It doesn't matter. And as everyone says, once you finish your undergraduate degree it really doesn't matter.

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Is there a university where I won't stand out in terms of my age?

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