There was a lady in several of my classes in law school who was 79 years old. She was pursuing the degree for her own pleasure - and to keep herself challenged. She and I got along swimmingly, actually. She graduated with honors - passed the bar her first go, too. One of her granddaughters was two years ahead of us - the lady said it was her granddaughter who gave her the idea.
She maintained (and I agree) that education is always a worthy endeavor - regardless of age.
I was in my early 30’s when I graduated. I’m thinking that some day, I’ll eventually go back and get my graduate degree (not sure in what, though). Age never really crossed my mind–either my age, or some one elses.
I’ve tried talking my mom into going to a community college for years. Her response is that she’s “too old”. She just doesn’t understand that the college has special tuition fees for older students (retirees) for a reason… :rolleyes:
Well thank you all so much for the responses so far, they’ve all been very inspiring!
I was worried about the money angle. Going for a D.D.S is going to be expensive and will almost certainly require me to take out a substancial loan, but I’ll take it one step at a time!
One of my favorite classmates when I was an undergrad was in her 70’s. Her daughter was getting a master’s at the time so her mother decided to join her.
I knew someone else chasing after her B.A. in her 50’s. She made the valedictory speech at her graduation the same year her daughter graduated. She also made the local paper much to our delight.
Of course. That’s the only point. You either go $100,000 into debt at the age of 40, or you die with an extra $100,000 in cash. It’s that simple.
There couldn’t possibly be any question about ability to pay off student loan debt when you are past your prime earning years and starting a new career, desire to make enough money to take trips or buy other things that you might enjoy. It’s all about whether you die with an extra $100,000 in cash.
In fact, why don’t you simply give all your money away that you ever make? I presume that if you don’t, you’ll just end up dying with it. Better yet, wait until you’re 40 and go heavily into debt. It should be fun for you.
Regarding the $$, I must point out - dentists generally make a pretty lofty income - I would think a hard working 32 year old dentist would be able to set themselves up equally financially as many professions that started at 22.
No question. Interestingly enough, in my original post, I stated that it depends in part on how important money is to you. But the basic point is not that you should never go back to school later in life, it is that money is a real issue in connection with such decision. The decision depends on a lot of factors, and even money is tempered (are you loaded, do you mind having a debt load, what standard of living are you used to, what is the earning potential of your new career, etc.)?
I just think it is simplistic to say, “It’s never too late to go back to school,” bar none. For the family of five that has no savings and is living only off of the returnee’s salary, is it never too late if the returnee at the age of 55 wants to go to a $30k a year private university for 4 years to get a philosphy degree that will likely leave him underemployed?
It depends on the person, obviously. If you don’t LIKE being in school, I would say 32 years of your life is far too long to be spending there. On the other hand, I would happily remain a student until I die (or become a professor).
The point is when you die, who gives a fuck how much money you have (or don’t have)? You won’t.
And your career doesn’t end at 40. Your still have another 25 years to retire. Is it worth it to go back and get an executive MBA if you’ll be making another $20k a year?
Your point is valid though. If your family is strapped for cash, it might not make sense to go back and get a degree in something that won’t make you additional money.
Another thing to consider is what kind of career you are pursuing. People like to say “it’s never too late to change careers”. But are you going to want to start a career in banking, law or consulting at 45 where you have to work 80 hours a week or travel constantly with an ton of kids in their 20s?
My grandmother finished her bachelor’s degree at 62 years old, and started a career as a BLM park ranger that lasted until she was 73. She finally decided she didn’t want to work anymore, so now she’s retired and putting me up while I go to college (just finished my first year at 23).
I’m going for the law degree, and I estimate that I’ll be out of school by the time I’m 30. Maybe.
Hey I’m 32, just started college last year. I have about 2-3 years till my BA, then I’m shooting for law school. I’ll be 37-38 when I’m done, but as everyone has said, I’ll be 37-38 with a degree or without.
I think I should also throw it out there that I’m 32 and went on Spring Break this year with 4 other guys aged 29-33.
You are going to be x age eventually no matter what you do. The only decision is do you want to have the degree as well?
Also keep in mind that student loan debt <> broke. You will probably come out with a higher salary, it’s just that part of it will have to go to paying off those loans each month. And if you die before you pay off those loans…well…congradulations…you beat the system. As I mentioned already, you don’t get anything special for dying and NOT having a huge amount of debt.
And all of that depends on your chances of getting a job with a much higher salary. I know someone who went to law school at night. Took him four or five years at least, and close to $100,000 in tuition. Either there weren’t any well paying legal jobs available , he just wasn’t able to get one or he decided he didn’t want to work 100 hours a week . So he ended up taking a promotion into a job requiring a law degree at the same place he was working. Sounds okay- except that it involved a raise of under $2000/yr.
I think “Am I too old to go back to school?” and “Am I too poor to go back to school?” are two different questions. I assumed the OP had already figured out the financial end of things.
