UEA on BBC radio highlighting opportunities for mature students
By: Communications
Ahead of Clearing 2024, UEA’s Gem Standen (Widening Participation Officer for Mature Students) and Holly Gilman (Humanities student) joined BBC Radio Norfolk’s Chris Goreham on his breakfast show to talk about the 1/3 of students who are classed as mature.
Chris: So, what do we mean by a mature student?
Gem: Mature is defined as anyone over the age of 21 when they start university, but obviously that’s a really broad range of people. I was in my early twenties when I went to university as a mature student, and I had two kids, so I definitely felt slightly more mature than some of the people, but we have people that range up to their seventies and eighties studying at university, it really is a diverse group.
Chris: Not everyone feels ready to go to university when they’re in their teenage years. Maybe for some it works later on, is that the case for you Holly, what’s your story?
Holly: I was eighteen and leaving A levels, and I just didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I looked at work options. I just thought, what’s the point in spending that much money on a degree when I’m probably not even going to use whatever subject I'm studying? I worked in London for nine years and then I had to stop as my mental health was completely shot. I was doing something I really didn’t love. I took a year out and tried to make freelance work, but I hate promoting myself, I absolutely hate it with a passion, so it did not work out. Come the next summer, I was just applying for minimum wage work, but I was really struggling because with having a two year old and a four year old, I couldn’t find work that paid enough for me to have the kids in childcare whilst I was working, or that would be flexible so I could pick them up.
It was kind of out of desperation that I started looking at education. It was actually a dream to go university, but I never thought it was possible because I had been the primary earner in our household. I originally looked at the Open University because I think that’s what most mature students think is the only option. I was looking at the modules and they’re quite rigid, I’ve got nothing against the Open University, but I just thought I’m going to compare that to UEA and see what that would look like in terms of modules and year-by-year progression, and it just looked much more interesting. I reached out, got hold of Gem and asked is this something that’s possible when you’ve got young children, she said “I started with two-year-old twins” and honestly, that conversation has stuck with me, two years later I still think about it - that’s what made me think I’m going to go for this.
As it happened, it was just in time for Clearing and they said there’s spaces on the degree that you want this year, so I applied and got in, and it was literally within two weeks I was into university, having just considered it.
Chris: So you snapped her up then?
Gem: Yes, absolutely! Speaking to my colleagues in the Admissions Team, we were able to ascertain, with Holly’s experience and previous qualifications, that she could meet entry requirements through a Foundation Year in the School of Humanities. One of my colleagues from the School, who manages the Foundation Year, was able to give Holly lots of fantastic information about the course, what the structure was, how she could manage it, and where there may well be flexibility around caring responsibilities and things like that.
We’ve got lots of campus tours over Clearing, we’ve got an open day this year on 7 September, so if anyone is toying with the idea, I’d really implore them to come and have a look and see what they think, speak to people, see if it’s something that interests them. We can always look to see if they can start next year if they’re unable to this year because they’re not quite there with the entry requirements. My role also looks at helping people to meet those entry requirements through working with one of our local colleges, perhaps doing an access course, or something along those lines - if a Foundation Year is not an option. There are ways we can work around things.
Chris: We tend to think, very traditionally, that you want a degree when you’re young as a gateway into the world of work, but you’ve been there and done that, so what do you want to do with your degree?
Holly: It’s quite funny as we were talking about this before we came in. I’m just going into the second year of my degree, so I did a Foundation Year in my first year, and I’ve just swapped onto a different degree, because those two first years have helped me hone my idea of what I want to do. I came in on the general Humanities Foundation Year, which for me was less about if I could get into the degree I wanted to do, and more about not knowing, after eleven years out of school, whether I was cut-out for that sort of academic work. It was great in that it gave me that year to really practise essay writing and academic work, and also think about what I wanted to do. I then went into the Liberal Arts degree, which is a very broad one, I was able to study subjects such as humanitarian communications and creative writing, but also literature, which is where my passion lies. I found in the the first year, during the literature aspect of my Liberal Arts degree, that I really liked historical literature, and that’s where my inspiration really gets kicked off, so I’m now moving into Literature and History. I’ve just started volunteering at Blicking Hall and will also soon be starting at Felbrigg Hall, and I’ve also got an appointment to meet with the Heritage Centre in The Forum.
Chris: So it’s opened up other things?
Holly: Yes. It’s all coming together. I describe it as honing my idea of where I’m going. I think that when you go into a literature degree you think, probably publishing, that’s the only thing you have in your mind. The time I’ve spent has now started opening up other avenues and I feel like I’m getting somewhere now, I’m heading somewhere good.
Chris: What is it like being older than a lot of the people you’re studying with?
Holly: I would say it’s very different than if you went straight out of school, there’s obviously a big student life for the young people, but there's also a great community of mature students. I’d say I have a much smaller group of friends than if I went straight after school. I have a couple of people I really love having a coffee with and we go and we chat, maybe go and do our essays together, and we see each other outside of uni, but it’s much smaller, it’s less about the social life.
Chris: Gem, do people worry about this?
Gem: This is one of the biggest anxieties. I think one of the most common questions I get is 'am I going to stand out like a sore thumb', and the answer is 'possibly to start with', but actually, once you ease in, you realise everyone is there for the same purpose, which is to learn and gain a degree.
This is something I had to challenge myself with as well, I’ve been completing my Master’s and I’ve been studying alongside people of my children’s age, as I have children who are twenty-two now, so that was something to challenge myself with, that I can learn things from people from different age groups.
Chris: Did you almost have to stop yourself becoming the Mum in the room?
Gem: Possibly to a degree. I think I learn quite a lot from my class mates and I think that’s the beauty of being a student, that everyone has something to bring to the classroom. Academics absolutely love mature students because you’ve got so much life experience, and work experience as well, to bring into the classroom, to talk and expand on the subjects you’re talking about.
We’ve got a central community of mature students, we’ve got a peer support group, as well as a Facebook page and lots of WhatsApp groups, so students will find their own ways to keep in touch with each other and create their own communities. In my role I obviously help support those things, but ultimately, I think for most people when they’ve settled into their studies, the age issue really melts away.