Hello! In 2015, I enrolled in a CBT online course ("Cognitive Behaviour Therapy") but as I did much other stuff, I did not pursue my studies after that year. But now, in 2023, I discovered that my account is still active and I resumed my studies - which was possible without ANY problems! I am amazed!! So, I had a study break of eight years. Can anyone top that? Best regards, Mac Juli
Hmm, I recall posting about someone finishing their degree after 40+ years, there are people in their senior years finishing off their degrees, you'll read lots of them...
I think there's a bit of a difference between finishing a degree after 40 years and coming back to the exact same class after 8. I'm honestly impressed they kept the account open for 8 years.
So am I. But some online schools, e.g. Cudoo, offer "lifetime access" to courses you buy. Might be possible there, but I've never tested the theory. I find their courses are easy to finish. A year or two ago, a similar school placed a button on my browser-bar, for one-click access to my course. I finished the course a long time ago, but the button still works, so maybe... I'll keep it and let you know if it still works, in 2029.
Brian May took 37 years to finish his PhD. And he's using it: https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/24/brian-may-queen-osiris-rex-mission-asteroid-samples-earth-19550446/
I was --uh, "sent down" as the Brits say, from Uni in 1961. I was 18. Took me 32 years - till 1993, when I was 50, to go back. Second time went much better than the first. Reason - I had self-motivation and actually worked at it. Lesson learned.
The man is literally, AND figuratively, a rock star. Finally knighting him just may be the only useful thing, to my knowledge, King Charles did so far.
I agree it was well-deserved recognition. But useful? To Dr. May -- um, Sir Brian... exactly how? Certainly His Majesty did the RIGHT thing, and Dr. May / Sir Brian deserved the honour, but what use can be made of it? Now, if half of Hertfordshire, a humongous, nicely-renovated castle and a new Jaguar F-Pace came with it... that could be useful!
I woke up every day and went to work. I've told this before, but here I go again: After my dalliance with MIGS (driven by a real desperation to get my PhD), I was trying to find an opportunity to do my doctorate. The leading possibility was De Montfort University, a post-1992 uni in the UK. John Bear, who served on my original Union committee and continued to be a mentor to me, asked if he could intervene with Union. He contacted the president of the school, and she promptly agreed to waive the time-in-program limit and asked the financial guy to work with me on my existing tuition debt. It all worked out and I returned, finishing in about a year. The time in-between was brutal. I went from being married with kids and an Air Force officer to a divorced father, retired from active duty, and a dropout from a PhD program (because of finances). I had completed my research and was writing my PDE (dissertation) when I had to drop it. (That research was with graduates of nontraditional schools. It's gone, so sorry.) So, I had to start my PDE over, from scratch. It hurt. Leaving Union left a wound that wouldn't heal. And even though Union looks like it is finally on the way out, I'm proud of the work I did there.