Anyone else who didn't graduate at 22 ?

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I seem to think that everyone who has been to university has graduated at 22 and already achieved their goals and dream job and seem to feel quite envious of that and think they are better than me. I started university at 22 and left after four months due to stress of the life and work there and never graduated. I seem to also think everyone has followed that same path and finished at that age.

Lol, no way

I earned my MS degree 10 years after starting uni.

I was 26. I started uni at 22 and did a foundation year, and there was a whole mix of ages in it (lots of people in their 20s, but also a few people in their 30s and 40s).

I then did a masters, and then ended up with 2 years out before doing a PhD. I was already starting to feel 'behind' with my undergrad, but then I felt 'behind' people I was at uni with, some of whom were already getting towards the end of their PhD as I was starting mine. I was thinking about it recently though when I realised a guy who was in my year at undergrad is now a year below me in my PhD-it might seem like everyone's doing things at a set time, but really it's not as much the case as it seems. People do all sorts of expected milestones at all sorts of different ages and times in their life (or not at all, not everyone has a dream job for example, some people are happy just working to allow them to do the other stuff they really want to do). Life's not a race.

I never even went to university. I graduated school at 16, stayed on in sixth form for a year, went to college for 9 months but then gave up because I didn't like studying, then was unemployed for 5 years, until I got my first job, which wasn't what I really wanted but I so badly wanted a job that I had to take it.

I went to three different unis and did not graduate from any of them. I came close but I just couldn't do it. I was an excellent student but my Autism won out. My neuropsyche who diagnosed me said that if we knew then what we know now, I would have had an IEP and would have graduated with degrees upon degrees at the tops of my classes. But alas, I got nothin'

Impossible for me to goto university as one needed wealthy parents back in those days. The course itself was free back then, but all other costs one would need to cover from books to food to somewhere to live.

Secondly, I went to collage after I left school where it was closer to home, and back then, up until I was 18, family allowance was available. After 18 I could no longer study.

Now when I was in collage (Real spelling college, but for me was more like collage!) I found that I spent so much mental energy masking to try to fit in, I just didn't do too well despite having a slightly above average intelligence. Also, prosopragnosia was taking its toll as I kept handing in work to the wrong lecturers etc. I thought it was the same teacher teaching a few different subjects.
On top of this I was so shy and also vunerable to being bullied. It was youthes messing about but I took it seriously. For me it felt like life or death and it took place just before the exams so all my attention went on surviving... It was the time when my mask had broken down and I was completely vunerable and in an internal mess! I didn't care what results I had. Ended up with 9 out of 18 units of a National Diploma in General Engineering, which is not much as far as education goes.
I have never wanted to return to education. I did do night classes and resat GCSE maths after college where everyone was adults so they were all better behaved... and I had 100% in it. But apart from that I never want to go through such times again.

It's such a shame because with the right kind of accommodations we could do so well. I am glad that that is being recognized now and that the new generations of Autistics are getting help that they need. I feel like we are the lost and forgotten generations, just kind of tossed aside and left to survive the best we can. We should have our own reality show!

I graduated at 26. I started university at 19. I changed majors twice. I took forever.

I never went to university. I only have a high school diploma. I have three younger sisters who all graduated from university on time, but only one works in the field she majored in which was economics and marketing with a minor in French. The other two are personal trainers and one is also becoming a yoga instructor. They majored in philosophy and accounting, respectively.

I have to say that I would not leave home at that age. I never could put my finger on why. I knew I couldn't do it despite me being able bodied and generally capeable. I found out a few months ago that it is due to the prosopragnosia. I have to have the familiarity of my parents or family with me or I feel lost. It is so hard to describe to those who don't experience this as it is not that I am immature and need my parents... (My Dad passed away over 10 years ago). It is more that the prosopragnosia makes me need to stay around family because if I get seperated from them I may never find them again. It was years before I could take a job or a holiday where I could be miles away from home. Even then, I have to make mental notes and do map studying to know how to get back home. It is why I am in my element exploring through Wales, but when I am in England or Scotland I am in an inwardly tense and panicky situation. I am not too bad if my family are with me (E.g. my Mum) but I need to know 100% where she is. I have to go with her if we go to a shop etc. I am less like that when I am in my own close locality... As I know if I go back home my Mum will be there or there soon.

I didn't even start college until I was 36.

I graduated in 2006 at age 45.

very cool

Thanks. I was fortunate that I got the hang of writing papers pretty quickly....

What did you major in?

English and Speech Pathology.

Short answer.