Age is no deterrent for academics
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Students often experience some jitters on the first day of school, but the prospect of such nervousness doesn’t appear to be too great a deterrent for students 60 and older. Officials at Toronto’s York University estimated they had around 430 students aged 60 and older in undergraduate and graduate programs in 2021. Increased enrollment among people at or nearing what is often considered retirement age could be a reflection of what the AARP notes has been an increase in continuing education courses at many colleges and universities. Such courses may be offered to individuals of a certain age at reduced tuition. They also can help workers over 50 learn new skills that can benefit them in an ever-adapting professional landscape that increasingly relies on technologies that may not have been around when older professionals attended college and began their careers. In addition, the AARP reports that individuals interested in going back to school for personal enrichment, as opposed to achieve an advanced degree, may be able to audit classes for free. In such instances, older adults often do not receive academic credit but still get to benefit from taking the class.
