Surely the point the OP is making is this. Asking an 18 year old what he has done in school over the last few years is relevant. He can easily remember it, as it wasn't long ago, and it's about all his worldly experience at that stage.
By contrast, for a 43 year old you are asking him about things that happened nearly 30 years ago, so his memory won't be that good. Secondly, for the 43 year old a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, he has no doubt matured, developed, and done things in his 20s and 30s that are far more relevant to the OASC decision making process!!