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Comment by dver | Hacker News Reader

Mid 50's here. As my kids are hitting college age I'm starting to get the itch to go back and complete my degree. My company has a facility near Cal Poly, where I went, and I drive by on my way in and out of town when I go onsite. Really don't know what to expect, figure I'll just wander on campus and stop by the admin building and see what they have to say. I'll bring my old student ID with me, just in case.

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I'm a fair bit younger than yourself, but I did that recently at U of Toronto.

So I don't know if this anecdote helps, but I've been out of school for a few years now since I last attended—

I had to set an appointment with an administrator/registrar who wanted to discuss what I've been doing (work history, bit of life history—but these were more for their understanding than formally required), but ultimately the process for me, should I decide to move forward was:

* re-register (a quick form and small fee)

* the usual rigamarole— get my new student ID, register for courses when available, and carry on.

It was remarkably simpler than I thought it would be—even with the potential for switching programs and internal schools altogether.

In my experience you can just show up the first day and ask the prof if they mind you auditing the course. There might be password-locked online materials these days, however.

I've thought about going back to finish the degree, but it's hard to see it as worth $60k/year.

Agree, I'll have a value point to balance as well. I don't expect it to have any net effect on my career at this point, hope there is some worthwhile learning though.

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