Think 50 is too old to go to university? Think again. Learning has no age limit. Going to university later in life can help you take the next step in your career—or finally achieve a long-held goal.
Maybe you want to upgrade your credentials. Maybe you want to earn an MBA and go after that long-overdue promotion. Maybe you want to shift gears and put yourself on an entirely different career track. Or maybe you view learning as a lifelong endeavour, as a way to better yourself and expand your mind.
Whatever your motivation is for going to university after fifty, it is a goal that is well within your reach. The University of Fredericton can help you achieve it. With flexible, online programs in Business, Technology and Occupational Health and Safety, it has never been easier to go back to school.
Life experience works to your advantage
You don’t reach the age of 50 without learning a thing or two about life. And your life experience can give you a big leg up at university.
For example, university students need to manage their time effectively and solve problems. For younger students, learning to balance the demands of academic study with those of everyday life is one of the major lessons of the university years. But managing deadlines and setting priorities is something that students over fifty already know how to do. After all, these skills are simply skills you've developed throughout adulthood.
The perspective you already have can help you see things that others might miss. The insights gained from experience can help mature learners understand how lessons translate into practice—how abstract ideas can be applied to real challenges.
Going back to school over 50 brings transferrable skills
The communication skills you have developed over the years can also serve you well at university. Experience teaches you how to listen, consider different viewpoints and work with people who communicate in different ways. Whether you are collaborating with classmates or discussing an assignment with a faculty member, those skills can help you participate with confidence and build stronger relationships.
Your perspective can also make classroom conversations more meaningful. After decades of navigating workplaces, relationships and changing circumstances, you may recognize patterns and practical connections that others have not yet encountered. You can draw on real experiences to explore how academic ideas apply to professional challenges and everyday life.
That knowledge does not only support your own learning. It can benefit your classmates too. By sharing thoughtful questions, observations and examples, students over 50 can help connect theory with the realities of the world beyond the classroom.
Overcoming nerves about technology
If technology makes you nervous, you're not alone. Many students return to school after years away from formal education. Online learning platforms are designed to be intuitive, and support is available if you need it.
Online learning is a revolution in education. It makes it possible to access learning resources from any place with a connection to the internet. Technology allows you to pursue university studies, without needing to uproot your life and build a new one in a new city.All of this convenience is made possible by technology. And technologies always have a learning curve.
Today, university classrooms commonly use a type of software called a learning management system (LMS). These programs allow faculty members to communicate with students and share notes, presentations and assignments electronically.
Sure, an LMS is a little different than a chalk and blackboard or a projector, but rest assured these software programs don’t require any special skills to use. They rely on the same set of basic computer skills that many people already use every day. The online campus at UFred, for example, is intuitive and easy-to-navigate, with similar features to commonly used programs such as web browsers, word processors and mobile phones. With modern technology, learning is just a click away.
Going back to school can fit your life now
Going to university may not have been possible earlier in your life. Work, family responsibilities, finances or other commitments may have taken priority. That does not mean the opportunity has passed.
Online learning gives you more freedom to pursue a degree without leaving your job or relocating. You can continue meeting your current responsibilities while making progress toward a goal that matters to you.
Your priorities may also be clearer now. With more life and career experience, you may have a stronger sense of what you want from your education and how you plan to use it. That clarity can make returning to university feel more purposeful than it might have years ago.
Many people who chose not to pursue a post-secondary education after finishing high school could benefit from having a university degree today. Why not go for it now?
Your 50s may be the right time for university
A university degree is much more than just a credential. It is an aspiration—a goal to be achieved, even if it happens later in life. Maybe you never had a chance to go to university, or maybe you were forced to drop out when life got in the way of your studies.
University studies after fifty can revive a dream that was cut short, and it can set a positive example for your children. It demonstrates that you value education, and it positions you to provide valuable advice and counsel if your children choose to pursue university studies of their own.
Everyone has their own life story and their own set of reasons for pursuing a university degree. Whether you want to go to university to finish strong in your career, develop your thinking, or just because you love to learn, it is never too late to go back to school.
The best time to earn a degree may have been years ago. The next best time is now.
Ready to take the leap? Learn more about the programs available at UFred.
