[NonIndigenous]

People in university don't give a flying toss how old you are. You've got people enroling on undergraduate courses who are even 40 years old, or more. They usually tend to enroll to the part-time courses, but you'll see a few doing full-time... and they mix almost as much and integrate as anyone else (although it will depend if they're married and got kids or not). That's my experience. Age matters less the older you get. Like a 13 year old going out with a 17 year old is "weird", a 20 year old going out with a 25 year old isn't.

Also... missing out a year or two due to "unforseen circumstances" (or whatever reasons)... doesn't mean you will be "behind" anyone on anything. That entirely depends on you, and what you do with your time. Some people will spend that kind of time trolling the internet and spamming youtube comments, others will spend it playing PS3, others will go "travelling", others will take language teaching courses so they can earn better money during their studies, or maybe will get a job that alligns itself with their future degree (like privately teaching maths to middle-schoolers, not stocking shelves in walmart). You might be crap at teaching privately at first (I think most people would be), and might loose your first few opportunities because of it, but then you learn, get better at it... and that's something you can boast about when you're applying. It's not just about the money, or keeping up your maths abilities. It also develops communication skills for group work (no bullshit, it does make a difference, unless you're a completely natural extrovert and it comes entirely effortlessly to you).

Whether you fall a year behind or not depends on how you spend that year, and that's up to you. Find something productive to do, don't rely on others to give it to you. I used my free time to get into psychology and it's application in management. I wasn't very well structured about it, and it's nothing compared to taking a proper course, but it's hell a lot better than doing nothing or crap like watching Honey Boo Boo on TV and getting bloated eating crisps. Fuck that show.


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