Oh man, going to university again when I retire actually sounds like a great way to spend time.
Some states have free tuition for senior (typically 60+) students to audit [and sometimes to attend] courses at the state public universities.
Re:Why we lie about being retired
by stevesimmons on Wednesday August 21, 2019 @02:51AM
(#20755043)
When the university wanted him to pay the standard course fees, he somehow convinced them to give him a postgraduate scholarship so he could do it for free.
During the course he got two concessions:
- He was given 4 hours to do the 3 hour exam papers. After all, it had been 53 years since his undergrad math days.
- Exemption from the engineering work experience requirement. Instead in the Project Management course, he did a guest lecture slot on 'real-life project management in the offshore oil and gas industry'.
Programming term projects done in one evening, haha!
A masters at 75?
That is the most awesome thing I've read all week! Congratulations to your dad.
Re:Why we lie about being retired
by stevesimmons on Wednesday August 21, 2019 @02:53AM
(#20755050)
I admire his tenacity a lot! He worked enormously hard to learn Master's level math properly. I hope I am half as switched on when I am his age.
P.S. One other thing I just remembered is he and my mum live in a country town 90km outside Melbourne. They weren't just round the corner from the university... It was a 90 minute trip by public transport each way. That's a major effort each day just to get to class if you are 18, let alone 75.
Take for instance my dad....
- He was offered an early retirement package at age 55, hated being idle, and six months later returned to full-time work as a consultant.
- Fast-forward 15 years, to age 71, when he finally decided to properly retire, ...
- ... to do a full-time Masters of Mechanical Engineering. He just graduated, at 75 the univesity's oldest full-time student.
- After a six month's break (to focus on gym circuit training and boxing classes), he has returned to university again, doing a 50% Masters of Aeronautical Engineering.