In a creative/technical program of study, such as an art form coupled with industry relevance (i.e. music and sound relating to technology) there are other possible frustrations and challenges relating to student motivation and retention. One of the most obvious one is the general notion that one can simply 'miss the train' if you don't start young. I may relate to an age difference issue in the classroom but it is not limited to that since it can certainly happen in a classroom of students of a similar age group. What I have found as a good approach is to give the class a reality check and overlay it with the class objectives to put things into perspective. The most important aspect for the student to recognize is that, yes, in order to be a professional violin player one needs to practice a lot and probably from a young age, but that is not the scope of this artistic endeavor. A lot of students fear that anything in the arts involve perfection from a young age and it is simply untrue. In a creative program such as music technology, for instance, it is important to clarify that the skill set taught isn't primarily age sensitive.