What is it like going back to study after a long time?
Published: 6 February 2026
Laura, an MSc International Relations student from Peru, reflects on returning to study after years away, navigating a new education system, re-learning academic writing, adjusting to age differences, and rediscovering herself. Her story shows how embracing challenge and student life again can spark real personal growth.
Author: Laura Ortiz Ballarta, MSc International Relations student
It has been seven years since I completed my undergraduate degree in Communication for Development in Peru; time truly flies! Since 2019, many things have changed, not only at a personal level, such as gaining greater clarity about my academic interests and developing stronger concentration and time-management skills, but also globally, with rapid technological advances and significant sociopolitical events that ultimately influenced my decision to return to study.
During these years, my professional pathway led me to work with international organisations focused on social development and human rights, where I gained valuable experience and built specialised knowledge in the field. However, I realised that continuing to grow professionally and becoming eligible for new and interesting positions required further study at a master’s level. Going back to study after so many years was certainly not going to be easy. Still, it felt like the best option to broaden my understanding of current international relations trends and strengthen my ability to contribute meaningfully to the projects I was already involved in. Since making this decision, the experience has been a mix of many emotions, including happiness and excitement, but also a degree of nervousness about facing such a significant challenge.
At the beginning, returning to academic writing felt challenging, as I had not practised academic writing for several years. However, something that helped significantly was the wide range of resources the University offers to support postgraduate students. Two weeks before classes began, I took part in a programme called T2G, run by Student Learning Development (SLD), which focused on understanding what is expected of postgraduate students. This included everything from academic workload to the level of complexity in knowledge and skills required to settle successfully into postgraduate study. The programme included a series of virtual sessions, some of which were specifically tailored to each college. At the end of the week, they organised a “Treasure Hunt Quiz” at the Hunterian Museum—a social activity where I met other postgraduate students and even my new best friend.
Studying is not easy anyway, even for those who have just completed their undergraduate degree. This is why SLD offers a wide range of resources throughout the academic year to support students with topics such as academic writing, mathematics, active reading, and more. These are delivered through different formats, including in-person classes, online sessions, and pre-booked one-to-one appointments for specialised feedback on your own work. All of these opportunities are regularly shared on their website. I attended several of these sessions, and they not only helped me with specific academic skills but also strengthened my confidence by reminding me that improvement comes with practice.
Additionally, I realised I was not alone in navigating a new education system. In these sessions, I met other international students who were going through similar experiences. Talking to them was both reassuring and a lovely way to share experiences and make new friends.
Something else I did not fully anticipate was the age difference among students in my master’s programme. In many European contexts, it is common for students to progress directly from their undergraduate degree to a master’s programme. In contrast, in Latin America, it is more common to gain a few years of professional experience before deciding on a master’s program and feeling more confident about the field in which you want to specialise. However, this age difference also became an enriching part of the learning experience, in the sense that these varied perspectives strengthened discussions in class, but also allowed me to build meaningful friendships with people at different stages of their lives.
Becoming a student again implies understanding how facets of yourself related to learning processes have varied. For instance, professional experience can shape how you approach certain topics, leading to preconceptions or even strong certainties. Engaging in classroom discussions, however, challenges you to remain open-minded, consider alternative perspectives, and sometimes even question your own views. This may be a shared experience across disciplines, but in the social sciences, it particularly encourages openness to diverse perspectives. Another important aspect is becoming more aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, which can be turned into an advantage. In my case, I knew that abstract theoretical courses could be more challenging, while empirically grounded topics felt more accessible. As a result, I designed a study schedule that allocated more time to the courses I found most demanding and supplemented my learning with additional resources, such as podcasts and videos. This is part of reflective learning, something the university emphasises as a way to develop adaptability and effectively manage your own skills in order to be successful in your studies.
Another significant aspect is the lifestyle change student life demands. Unlike professional work outside academia, studying requires other times, a different attitude, and a mindset grounded in curiosity and calm. Sometimes, depending on the type of work, it can become mechanical, and even if you’re not in the best mood, you can perform well as a professional for long hours. However, in my experience, being a student requires our full cognitive capacity, which involves eliminating physical distractors like hunger, cold, or sleepiness, but also more complex ones like those related to mental wellbeing like feeling motivated, confident, among others. Given this situation, it was very important for me to maintain good habits like sleeping well, having time for proper disconnecting and relaxing, and even trying to do more exercise. At first sight, this could sound evident for any student, but for me it was a change of lifestyle rhythm after just dedicating myself to work for some years.
Reflecting on all these changes—and many more—I have come to realise that personal growth often happens in unexpected ways. Returning to study has offered me valuable opportunities to challenge myself while rediscovering the joy of learning more deeply about my field.
First published: 6 February 2026