Returning to study as a mature-aged student can be a challenge. If you're committing to studying later in life, you will, in general, now have to balance this with other commitments. You may also be significantly more time-poor than in your younger, more carefree years as an undergrad student! Of course, unlike during your undergraduate degree, you're also likely to have a lot more responsibility in your personal life. It's possible that you're a parent now, which means you will have even less time to dedicate to studying.

Studying in Later Life: How to Return
Studying in Later Life: How to Return to Study As a Mature Student Pexels

If this is the case, you will need to develop and cultivate habits that allow you to fit studying into your busy life. Depending on your age, you may also need to adapt to new digital technologies and online study methods! Despite these challenges, however, returning to study as a mature student can pay off - especially if you are looking to either progress or change careers. As such, our guide to studying later in life may be of assistance to you. To learn more, just read on!

Flexible Study Methods: Making Further Study Possible

If you are a mature age student looking to return to study, a fantastic option is toelect to study online at RMIT. Importantly, choosing to study online will enable you to free up more of your precious personal time. This is because you will no longer need to spend long hours commuting to and from a university facility to attend on-campus lectures or tutorials. This is time that you can instead use to dedicate to your family or your career.

On the subject of your career, completing further study is highly beneficial to career progression. This is especially true if you're aspiring to climb the corporate ladder, change professions, or even, move to an entirely new industry. Of course, making a career change later in life is not uncommon. However, making it happen can be extremely daunting! Sometimes it's hard to know where to start. This is where higher education comes in. Generally, to change careers, you will need to complete a further qualification. You may also need to learn new skills. This is particularly true when we consider the influence the ever-changing digital landscape is having on workplaces globally - including in terms of the emergence of new online technologies and advances in virtual methods of information dissemination.

New Technologies: Adapting to Digital and Online Learning

In our digital age, online study is becoming more and more common. Indeed, the convenience of online study methods is making completing a degree more achievable than ever. But how exactly do you study online?

First, it is important to familiarise yourself with the course structure. Doing this at the very beginning of your study period will enable you to plan out your commitments for the duration of your degree. That way, you can effectively diarise your examination, assessment and assignment due dates. Utilising a calendar or planner is a great visual way to ensure that you are aware of when course assessments are due. This will enable you to stay on top of your course requirements, maintain control of your studies, and reduce stress throughout your study period. Of course, you will also need to make sure that you have digital access to all of the course materials. This will enable you to meet the online course requirements and complete the qualification virtually, in your own time.

Studying as a Parent: Fitting Study Commitments into Your Already Busy Schedule

If you are a mature age student, it is likely that you now have a family of your own. If this is the case, gone are the days when you only have yourself to look after! If you have kids, then, you will be very familiar with a hectic schedule - school drop-offs and pick-ups, sports training, music lessons - the list goes on! As a parent, you may also feel a sense of guilt in taking time out to work on yourself and your education. Of course, the best way to get around this is to remind yourself that by bettering yourself and your career prospects, so too will your family benefit from the opportunities that higher education will open up to you.

So, how to make it work? For working parents, especially, often the most effective and perhaps only time available to study is late at night - after the kids have gone to bed. Of course, sitting down to study following a full day of both working and parenting is no easy feat. As such, it is important to also try to fit in some downtime for yourself. Even something as simple as going to a massage, taking a guided meditation class, or just getting your nails done, can do wonders for the soul. Of course, the most important thing is to ensure that you are booking some time for yourself within your busy schedule.

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If you are serious about your career progression, you will want to consider pursuing a higher education qualification. Moving up the career ladder - whether it's within your existing industry, or in a completely new role - will undoubtedly require you to learn and develop new skills.

Of course, the best way to grow your knowledge in any area is through higher education. Despite this, committing to higher education - especially as a mature age student - can seem out of reach. Especially, as mature age students often already have both professional and family commitments. Many mature-age students are also parents, which means they will have even less time to dedicate to a study committee.

However, if you have your heart set on pursuing a further qualification, there are ways to do it. Flexible online learning has made completing a degree more attainable than ever. And, by cultivating good time management habits, as well as ensuring that your stress levels are regulated, mature-age students can successfully return to study later in life. Albeit, it won't be without its challenges. But, in the long term, the results will be worth it!