Non Traditional Students Essay

885 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Online education compared to traditional learning

ADULT STUDENT’S OBSTACLES AND OPTIONS 2
Adult Student’s Obstacles and Options
Adults interested in completing their degree now have a way to reach their goals of higher education. If you look outside of the conventional college education path you will find today’s non-traditional student. It might be surprising to learn that age of the student is really not a factor. Age tends to correlate to the main characteristics that define the non-traditional student. Some of these “characteristics include: having dependents, working full time, online/distant learners, financially independent, enrolled part time” (Ross-Gordon, 2011, para 1). Students that identify with one or more characteristics are considered non-traditional. Nearly …show more content…

As with any important decisions, the possible consequences can be intimidating. Many individuals are working full time and have family commitments. Thoughts of finding a balance between school and life seem like a major undertaking. Parents with young children can feel guilty if loved ones feel neglected. Often committing to a regimented class schedule is not feasible. “Time and finances are cited as the most common barriers faced by adult students” (Gast, 2013 p.18). The extra expense of tuition and financial hardship can be difficult to …show more content…

Did you know over 50% of all adult college students work part or full time?” (Siebert & Karr 2008, p113). This question causes many adults to speculate how it is possible to be a successful student. Exploring your options is the first step to attaining any goal. Evening and weekend courses are available. Many employers offer tuition reimbursement programs and will also consider an alternative work arrangement to accommodate employees that are interested in higher education. More and more courses are available online including associate, bachelor's and master's degree

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis Of The Article Is College For Everyone?

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Pharinet says “Embrace the reality that college is not for everyone”(682).

    Read More

  • Adult Students: Recruitment and Retention

    2011 Words  | 5 Pages

    Adult students' participation and persistence in educational activities ranging from adult literacy to doctoral programs is a complex phenomenon involving an array of factors. Adults are often affected by situational factors beyond their control—job, health problems, financial problems, legal problems, personal or family problems (Belzer 1998). Likewise, dispositional factors such as expectations, self-esteem, level of family support, and past educational experience, can be barriers to participation (Hubble 2000). Institutional factors such as red tape, program fees, scheduling, and procedures can either help or hinder participation (Quigley 1998). In fact, adult students who drop out are often actually "stopping out"—that is, interrupting their studies but planning to return (Frank and Gaye 1997)—or attending other institutions (Hoffman and Elias 1999).

    Read More

  • Student Debt Research Paper

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    When coming to college your whole money situation changes, suddenly you're bombarded with housing costs and student loans that you have to pay back or you will spiral into debt. Your whole life changes you don't have your parents paying for your voluptuous wants and needs, you’re on your own. The move from high school understudy to college undergrad is a standout amongst the most upsetting and essential times in an adolescent's life. Not only is your day to day life going to change but your spending habits have to change. The school years are a period where a high school student leaves their support team behind,

    Read More

  • Non Traditional College Students

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to current estimates approximately 75 percent of college students are now nontraditional students – older than 25, attending school part time, and having delayed entry or reentry into college for a variety of personal reasons. Post secondary education is needed by such students to develop their careers and to acquire new skills and knowledge in a global society where they are likely to have longer life spans than did workers in the past. This trend is not restricted to North America; it is a worldwide phenomenon.

    Read More

  • College Education: An Investment or Expense?

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many Americans today tend to believe that a college education is valuable financially, yet some others strongly oppose this, since they look at the college education as being both time and money consuming. A person who successfully completes a college education may obtain one or all of the following; an associate’s degree after two years, a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or a PhD. The institutions that provide the college education can be public or private. Whereas a college education might be seen as being very expensive, it actually increases people’s chances of getting higher paying jobs, instills knowledge into them, and raises their enjoyment levels.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Is College Really Worth It?

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sometimes students question themselves if college is really worth it? That question has many answers that only a student can answer and decide for him or herself. For some students college can have a positive, life-long outcome. However, there are many obstacles when it comes to college. A student has to be very dedicated in school, and they have to know how to manage their personal life, school and work. College seems like it has more negative effects than it does positive for some people. For the following reasons college is not worth the cost because it is very difficult to find jobs after graduating or they find a job that is not in their field, some students who are not academically prepared wind up dropping out of school and wasting their money and some students struggle to balance school life, personal life and work life. As a result these students end up dropping out of school.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography For The Cost Of College

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    This report looks at college from the prospective of adults who have not attended college but are considering obtaining a degree. The research results give several statistics related to adults wishing to continue their education and the main concerns that they face in doing so. They mentioned many of the factors that influence adults’ decisions to pursue a post-secondary education and how they will pursue that education. Facts presented in this report show that many people wish that they could further their education. This report will allow me to broaden my viewpoint by not only viewing college’s worth to students recently graduated from high school but also to older adults seeking to return to college.

    Read More

  • The Economic Value of a College Degree

    1599 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the cost of college tuition continues to rise each year, many individuals are questioning if a college education is worth the time and effort needed to obtain a college degree. In today’s society, however, a high school education or diploma is not enough to insure a chance at having a good future. For many students, the decision on whether or not he/she should pursue a higher education is a major conflict for many young adults who are graduating high school. Therefore, while some students wonder if going to college is worth the price tag, in the end, the benefits associated with earning a college degree are proven to uphold numerous opportunities for individuals in the future.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Career As A College Student

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    The stereotypical version of the normal life of a teenager proceeding to college would include high academic standards met throughout their high school career and outstanding outside testing scores resulting in automatic entry into the institution of their choice. Many of these individuals have the support of their accomplished family members in the form of financial support. There are those who have not had the luxuries of any easy upbringing but forced to decide between a life with a college degree or full-time employment. For myself I want to have it all and to achieve that I have taken on both.

    Read More

  • College Essay

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the start of the semester, my oblivious state of nature associating with the Chinese culture reached an unacceptable level. Implementing a necessary change, I decided to educate myself on different cultures starting with China. I failed to ponder that such a rich, deep culture existed outside America. Encompassed by this country’s unique yet suffocating melting pot culture, my outlook believed ideas such as uniformity between American Chinese food and Authentic Chinese food. After this course, my bigot perspective widened as I witnessed diversity in the world. Before this class, when I thought of Chinese food, my connotation jumped to thoughts associated with chop suey, but as I progressed my education, my mindset gradually pondered foods like steamed buns or “New Year Cakes” with authentic Chinese food.

    Read More

  • College is not for everyone

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nefit the young adult, or cause many financial problems if the student were to drop out.

    Read More

  • Learning Outside The Classroom Essay

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many articles can attest to the subject that is, why education doesn 't just stop at school. Lily Claiborne, Annie Paul, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi are all people who have written articles about learning outside the classroom. Things like the internet, world experiences/ responsibilities, and your peers, teach you so much more that you ever would in a classroom. Articles like “Teaching Outside the Classroom” by Lily Claiborne, “Informal education: What students are learning outside the classroom” by Annie Paul, and “Education for the 21st Century” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, show great examples to why learning doesn 't stop at school. Going to school may be a primary form of education, but with the immense amount

    Read More

  • Students Should Work Part-Time While in College

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nowadays in the era of globalization, students are encouraged to have work part-time that will create them to become more experienced in their future, teach them to become more independent and mature in real life. Although the students have enough money to pay their fees and able to accommodate the necessities of life but we totally agree that the working part-time should be encouraged because work part-time can give more benefits to students. According to King and Bannon (2002, p. 2), more than 50 percent of full-time students have jobs and “nearly 46% of all full-time employed students work 25 hours or more.” As students work more, they have less time to become engaged in campus life both inside and outside the classroom. Many students love to have part-time jobs. Their parents approve it easily as they are said to gain experience from working. However, having a job is a big responsibility for a student. Before, teenagers at their age were working to help their family because of poverty. Nevertheless, they were actually eager to study and learn at school for their future. It was not the same as the students nowadays where they are more likely competing to each other to have a job. Most of the students are working part-time jobs and some have the intention to work. When we are in any fast food restaurant, supermarket or shop, there are must be school students who are working. Besides, students can gain a lot of experiences, students should be encouraged to work part-time because they can learn new skills and learn how to manage their financial properly.

    Read More

  • Being A Good Student Essay

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Becoming a good student for most is not an easy task. One may be asking if there is a definite way to distinguish a good student and the answer is it 's merely impossible to say a student is considered “good” based on only one factor. Many people define good students as kids who have the best grade in the class. Since most of the time this is true, grades can only be looked at as a single way of how we define the term “good”. We must remember that even poor students can earn high grades occasionally, thus proving why grades are not the best indicator of a student’s quality. The “good student” label will most likely lay on the discipline that their parents laid down for them in school as a child. A good student can balance a positive attitude

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Living At Home And Living Away From Home

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Usually, students go away to the college or university of their dream to further their education and to learn to live on their own. However, many pupils are realizing that they don’t have to go far, or let alone leave their bedroom to get their education. Students are staying at home as they get their education instead of going to another state. Education has converted to being a lot more moldable, and students can go back and forth from home to school or even do online classes. The positivity factors include not having to pay for living quarters and the tuition of staying at home is way less then leaving. Even with all of these differences students are still faced with decision of staying home or

    Read More

More about Non Traditional Students Essay

Open Document