I’d like to know what are the pros and cons of starting studies at
university late in life, in your late 20’s.

Some real-life examples of these mature-age students would also be
very helpful.

Here are the pros and cons from my point of view:

Positive: 

Appreciate college more after being out in the job market a bit, so
you work harder and get more value for your money

Negative:

Most of the other students will be much younger than you and so social
opportunities will be less.


I really don't think you are all that old for college.  Here are a few
stories I found about people you probably think are ancient starting
college:

The Advantages of Being an Older Student
--http://www.back2college.com/advantage.htm

Older Student Relating to College-Age Students --
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/relationships/78125


Here's a good article about how to go about returning to school:

Older college students --
http://papa.essortment.com/oldercollegest_rlgt.htm

Hope this was helpful to you.  Good luck!

I first went to university straight from school, but went back at the
age of 33 to requalify.

The advantages of being older: 
I felt more self-reliant, did not need to prove anything by finding a
partner or getting drunk on a regular basis, already had my own ways
of working and studying. The lecturers treated me more as an equal. I
had a more critical approach to my studies than some of the younger
students, which tended to reflect in significantly higher marks for
essays.

Disadvantages:
Home commitments made studying far harder and also meant my social
life was pretty well non-existent.  I also found it more difficult to
memorise factual information for exams.

I have taught older students.  On the average, they "get it" more
quickly, they study harder, and are more appreciative of what they're
getting.  I agree, though, that you're not very old compared to
"traditional" students.  Just do it.