I recently retired. Would I be crazy to go to college to study English?

• Published date: 24 January 2023
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

We all only get one life. Your love of English may have lain dormant for over 35 years, but now it's time to blossom and grow. Imagine the richness you will bring to your studies based on a life fully lived, through the ups and downs of family and work

Of course, as you suggest, you might feel a bit like a fish out of water among all those school leavers – but let me assure you, as someone who worked with students in UCD for many years, the mature adult in a class is often the catalyst around whom many younger students gravitate, seeking advice and support.

Mature applicants (those aged 23 or older) still have just over a week to submit an application to the CAO (cao.ie) if they wish to start into an undergraduate degree programme in September 2023. Applications close at 5pm on February 1st and cost €45. If you have not chosen your top course, you can add to your application up to March 1st at 5pm for an additional €10.

If you sat the Leaving Cert before 1985, you will need to source your results from your previous school or the State Examinations Commission (SEC) in Athlone. If it is post-1985, the CAO will be able to source your results from the SEC once you have an exam number.

Hear and Dare access schemes offer eligible applicants the possibility of lower points requirements

There is a very...