A 27-year-old Sports Management student (Monty, Semester 1 Senior Storyteller) reflects on starting university later than most and what he learned about campus life along the way.
Turns out starting university at 27 comes with a few unexpected discoveries.
The first time I realised I might be a ‘mature-aged student’, someone in my class asked me a very genuine question: “Did you fail before? Is that why you’re studying now?”
I laughed and explained that sometimes people simply take different paths.
But it did make me start observing campus life more closely. Somewhere between hearing the word ‘bro’ in every second sentence and watching students perfectly execute the mysterious ‘six seven’ hand gesture, I realised this experience deserved its own little field study.
So, here are the findings.
Field notes from starting university at 27 — from mysterious TikTok trends to unexpected mentor moments.
Field note #1: Campus culture moves fast
University culture moves fast.
Conversations around me often include K-pop ‘stans’, techno songs with no lyrics and trends that seem to appear overnight.
Someone says, ‘six seven’ and suddenly half the group is doing a coordinated hand gesture while I’m just standing there wondering if I missed an orientation explaining it.
Between TikTok dances on Simpson Lawn and ducks casually walking through campus like they own the place, La Trobe definitely has its own ecosystem.
To be fair though, the energy younger students bring to campus is something I genuinely admire.
Field note #2: The Mature-aged student advantage
Being a mature student also has its benefits.
I found it easier to approach staff, ask questions and build professional relationships. Having lived independently before university also helped me balance responsibilities like cooking, laundry and study.
And perhaps the biggest mature student advantage of all: actually reading the LMS announcements.
Field note #3: The unexpected mentor moment
One thing I didn’t expect was occasionally becoming the person people asked for advice.
In one of my Sports Management classes, a student once asked me what internships they should pursue to break into the sports industry.
Something similar happened during a shoot in my role as a Senior Student Storyteller, when a student asked, “How do I get the job you have?”
Moments like that reminded me that experience outside university can sometimes help others navigating it.
Final findings
If this little ‘study’ taught me anything, it’s that there’s no single timeline for university. Everyone simply arrives here through different paths. Being older gave me the confidence to try new things and appreciate the opportunities university offers. It also reminded me that you don’t need a huge circle of friends — sometimes two or three genuine friendships are more than enough.
And honestly, campus would probably be far less interesting if everyone was the same age.
If you ever see someone slightly confused about a TikTok trend but very confident about where the washing machines are in Res… there’s a good chance you’ve just met a mature-aged student.
