ABSTRACT
However, it’s important for mentors to appreciate that the questions have begun far before these first encounters. Our new students have been asking themselves what they want to do with their lives and why. Sometimes literally for years, they have been mulling about returning to or beginning university: Am I smart enough to do this? How can I fit into my life yet another activity? How long will it take? Can I afford it? Will any institution welcome someone like me and understand my needs? Even if I start, will I ever finish? Beginning or resuming university study as an older student often means that a discomfiting revolution has occurred in settled routines and expectations. Mentors have to be sensitive to this turmoil, prepared to turn its pain into wonder, and to be respectful of its potential as a learning experience.
