Whenever I see American universities I notice that all the students are young. In my country it is normal to start the university at 50 years old if you want.

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  5. I had several classmates in that age range, but it seems more common for older people who are “going back to school” to study online or at small, local colleges rather than the larger universities. Probably because their housing, families, etc. are likely to be more established, making it difficult to move to a college town if they don’t already live there.

  7. They’re called non-traditional students, people who are 25 and over. They are a small segment. Some also call them returning students.

  8. Those that are older than the age range of 18-35 are called non-traditional students. There are thousands upon thousands enrolled in the US.

  9. Virtually all Students at University are over 18, so they are all adults.

    But as for older students, they do exist. They however rarely live in dorms, and typically only take a few classes at a time as they have more to do in their lives (work, family, etc) on average.

  10. They’re there, they just don’t usually live on campus so you don’t see them walking around as much. They just drive to school for class and go home

  11. A lot of our colleges and universities are outside of major metro areas and those are really set up for the traditional students who just got out of high school who are attending school full time

    You’ll more likely find people across all age groups in a community college or a commuter branch of a major university. Many adults have obligations outside of academia and these settings give them a degree of flexibility that the traditional college experience doesn’t

    A lot of schools offer online options as well, though you often still need to go to a campus for major tests and other official business

  12. There’s plenty of adult students in the US. You just don’t notice them as much because:

    1) They’re still a small minority compared to the normal teens-to-early-twenties crowd

    2) They’re more likely to be part time or online students, so you don’t see them on campus as much

    3) If going in-person, they’re overwhelmingly commuters, so they show up, do their class, and leave. Not much time spent using college facilities, dorms, meal halls, lounges, etc.

    4) They tend to not call attention to themselves, be it form a professional attitude or embarrassment at being surrounded by much younger people, or any number of other reasons they just don’t stand out.

    When I was in college, I had a few classes with students in their 50s that I wasn’t even aware of until assigned to do a group project with them halfway through the semester. Adult students tend to blend into the background unbelievably well.

  13. Adults with established careers tend to take night classes so that they can still pay the bills while studying. They aren’t usually on campus during the daytime unless they’re PhD students.

  14. They definitely exist. I went in my 30s. I had classmates in their 40s and 50s. Especially in graduate programs. You might confuse them for professors if you saw them as they don’t typically live on campus. And they’re older.

    They aren’t as common as younger people. One reason there are fewer is it is very expensive to go to school later in life. It’s not just the tuition cost, but the lost income while you go to school.

  15. The main reason there aren’t as many old folks as younger people at university in the US is pretty simple;

    Older people have started families, careers, etc. Younger folks can focus full time on schooling as long as they have some level of support system.

    On top of that, school costs may not be covered for older folks that have a decent paying job. Way harder to go back to school without financial aid that you might receive when you’re younger.

    My biggest regret is not finishing out my bachelor’s 10 years ago. I’m back in school now as a full time student with a full time job and a full time family (including a kid) that I support. I am envious of the folks that get to focus on school full time because this is not the move and I’m already struggling with it lol.

    There’s nothing stopping older people from going back to school, but there will be less of them than younger people.

  16. Its expensive here, and most people go to college in the hopes it’ll increase their earning potential. The older that you get, the less time you have for the increased salary to offset the cost of the degree

  17. Age diversity is more common at community colleges. Older people are at universities to a lesser extent. They just tend not to be on campus unless it’s for a class.

  18. They’re doing it online. They have to work, they can’t just *stop working* to go sit in class full time during the day.

  21. Recent estimates are that roughly 40% of US university students are non-traditional. Like far too many other people, you’re making the assumption that the things you see on video or in the media are honest, accurate portrayals of American life. I truly wish I could understand why such an obvious concept is so difficult for the foreigners posting here to grasp. It’s very bewildering.

  22. I had a 77 year old woman as a classmate. She and I worked on a history paper together. Got to literally use “source: I was there” which was funny.

  25. I’m in my 50s and will be returning within the next couple of semesters.

    There are incentives where people over 55 or 60 (depending upon the state) can attend classes for free at certain universities. Retirees have time to go to classes and keep their minds active.

  26. How often do you see American universities?

    Remember tv and movies are imaginary. They do not portray every day life accurately.

  27. They are there, I’ve met them. It’s just a bit less common because there is a lot of pressure to go to college after graduating high school…which honestly, is kinda bogus.

  29. > Whenever I see American universities I notice that all the students are young

    Then you aren’t as observant as you think you are.

  30. In my astronomy class, there was a woman who was 83 years old. She always wanted to go to university but wasn’t able to in the past.

  31. They’re there, but they’re not as common.

    For example, my wife is going back to school, and in one of her classes of 200 students there’s like two others that are her age there.

    Part of it is probably that the few older students very likely commute, so they’re only there for classes.

  32. There are. Just most follow a non-traditional schedule since they’re most likely working full-time jobs during the day.

    When I had evening classes during undergrad it was common to have people in their 30’s and 40’s. My finance class had a few people in their 50’s I think.

  33. They exist, but they are considered “Non-traditional students”. The age range of college students are 18-23, but students over 25+ are fewer and far in between.

    They tend to live off campus and commute to school, and aren’t as involved on campus.

  34. There definitely are. I didn’t graduate college until I was 28 years old with a 5 year old of my own.

  36. My 60+ year old uncle just started in person classes at UC Berkley. Its not really the norm though but its more common in Community College.

  38. >in my country

    Which country?

    Also, you should understand that TV and movies rarely portray real-life situations accurately. I first went to college when I was 18, but it didn’t work out. I went back at 33 and got an associate degree in 2021.

  40. I earned my third degree when I was 51.

    I attended full time and I was often mistaken for staff.

    I carried a briefcase and not a backpack. I would usually wear khakis a polo.

    I was given the staff discount on the campus store many times without asking.

    If we’re being honest, I had very little in common with most of the students and when assigned group projects, I had to be placed into a group.

    For the record, I graduated summa cum laude.

  41. Are you personally touring these universities, or are you talking about seeing it in movies where everyone is an actor

  43. I’m pretty sure that close to 100% of the students are over 18, which is the age of majority in most of the United States, which is the typical point we refer to people as “adults.”

  45. I graduated with my undergrad at 30. Pretty much everyone in my program, which was fairly niche, was around my age.

    I’m now 32 in a masters program. Virtually everyone is my age or older. Very few people in their 20’s.

    I once tutored a man who was a Vietnam War veteran. He was in his 70’s. He told me he dropped out of high school to go fight in the war, never got his GED, and wanted to prove in retirement that he could have always accomplished school if he applied himself. This was a community college. I’ve had retirees, multiple, whose spouses have passed away and who return to school as a way of getting out of the house and keeping their minds engaged. I once had a woman who was a single mother, whose BD had left her and her daughter when she got pregnant, who decided when her daughter went to college, she’d go too, so they could study together, and so she could finally get the degree she put off to raise her child. That last one was special to me, because I tutored her, and we graduated the same class, and I’ll never forget her in tears of joy hugging me and saying, “If it wasn’t for your help I never would have passed stats!” The moment meant so much more to her than a lot of people in the room.

    American media likes to portray college as this thing for young people immediately following HS, even making movies where the theme is someone older returning to college and that being an oddity, but anyone whose been to college in America can tell you what’s depicted in the media isn’t the reality.

  47. Why make an interesting claim about your country and then not bother to identify it so we can learn more?

  48. There definitely are older “non-traditional” students, especially at commuter universities in major cities. When I was 21 and working on my Bachelor’s degree, I had several classes with a guy in his late 40s. We ended up hanging out and getting to know each other over beers after class. He was awesome and had a lot of life experience and great stories. I enjoyed hanging out with him more than the students my age because he was way more interesting. That was almost a decade ago and we’ve lost touch, but I hope he’s doing well now.

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