Maybe you have noticed, perusing pages of information on graduate studies, that available research often seems geared toward recent college graduates in their early twenties. While those types of "traditional" students certainly exist, nontraditional students—those pursuing higher degrees while working full time, or after a significant break in their education—are quickly becoming the norm.
Why go back?
Nontraditional students bring considerable benefits to the graduate classroom. Whether interrupting their education to raise children or to start a business, age invariably comes with wisdom. Older students have valuable work and life experience, and they are likely to view their education as an investment, making retention rates much higher for older students. Here are a few reasons that adult-learners make the often difficult choice to return to school:
- Changing careers/increased work responsibility
- Recent family or life change—marriage, death, and divorce are all transitions that inspire people to continue education
- Suddenly afforded free time they never had before
- Desire to complete degrees that they started and could not finish because of family/work responsibilities, financial concerns, or lack of interest/motivation
U.S. campuses evolve
Studies have shown that one-third to one-half of all graduate students in the United States are nontraditional scholars. That number continues to grow as learners of every demographic are being shown the incentive and motivation to return to school. Colleges and universities, because of these trends, must make continuous improvements to their curriculum to accommodate an older crowd with vastly different learning needs than their younger counterparts.
Having lived extensively outside the "college student" paradigm, nontraditional students often struggle gaining self-confidence. Additionally, many adult-learners are parents (and sometimes grandparents), full-time workers, active community members, and religious leaders—they need special help with time management if they hope to successfully meet this bevy of obligations in addition to academic demands.
Paying for a nontraditional education
Finding financial aid for graduate school can be tricky at any age, and perhaps even more so for adult learners with myriad financial responsibilities—but there is hope. A student must be at least 24 years old to be considered independent; most adult learners easily meet that requirement, but obstacles sometimes await those who are leaving full-time employment to pursue a degree.
Most financial aid is based on the prospective student's prior year taxes, so nontraditional students should be prepared to appeal to their admissions office. In most cases, financial aid forms can be adjusted to account for this common circumstance. Keeping a part-time position can hurt nontraditional students in a similar regard, so it is important to maintain good communication with the financial aid office for the duration of study.
Scholarships for adult-learners, though not widely publicized, also exist. Scholarship search engines allow students to plug in personalized information and provide search results accordingly. Also, many corporations offer funding exclusively to students who meet certain age and work experience requirements, so students should consult a financial aid advisor who can help exhaust all available options.
Certain graduate schools have been known to get in on the action as well, by offering credit to students who can demonstrate acquired knowledge. In this way, nontraditional students save money for their graduate education and avoid wasting time taking courses they don't need.
by Hannah Roberts, staff writer
