Ask HN: Is 20 too late to go to college? (2024)

I wouldn't throw away two years of work to get a degree from a #1 college vs a #10 college. Might be a better use of time to finish at the #10 college and try to get admitted for a masters degree at #1 college if in two more years you still want to stay for two more years.

I don't know which country you're talking about, but I'd be really surprised if nothing transfered between two top universities in the US, so I'm kind of surprised that would be the case anywhere else.

As others have said, the age isn't really a big deal though. If you had something else going on, and were just starting college at 20, no problem.

The first question is easy. No.

As far as should you abandon 2 years of credits to switch from a top ten school to the number one school…I just can’t imagine the benefit outweighing the cost. Starting your career 2 years earlier is probably going to be of more value.

This seems like an obvious answer in the US where the top 10 are all very elite schools. In a small country where there is a big gap between one and ten, it might make sense to transfer.

I chose an okay state school instead of a top 10 school in the us for financial reasons, and it sometimes feels like it was the wrong decision.

In addition to the doors an elite school can open, the connections you make in college can be invaluable. A friend from high school went to Stanford, where he met the cofounder he started his business with. My dad’s connections from Princeton essentially saved my aunt’s life when she was diagnosed with a rare cancer.

If the connections you would make at the #1 school would be drastically better, I would say go for it. 2 years isn’t that big a deal

There are really two questions here: (1) Is 20 too late to start college? (2) Should you switch to a (possibly) better school even if no credits transfer (so you have to start from scratch)? I think there are too many unknowns to answer (2) (and I never saw anyone move from one school to another and not be able to transfer any credits), so I won't say anything about that part.

As far as (1) goes, I had around 5000 students in my career (give or take). Some were starting college in their 20s (e.g. after working right out of high school, or having served in the military). But I had students starting school in their 30s, 40s, 50s (!), though the oldest tended to be people who were returning for a second degree (very often they wanted to teach, which is just wonderful). The majority completed their degrees. They seemed to get along with their younger peers pretty well, though that depends on personality. (I'm thinking of a couple of guys in their 50s who'd sit in the tutoring room happily studying with students who were young enough to be their grandkids.) It helps to not be too self-conscious ("I'm so much older than my classmates"), and to think of the people around you in terms of commonalities rather than differences (e.g. you're all students).

People who had been away from school for a while would probably have a bit of rust, but it was more than made up for by "life experience" - for instance, knowing what you want, understanding that you need to work at things (and being able to do it), having the ability to self-monitor (which seems to develop on average in the late teens to early 20s).

I'm not sure how much of the above is relevant to OP's situation, but I hope it helps.

No, 20 is not nowhere near too old.

But, I'm not really sure about value of difference in top 1 vs top 10...

But, personally I would consider the degree more if that is different. Will the new one be more interesting?

So my initial reaction to this was "who gives a sh*t"? Once you are in the real world of work you will be socializing with people much older than yourself and several years into your career you will be socializing with people who are much younger than yourself. Look more at mindset than age, besides 2 years difference is absolutely NOTHING lol.

A point that I haven't seen addressed in other comments is the cost. If the additional 2 years ends up costing you a lot more money then I would vote against it. If you are in a country where tuition/boarding are paid then that isn't a factor to consider.

Last year was weird, but did you have trouble socializing with 3rd years last year when you were a freshman? Did you have trouble socializing with seniors this year?

Sure, an 18 year old has 10% less life experience than a 20 year old, but as an 40 year old, I can say almost all of you youngin's haven't got much life experience at all, 90% of nothing is nothing. ;p

It’s definitely not too old for anything, if you want to do it. Source: I transferred from local college to better college at 20 myself.

There will be plenty of 20-year-olds where you transfer, and no one will care what year you technically are. Don’t worry about that. College is not like high school.

As other commenters have noted, the big question is whether you want to spend the extra time in school (and spend the extra money for the extra time - college debt is serious business!) But you know your own situation best, and an extra couple years of classes can be spent profitably if you’re thoughtful about how you use them.

But, here’s another possibility to consider- finish undergrad at your current place, and then go for a Master’s degree at the more prestigious school? It’s an extra two years in either case, and then you have a whole postgraduate degree as well.

No credits transfer from a "top ten" college to "the best"?

This made no sense to me (especially because who agrees on "the best" college) but then I realized you probably aren't talking about the US.

So I doubt advice from Americans who have no clue what schools you are talking about will be helpful.

Is accreditation a thing for these schools like in the US? I would expect that accredited schools in the US would allow transferring credits, especially those in the "top ten" however defined.

It's never too late to put yourself in debt.

Why not pour yourself into something you love professionally and take some risk. Eventually you may develop a mindset that you're too old to task risks in life.

Sorry, I'm not big on traditional education since it's just a business model that locks people into debt they can't escape.

Life is the best university there is out there. Its admission is just time and effort.

Note: I'm a high school drop out so don't pay me no mind :)

If none of your credits transfer, would you even tell employers about your two wasted years?

Graduate studies, maybe you have to tell them, but if your top school data is good, why should they care?

Although if you get bored and do poorly because taking the same two years again is repetitive and maybe demotivating, that wouldn't look good.

I'd just finish the first degree.

Changing your major / school a bunch of times is a good way to not finish.

That's a very valid point, but I've been doing decently well in my current university - I don't think I'll flunk out or anything.

Thank you very much for your advice!

That's not what I'm trying to say, you might just lose motivation. If you can finish your current degree within 2 years, just do that.

I would never add another two years to a college schedule, it can just quickly overwhelm you

No, I went back at 25 for 8 years

Employers want to see initiative and critical thinking (debatable?)

Going back at 25 sounds amazing! Were you able to connect with fellow students though? A 7 year age gap sounds pretty large.

What were you pursuing, if you don't mind me asking? 8 years for undergrad, postgrad, what exactly?

Thanks for the advice though. I genuinely appreciate it.