It is never too late to study

From early alarms to late night sleep and quite some stress in between, student life brings with it a variety of struggles. Starting university ‘late’ may increase the burden of university life, particularly for mature students, who may have more priorities and responsibilities outside the university than the average undergraduate student. However, as the old saying goes, age is only a number. Maria, 29, and Michelle, 40, two mature students currently studying at the University of Malta, are testament to this fact.

Maria is a married undergraduate, currently in her final year reading for a bachelor’s degree (honours) in Communications with Sociology. Before starting university at 26, she was the head of marketing for a prominent company with an excellent salary. Maria admits that wanting the university life and needing a ‘break from life’ motivated her to start her academic journey. “I wanted to see what it is like to conduct research, work on assignments and learn new things.” However, Maria later revealed that the biggest challenge in taking the first step towards furthering her studies was what she conceptualises as an ‘identity crisis’. She explained: “Most of my friends were getting married and buying houses, and there I was, back to square one.”

Michelle is a mother to two young children, aged only four and nine at the time of Michelle’s enrolment. She has since successfully obtained a degree in European Studies and is currently reading for a Master’s degree in Public Policy Leadership. Her decision to start her academic journey was triggered by a colleague’s suggestion to reduce her working hours and juggle them with university hours. The day before the application deadline, Michelle decided to “give it a try.” Contrary to Maria, Michelle admits that her greatest barrier was her fear of not managing to find the right balance between studying, family matters, housekeeping and work.

Indeed, the issue of time management remains a constant trend in the experience of many students. Maria offers some valuable advice to anyone struggling with managing roles and responsibilities, explaining that “the less time you have, the more efficient you are.” She further elaborates that “being busy and filling your schedule to the max- imum really works.” Both of the interviewees admit that there may be times when you disrupt your sleep pattern – especially during examination periods, when you find yourself still awake at 4 or 5am. The students also found themselves putting some duties on the back burner, particularly when it came to chores and housework. “It is tough,” Maria says, “when while studying at the kitchen table, from the corner of my eye I can see the dishes piling up.”

However, being a mature student is not all that bad, and our interviewees encourage anyone interested in following the same path to do so. Among the best things about Maria and Michelle’s experiences so far are being around youths, constant learning, and being in an environment that feels ‘alive’. All of these aspects, according to Maria, “keep you young at heart.” Michelle also reveals that seeing her study inspires her children to do the same. “When I started, I could see them becoming more ambitious,” she admits. “If I had graduated at the age of 20, they would not have experienced my achievement with me.”

Both women want to continue climbing the academic ladder. Michelle, for instance, plans to study languages in the future, and Maria wants to start reading for a master’s degree once she graduates. “It is easy to be a student,” she concludes, “because the university is the hub of learning about everything, even about life.”

The less time you have, the more efficient you are