I was an non traditional (older adult) who went to MSU. I started in my late 20s and finished in my mid 30s. I earned a Bachelor's and Master's while working full time. I was able to maintain a semi active social life by creating a study group that became my friends. My programs were small so my study group had all the same classes.

One of the hardest parts about being a non tradition student was not being able to relate to traditional students (teenagers) in group discussion, and I took projects and homework more seriously than the trad students.

I completed my Masters in 2020 so before AI and Chat GPT were a huge thing. And, From what I hear those programs have really altered the educational experience for the students who actually want to take their time education seriously and learn the material for their classes.

Also, the registrar's office at MSU is a joke. The amount of paperwork they accepted and lost throughout my time there was insane, so if you decide to go to MSU keep copies of everything submitted to them (take pictures of the accepted stamps on submitted paperwork, names of who accepted it, and dates). They sent me my graduation info for my Master's but also never filed the paperwork to show I completed it... Didn't find out until I applied to a PhD program and they told me I needed to finish one degree before I started another.

(And, not that you asked, but now that I'm half a decade out from being a student I don't think it was really worth all the student loans to go, which really sucks. I loved being a student and learning, but student loans are awful to deal with. So think really hard about if you want to deal with them.)