If I had to choose between going to University when I did in my late teens or going back now in my late 5Xteens  I would definitely choose NOW!
Ask me why?
Well for a start maturity and the knowing of what we really want in life happens at a later stage than our first or second decade of life. What we are prompted to study or take on as a career is often times based on what our parents wanted us to follow … And when it’s not the parents, then it is a social script written by previous generations for whom this script might have worked, or not- if you count the number of unhappy people who when at half way of their age, their career or their life, try to U-turn or take a completely different route!
I am talking about those who feel that they have missed their calling and try to satisfy their intellect with more reading and studying. And those who take a career shift and jump tracks in a leap of faith. There are also the others who prefer to keep going head low but with a big heart, supported by life’s small pleasures and a bunch of good friends.
I definitely fit in one of these categories- not to say in all!
It is not easy to go to college or university when you do not feel a specific calling, and you are not sure that job security will be waiting on the other side, let alone fulfilment and happiness. You end up aiming for your parent’s dream job to follow in their footsteps, take over the practice or even compensate for their own lost chance.
So I say, going back to college or university in your fifties, sixties and beyond (why not? It’s the perfect anti-dementia practice) is the way to fulfill your dreams, nail down that calling of yours with a perfectly supportive learning and so bring into your life and that of others around you, the practicality of a lifelong experience, the personal wanting to do so and most importantly the true passion you find when your heart and your mind align for the same goal.