Ethanhill

I have to say that I never ever do this, and typically do well at exams. Of course it's a no-brainer to start in advance, but I always go through everything again from start to end at the last day, heck even in the train to the exam I do a last minute repetition, sifting through all the data in my mind ;)

Just asking some stuff is always a pretty good way to start. After the first class, "did you understand this or that", or "what do you think about this topic that was just discussed". You'll soon discover if they're interesting and you'll move to other topics probably. Don't forget the others are looking for friends too and are probably as eager to talk about stuff just as you are.

I'm not entirely sure I understand your question. If you're in your mid 20-ties now and got your degree 6 years ago, you were like 20 or 19 or even younger when you got it? What kind of degree are we really talking about here? Certificates (not degrees thus!) don't actually expire but indeed get less relevant. A certificate for administering Windows 95 with Netscape 3 wouldn't be incredibly useful now, as it basically any other certificate that is somehow tied to a specific version of something. A degree, specifically a MSc is far less or not at all about things having versions, but about foundational knowledge. This kind of theory doesn't change at the same pace as the more applied technologies do. Many things you learned in math 30 years ago are still exactly the same today. The focus may shift somewhat, but the theory largely stays the same. So the degree doesn't actually expire nor does it effectively expire. It does have the consequene that just having a degree doesn't mean you are going to ace a job, unless the job is directly in academics as well. You need some practical experience to go with it to make it really useful for most companies.

I often listen to music indeed, but I make sure I don't actually *listen* to the music if that makes sense. I'm mostly trying to let the music be background music so it drowns out some of the more annoying other background noises.

It's often possible to do that, but you need to distinguish between two case: 1. Just attend classes, but don't take any exams 2. Attend classes and take an exam Case 1 is nearly always possible. I've been at a few schools and I don't think I've ever seen students being checked before entering the room. If you have small classes where you actively have to participate (e.g. language courses) it may be different. If you also want to take exams, it's different of course as you have to be officially registered. Indeed in Europe or as part of an exchange program you can basically take classes anywhere when you're registered with any officially recognised school. Occasionally (especially for exchanges) a school has special ties with some other school and they may prefer you going there, or maybe even limit you going there. Finally there's the case to consider that obtained results for those other classes actually count for your main program, or that they are stritcly non-degree seeking (optional) courses.