Student Articles

Back To Full-Time Study

I am approaching my third year at University and cannot believe how much I have changed and grown as a person. I have gained self confidence in abundance and feel that I really do deserve a place on my course.

Surviving the First Semester

I am 43 years old, married, with two children aged 9 and 5, and am in my first year of study. Becoming a full-time student can entail a big change in your lifestyle: some find this change easier than others.

Some Thoughts on Being Old, by a Thirty-Eight Year Old

Last September I started a Masters degree, as a mature student. Thirty-eight is not particularly ancient, but when academia seems to consist of hordes of teenagers, the unassuming thirty-eight year olds may feel as if they are walking about with a large sign over their (greying) heads saying OLD.

Beware Of Mature Student Paranoia

When I started University in September 2005 as a mature student aged 48, I was concerned about a few things. How would I cope with the exams? How would I manage on my tight budget? How do you cook pot noodles?

"Us And Them"? - No

Before starting my degree here I had a terrible image of mature students. I though they were the ones with bad hair and dodgy clothes, who talked to the lecturers after class, and smelt faintly of wet dog.

University Nursery And My Family

Balancing study and children has always been difficult for students with families, especially those with very young children who have not started school...

The Juggling act

I was a child-free mature student when I started my degree course and found it a little difficult at first to get back into the rhythm of being in full time education again but soon settled into the routine of things...

My Journey To "This (Student) Life"
…or how I avoided going brain-dead, in middle age!

This is a very brief account of my "arrival" as a fully fledged mature student at the University of Sheffield. Where did it all start? I suppose with increasing boredom .....

First Days at Sheffield University

Saturday morning. The sun is shining. It is already 12:00 and I am still lying in my bed trying to recover from last night´s party. I was dancing all night, drinking tequila shots and beer.....

Friendships And Fun In The UK

Making friends in the host country you are visiting might at first seem like a horrifying, daunting challenge. I thought so when I first came to Sheffield.....

Politics At The University of Sheffield

Lord Butler, the formidable former Chancellor of the Exchequer, referred to politics as `the art of the possible´ in his memoirs of the same title. Politics aside (for some at least), I believe that this `art´ also accurately reflects mature student life at Sheffield, ......

Student Parent

Let me introduce myself. My name is Catherine Smith, I am 25, married and have a son who is 7. I started my BA in Business Management in September 2003. After not finishing my A levels because I had my son at 18, I never thought I would be able to achieve my ambition to go to university and obtain a degree.....

From art to Engineering

I started doing an art degree 10 years ago, but dropped out, feeling disillusioned. I worked at various jobs and trades, from sales to dealing with stocks and shares...

"I Did It!"

I had always been keen on science at school and hoped to stay on for A-levels. However, no-one in my family had studied to this level before and I therefore followed the family tradition of leaving school to join the world of work at the earliest opportunity...

Stress and Time Management

Stress is a fundamental component of being alive. Although we usually associate it with an unpleasant event, any situation which challenges us, or involves risk, or necessitates change and adjustment in our lives is potentially stressful. This may be something as wonderful as a new relationship, or moving to a new home, or as threatening as poor grades, interpersonal difficulties or not having enough time to complete course requirements. So, welcome to university...