Benefits of Being a Mature Student 

The definition of mature student according to Cambridge English Dictionary is a student at a college or university who is older than the usual age. The maturity of students is defined by the age of student, 21 years old or above when they begin their undergraduate degree, and above 25 years old when apply for postgraduate program is considered as mature student. I am considered as a mature student according to the definition stated above. I believe the mature students have been through different paths in life and the experience throughout the years would bring advantages when embarking on a third-level course.

First of all, mature students are able to prioritize. Piles of assignments, endless deadlines, there are always so many things going on while doing degree. Juggling between studies and personal life and/or job, being an adult is required to be more responsible hence having the ability to discern and prioritize urgent tasks and having better time management is definitely a benefit of being a mature student. Mature students have learnt to value time and how to make the best out of it by only choosing the event that they have more interest in. By understanding that “time is gold”, mature students are less likely to procrastinate than normal students. Next, mature students are more self-directed. This group of student that choose to enroll themselves in tertiary education are either doing it based on interest, to further develop their knowledge in a certain field, to pursue their ambition or to change their lives status that they are living in currently, since education could change the status and quality of life. They can be more committed to study because they can picture what they want in life, and they know that by gaining knowledge, they could achieve their goals. This means that the mature students are self motivated and able to focus on study without external pressure. Furthermore, being mature students are better-equipped and could score better. Possessing more experience in life, mature students understand the process and have their own approach in studying. Mature student would enjoy and appreciate the process of studying rather than just focus on the outcome. This means that they would pay attention to details, accumulate and retain details.

Understanding their strength and weakness, mature students could choose learning format that suits themselves. Their exposure to real life boost their study experience as they could relate the topic being taught to reality. In the end they would complete their qualification successfully by having a more complete understanding of the course. Another advantage of going back to study at an older age is being able to feel young once again. Studying with a group of new people, or we could say the younger generation, the mature students get to immerse themselves in this energetic environment. Apart from sharing own stories, the youngers have different life experiences that the mature students have not encountered, by communicating with them help the mature students to understand the way of their thinking that results in decreasing of generation gap. Not only that, the youngers students could always come out with new and creative ideas that would fascinate the elders, hence open their eyes to the growing world. For example, the mature students get to learn how to use the latest gadgets or applications from their younger coursemates. Moreover, the educational patterns nowadays are diverse, interactive and interesting, the teaching equipments are more complete, which could bring different experience from the mature students’ previous study.

Last but not least, being a mature student, lecturers are more approachable. Talking to lecturers would not be an issue anymore because mature students learnt how to approach, communicate and bond with people. Lecturers are always there to help, students just needed to take the initiative to go to the lecturers. When the mature students could do this, it could boost their study experience. It would be easier to discuss with the lecturers about different concepts in theory or practical while relating to working life. In conclusion, the advantages of being a mature student are so significant. From the part that they are older in age with more experiences that brings a few numbers of benefits for their tertiary study to the part that what they could gain from this process, we definitely should encourage more people to study again. Age is just a number, and study is a lifelong process. Everyone deserves to lead a life that is filled with surprises and hope.