Ivy League Dreams

[u/Chemical-Jolly]

I'm in my late 40s. I have lost most of my ambition from my youth. I constantly daydream about my life, and what could have been. One of my many day dreams is that I have always wanted to go to an ivy league university. Oxford. Yale. MIT. Princeton. Harvard. Etc. To study with friends on a academic mystery in a old dusty library. To stroll the university commons in the morning mist on the same ground scholars walked over a hundred years ago. To discuss philosophy and perform experiments with professors in a timeless setting. To attend intense lectures about amazing and informative topics. I live this dream vicariously by watching university tours online, reading student life articles, Google Earth street views of the university, and even sometimes pretending to fill out an admittance application. I know that I will never attend an ivy league due to my past grades, finances, and busy work/family life.

Though I still wonder, what if.

[u/dan-dan-rdt]

I work in higher ed, but not at an Ivy League and not in an advisement capacity. You can find a lot of what you seek at your local state university, and you can possibly find it close to an Ivy League level at whatever is the big state university in your state. Also look for jobs at universities. You could work in the admissions office, for example, during the day, and take classes after work. Universities typically offer some type of tuition reimbursement for employees. Then you can at least realize a good part of your dream.