The Mature Student's Survival Guide - Progress So Far

Well I've been very lucky in getting a number of responses to my appeal for help in compiling what I'm calling "The Mature Student's Survival Guide". But I need to spread my net wider. I need to get comments and experiences from mature students who haven't attended the University of Lincoln. The danger is that my own experiences, and those of other Lincoln students, may not be repeated at other UK universities.

As part of my trawl for information I have been fortunate to meet some of the members of the MAPS group at the University of Lincoln. It's a group of mature and post-graduate students who meet at the Atrium on a Wednesday lunchtime. They were a delight to meet. Interesting people studying interesting subjects. One guy is working on robotics, another working on an MA (I hope that's right) thesis concerning an early 20th Century right-wing politician and another who's working on visual scanning systems for sorting potatoes. An eclectic mix to say the least. But they all seemed far more interesting to talk too than many of my own peer group.

First Year Results Day

For the last few weeks I've been getting rather jittery about my university exam results and the results from some of my outstanding assignments. The exams were the first time in more than two decades that I had to take part in conventional handwritten examinations. Sitting in a large room, scribbling my heart out using pen and paper. It reminded me of my 'O' Level examinations that I took all those years ago back at Kingsmead Secondary Modern. Sweaty teenagers scribbling out answers in a large room full of silence and raging hormones.

I was more than nervous concerning the results. The uncertainty made the wait doubly nerve-racking. Most of the professional examinations I've taken have been computerised and the score provided in a matter of seconds. Here I was waiting for weeks. I'm surprised I had any nails left to bite.

So last night I cuddled up to my laptop and prayed to the God of Cottage Cheese (with pineapple chunks, of course) and waited for the 1st Year results to be posted. About midnight the information appeared on Blackboard and with some trepidation I clicked on the PDF link for my score.....

I was more than relieved to see that I had passed my 1st Year and was being allowed to proceed to the 2nd Year of the course. If I had failed it would have been a disaster. Especially as I make no secret of the fact that I think many of my fellow students couldn't care less about their studies. I pride myself on putting in as much effort as I can and aiming for the highest marks available. It doesn't make sense to me to put myself through university in the hope of a 2:2. I'm aiming for a First for every assignment and exam. Any time I don't get a First I feel that I've got to work harder and drive myself to improve. Hell, isn't that meant to be one of the core reasons to be at university in the first place?

So now I can prepare myself for the next year, polish my pens and dust off the dictionaries. Now I know what's expected from me I feel that I can "up" my game and go on to better things. Roll on September! I'm ready.