This September I will be moving away from home, getting my own place and starting university . . . again. I am anxious and excited about the friends I will make, where I will live and, oh yes, all the studying I will have to do . . . again.

I first went through the excitement and terror of becoming a student in 1997. I was 18 years old, Tony Blair had just been elected Prime Minister and the country was full of hope. I wanted to go to university so my life could begin.

I loved my English language course at Lancaster University, made fantastic friends and soaked myself in cheap vodka at least three nights a week. I also acquired my first serious boyfriend, undertook my first all-night essay writing session (of which there were many) and went to my first proper gig. Life was challenging, interesting and fun.

Until it wasn’t. During my second year I became horribly ill and eventually had to drop out of my course. What was supposed to be a six-month break to get back on my feet turned into a decade of health problems and a life on disability benefits. My relationship fell apart, I lost friends and my twenties slipped away.

Guide to Clearing: essential information on universities in the clearing system

John O’Leary outlines some of the pros and cons of 40 UK universities likely to be offering the most places through clearing this year

• Act fast to snap up a university place through clearing

• Full universities leave A-level winners unable to trade up

• A degree of control over your future

Multimedia

• Good University Guide

Then, very slowly, I started to claw my way back to feeling better and began to work part-time as a journalist. As I wrote about other people who had fulfilled their dreams (from becoming published authors to discovering major scientific breakthroughs) I began to consider my own future. I found myself filling in a Ucas form again and broke down in tears when I was given a place at the University of Sheffield to study English language and literature. Ten times more determined than I was in the late 1990s, I am ready to finish what I started.

Everything is different this time. Not only am I older and fatter, I am more interested in going to lectures and joining societies than in getting drunk or meeting boys. I am worried about how I will get along with the 18 and 19-year-olds fresh from the sixth form or their gap years. I am worried that I will end up talking only to the teacher because I am too old and embarrassing for other students to bother with. I should probably swot up on the hot music and slang of the younger generation but I am just thankful that being 30 finally gives me an excuse not to be cool.

I have already had a small taste of what being a mature student is like. During the Ucas application process I received leaflets from businesses that wanted to make my first year at university more enjoyable. These included an application form for an 18-25 railcard and advice on coping if I did not get the A-level grades I expected.

And yet, as out of place as this made me feel, a quarter of people who apply through Ucas are aged over 21. That is a significant enough proportion, you would think, for us to receive some kind of specialist information. Sadly, no.

I also have to confess that, at this stage of my life, I am grateful for the recession. Although I did not apply to uni because of the global downturn, it does make this a great time to duck out of the workforce for a while. Apparently other people are thinking the same thing, meaning that clearing could bring an influx of older students into my social circle. Fingers crossed.

The world may not be as full of hope and optimism as in 1997 but, when it comes to my degree, I am still feeling positive.

University is not just for 18-year-olds

• Sixty per cent of undergraduates in the UK are aged over 21. People decide to enter higher education at all times of life and for all sorts of reasons. For some it is a long-held personal ambition — perhaps one they have more time to achieve when they are older. For others higher education is a way of opening up new career options.

• About 40 per cent of higher education students do part-time or flexible courses. They are especially popular with people who have family and work commitments.

• Foundation degrees and certificate or diploma courses are quicker to complete than traditional degrees and often can be topped up at a later date.

On some courses you build up credits at your own pace until you have enough for a qualification.

• Some mature students enter higher education with A levels or equivalent work-related qualifications, such as NVQs or a BTEC.

• Traditional qualifications are not always necessary.

Some institutions give credit for professional qualifications or relevant work experience. Others will not always ask for formal qualifications because the course itself includes units that are aimed at giving students the right study skills and “foundation” knowledge.

Source: DirectGov website

Times recommends

• Students face big rise in university fees
• Students to rate lecturers online
• Lord heads team to look at raising tuition fees