Getting In As an Adult
So, you want to go back to school? Many nontraditional students are faced with an application process that doesn’t really fit their needs. Traditional schools compare applicants based on their GPA, SAT scores and extracurricular activities, but how do they compare the students that have spent the last ten years working and raising a family?
There was a pretty good article in the New York Times about this. When applying, there are a few challenges nontraditional students have to consider:
Cost: Some schools actually reject nontrads if they don’t have the money to go. At Brown for instance, its cost, not quality of applicant, that limits the number admitted to Brown. Its need-blind admissions policy does not apply to nontraditional students. But don’t get discouraged. Although there are fewer scholarships available for nontraditional students, they are out there. Collegescholarships.org has a good resource section.
Getting In: Though many schools do not require SAT or ACT scores from applicants, they do consider high school transcripts and any college grades earned. Many schools require detailed essays and interviews and some schools require students to take some pre-requisite courses or maintain a certain grade average to stay in school.
Regular vs. Continuing Ed Classes: The admissions process is much more relaxed for continuing education courses, but schools don’t always offer full degrees through continuing education. Students hoping to join the 18 year olds will have a much tougher time.
So what should you do? Well if you are dead set on an Ivy League school, I’m not going to lie, its going to be a challenge. But, if you are willing to check out other options, there are several opportunities out there. And, they might even be a better fit for you. For-profit institutions for instance, are becoming an increasingly viable option. Most of the students at these institutions are very motivated because they pay for school themselves and have never attended college, and their interests are often much more similar to the average adult learner. Online colleges are another option. Many traditional colleges are offering online programs now and their admissions processes are often much more relaxed. To give ourselves a shameless plug, a great way to find the right school is to take the myUsearch questionnaire.
