But all that's changed.
And Hull, now 62, is busy catching up. On Monday, the Hermosa Beach, Calif., woman began her first day of classes as a psychology major at California State University, Long Beach.
Among her classmates?
Hull's granddaughter, freshman Alexis Walters, 18, also a Hermosa Beach resident and a fellow psychology major.
When Walters first heard that her grandmother was thinking of enrolling, she was shocked.
"I'm like, 'Really? Are you kidding?"' said Walters.
Although female undergraduates now outnumber male ones in the United States, it was a different story during Hull's youth.
Hull, who graduated high school in the mid-1960s, became interested in higher education after taking classes at Santa Monica College, where she received an associate degree last year.
"I just got caught up in learning," she said.
After taking some classes at Cal State Long Beach through the Open University program, Hull knew that CSULB was her top choice for pursuing her undergraduate studies, as well as a planned master's degree in psychology.
She earned enough academic credits before this year to enroll as a junior. So it's unlikely that Hull will be sharing a class with her freshman granddaughter this year.
