6 Benefits of Being a “Mature” Student
Mature being old. But you knew that already.
Last weekend I graduated from Columbia University with a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. As an entrepreneur and mother of two, it felt like an impossible commitment to drop into my life, especially during a global pandemic. I questioned my sanity many times, as did my children. Who goes back to school voluntarily?
I do, apparently. This ain’t my first rodeo. I got my first Masters in Organizational Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2003 right on the heels of my Bachelors in Clinical Psychology from Smith College. These experiences, 20 years apart, have given me the opportunity to reflect on how education has changed, and how I, as its recipient and beneficiary, have evolved.
It’s not uncommon for people to go back to school in their 40s, but it’s not typical either. For many reasons: the opportunity cost of being out of the workforce, external responsibilities and obligations that have built up such as kids, mortgages, corporate cred, and ostensibly you will already have studied everything you wanted to study in your 20s, or maybe your mid-30s.
Plus, it’s a lot of fucking work.
But if you’re like me, and have an incurable (irrational?) thirst for full immersion, there are some compelling reasons to pursue higher education in midlife:
- You know what you want to learn and you won’t waste time on anything less. I was more strategic with the class catalogue than I’ve been with business plans. My time and money was valuable and I was not going to squander either of them on hollow or easy credits. I got really creative and really assertive (to the chagrin of the registrar), and made the kinds of moves you only make when you’ve developed a robust sense of self worth. Would I have had the audacity in my 20's? Hell no.
2. Imposter syndrome doesn’t faze you. Sure, you make pop culture references that no one but the professors get but a student by definition is anyone who learns. You don’t worry about asking stupid questions or talking too much in class. You’ve been judged for worse.
3. You develop a real respect for neuroplasticity. There were tools, technologies and concepts that did my brain in at the beginning of the term or class (hello: university registration systems — there’s got to be a better way). But after a few days of tinkering and processing, you can feel your neurons coming online, literally wrapping your head around the previously unattainable, like magic. My appreciation for my brain grew tenfold during this time as I challenged it to move faster and deeper than I had in a long time. Keep in mind that I am also a solo entrepreneur and a mother of two so the need for synthesis, organization and prioritization was real. It was like playing three video games at the same time when the rules of engagement, the success metrics and the stakes were all wildly different.
Masochistic, much? Perhaps.
But I’ve been reminded now that there is nothing I can’t grasp, no obstacle I can’t overcome, and no scramble I can’t unscramble. And at 43, that’s a brilliantly gratifying, not to mention, fun place to be.
4. You appreciate the fact that you have perspective. You don’t sweat the small stuff, you know better than to chase As or suck up to teachers. You show up as your most authentic, eager-to-learn self. Else you wouldn’t have shown up at all. You have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself.
5. If there are children in your life, you teach them that learning is lifelong and that education is a privilege. Wouldn’t kill them to tend to you while you’re cramming for finals either, for a change.
6. You appreciate how far we’ve come. 20 years ago when I was in college and graduate school, text books were prohibitively expensive and there were very few accommodations for divergent learners. Now most readings are available online and professors assess in multiple formats so you have every chance to overshadow a cognitive or physical disability. Not that grades matter much. The focus is on demonstrated learning, collaboration, and depth. Professors who saw me lean in went out of their ways to accelerate my learning, many on their own time, without pay. Simply for the love and pursuit of knowledge.
When was the last time you were truly inspired by knowledge as the end, not just the means?
So, intimidating and irrational as the thought of school may be, if you have an itch for continued education at an “unconventional” age, consider scratching it. Just like they say, “Youth is wasted on the young”, I believe an advanced education is truly appreciated when you have a bit of life under your belt and can understand what an absolute blessing it is.
Intelligence plus character. That is the true goal of education. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
