The reasons for admittance to the university after age 45, a non-normative event according to the life-span perspective, are analyzed. Forty students (27 females and 13 males), between 45 and 60 years old, from a private university in the central-western region of Brazil responded to a structured interview administered and recorded by the first author. Results indicate that the respondents perceived their adult life as a period of stability. While conscious of the expectations of their environment as to the time and transitions in their life cycle, the respondents evaluated their personal resources, selected their objectives and optimized their capacities before entering university. These results are discussed according to the life-span perspective frame of reference.
Adult development; non-normative event; life-span perspective