Is It Too Late to Pursue a Bachelor's Degree at 27 Years Old?

[Toranc3]

Hey I am currently 22 years old at a community college. Through age 18-20 I did not know what I wanted to study. I was lost for so long but I always knew that I wanted to study something related to math and some science. I eventually found an interest in electrical engineering. I realized that I still need several classes to take. Since these classes are at a community college and are transferrable to a University I am planning on staying another two years to finish them. So I will spend two more years here at my community college and then transfer to a University to finish up my engineering classes. I don't know how long I will spend at the University but I am assuming 3 years. I will be 27 at that age just getting my bachelors degree. I was wondering if that looks bad or something. I also wonder if staying at a community college for too long is bad for graduate school. I also wanted an opinion on how many classes I should be taking at the univeristy. For the three years I assumed taking 2 classes per quarter.

Would appreciate any advice.

 

[Brogat]

Bump!

Wow this is somewhat funny, we came here for the same reasons.

Although I am two years younger, I in fact am in the exact scenario you describe (technical college and all). I will be also starting 2+2 program in EE next winter and will not be graduating for at least another four or five years. I gained around 60 college credits in the long but indecisive journey of college life which led me through three different schools, but just recently I feel as if I had the clearest of thoughts.

 

[ultrasmart]

The problem of being late to get BS faces many people for many different reasons. So I think that one solution to this is to be there institutions that offer a comprehensive exam on the field of study and then give a BS degree in that field to those that pass that exam.

 

[Choppy]

It does not look bad to complete your bachelors degree at 27. In fact the wording of the question implies that there is a specific age at which you should complete your bachelor's degree, which is itself bunk.

The main issue of concern is usually more from a personal side. Most people in their thirties are looking at getting married, establishing a family, buying a house... the kinds of things that require a stable, reliable income. Going through graduate school in those years can be tough, and of course it gets tougher if you enter the post-doc rat race.

The thing that would most concern me about community college classes are the opportunities to learn. Senior undergraduate classes should solidify your foundations, but also expose you at an introductory level to the various sub-fields you may want to go into for graduate work. As a general rule there is more opportunity for these at full universities than there are in community colleges. Graduate admissions committees are not likely to care about whether you did first year physics or calculus at a community college. They are likely to care if your transcripts indicate you completed only the bare minimum of challenging/senior courses to be awarded the degree.

 

[Hercuflea]

Nothing wrong with it. My best friend is doing the same thing, and he has a child and is happy with his choice.

 

[Who Am I]

My cousin is going to be around that age when he graduates pretty soon.

He is making fairly decent money already, and he's not even out of school. He's in mechanical engineering.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I'll be 31 when I finish my physics B.S.

I don't think it's really a big deal at all. Like mentioned above, most of my peers are busy getting married, having babies and all that, but I have no interest in such things right now so it's not a huge deal to me. I think I am definitely getting more for my money attending at my age. When I was 18-25ish I just didn't realize what I wanted to do.

 

[lisab]

I was 27 when I finished - it's never been a big deal.

 

[Toranc3]

Thanks for sharing guys!