Non-Traditional Students In Community College: The New Majority?

by A Guest Author

Though we often think of college students as young, carefree 18-21 year olds who’d rather party all night than crack open a book to study, statistics show that the majority of current undergraduate students couldn’t be farther from this depiction. In fact, most college students – approximately 75% - are now considered to be non-traditional, which typically includes those age 23 and over, working 25-40 hours per week, and either a single parent, active military member, veteran, or baby boomer.

Surprising, right? Additionally:

  • 1 in 3 undergrads are older than 25 and work 35+ hours per week
  • 2 in 3 community college students say they have to work to afford school
  • 1 in 4 students are also parents

Sounds like today’s average college student is juggling quite a bit! Between work, school, and family, becoming overwhelmed with seems inevitable. But there is a bright side – students who work while in school get about a 22% ROI on their education, while those who attend school full time and do not work get only about 12%. Yes, you read that correctly: there are in fact benefits to trying to balance it all, and if you’re a non-traditional student, you may be getting more value from your college experience than your more traditional classmates.

For more on today’s non-traditional student population and how universities are adapting to this unique group, check out the infographic below.

This post has been contributed by DSST.

This post was written by A Guest Author

This post was written by a guest author. If you have high quality, useful information to share with students, send us an email or click Write For Us to learn more. And in case you're wondering - yes, you can promote yourself in this fancy author byline.

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