11 Signs You’re A Nontraditional College Student

You might be asking yourself, what even is a nontraditional college student? Well, let us explain. When you think about college life, you imagine these young adults fresh out of high school exploring an environment they’ve never ventured in before, who are accepting of the concept that this is their designated sanctuary. They are unfamiliar with university politics and professor attitudes and expectations out of students. They share a small dorm room with a stranger and have to share a bathroom with an entire hallway of even more strangers. Maybe they live in a rental house or apartment close to campus with a significant other, their close friends, or even strangers. The stereotypical college student’s life is centered around this educational bubble away from their families and high school friends, separated from the outside world.

A nontraditional college student doesn’t always fit into the molds above.

(Because that is not all there is to college life.) Not every college student’s circumstances surround the scenarios listed in the previous paragraph. Colleges are a gathering place of unique individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, and upbringings that provide a melting pot of diversity. Every student has a personalized explanation for why and how they’re attending college. Chances are, you actually might be one of these kinds of students and are setting an example for others. Let’s explore the different types of a nontraditional college student and see if you fit into any of the following categories, chances are you’re one too!

1. You didn’t immediately attend college after graduating from high school.

With all of the stresses high school can provide for graduating seniors, many traditional students can feel that urge to want to travel and discover their true passions in life. They want to be able to discover what they really want to do to provide for their futures by taking a break from education after finishing high school. Taking a gap year before starting college is becoming a beneficial trend among millennials, and for good reason. Individuals who decide to take a gap-year would completely decide what they want to major in when they go back to college and are much more motivated to finish school. It’s also beneficial because it makes people less likely to change their major.

2. You attend college part-time.

Every student vows to get their Bachelor’s degree in four years or less. It’s an absolute given to finish school so you can fully start your career! In the present day and age, that seems impossible. You have to work to pay your bills, you personally can’t handle tackling five to six classes per semester, or you don’t have the financial resources to tackle these classes all at once. None of these reasons are anything to be ashamed of; everybody just needs to do what they need to do and/or are most comfortable with.

3. You’re a single parent.

Single parents who decide to go back to school are some of the strongest, most inspirational people. They raised a child on their own, sometimes having to sacrifice the opportunity to further their education to focus on raising their beautiful children. That’s incredibly noble and admirable, and many colleges and universities recognize that.

College students who happen to be single parents are occasionally viewed as more responsible than traditionally students because they’re not taking classes to screw around; they are there to learn. They’re setting an example for their children, and higher educational institutions offer hundreds upon thousands of dollars’ worth of scholarships towards single parents.

4. You have children or dependents other than your spouse.

It’s definitely not uncommon for most college students, especially older ones, to be married. Heck, I am myself getting married in October and I’m a Marketing student at the University of Central Oklahoma and my fiancé is a Music Production student at ACM@UCO.

For most college students who do happen to be married, some may have children, step-children, or are legal guardians for younger siblings or others. This concept is not discussed as frequently as single parents, but it’s not a rare situation for a nontraditional college student.

5. You’re financially independent.

Pardon my French, but paying for college is a bitch. Everything from room and board to tuition is ridiculously expensive. Some students have their parents paying for their education, but will sometimes feel controlled when their parents ram their opinions down their child’s throat.

In all fairness, they have a right to since they are the ones paying for your school. In rare circumstances, there are some students who are independent financially away from their parents. They are the ones paying everything for school because they worked various part-time jobs during high school or they receive all of their financial aid into their personal bank accounts and pay for everything themselves through that system.

6. You have your GED, not a high school diploma.

You had to take a test, but at least you received the equivalent of your high school diploma within several hours, not four years.

7. You work full-time.

(You are starting to really get the hang of those night and online classes.)

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8. You’re older than traditional college students.

Maybe you’ve had an early career change and are back at school even though you’re a millennial. Or maybe all your children (or even some grandchildren) are off in college and you are achieving your life-long goal of finally graduating!

9. You primarily take online classes.

What makes online classes incredibly beneficial is how convenient it is for most students who have children or work full-time. Online classes provide the freedom of choice, self-responsibility, and self-discipline students experience when they can’t attend an in-person class. Some students choose to take online courses because they simply learn and understand the subject matter in an easier way when they’re trying to teach themselves rather than being a part of a classroom environment.

10. You don’t (or have never) lived on campus.

I’ve never had the opportunity to live in a dorm room with a stranger and share a shower with however-many-other-people living on the same floor. I don’t necessarily miss engaging in that experience because I already lived through that experience of finally achieving freedom away from my parents and doing the things I wanted to do.

For traditional students, they understand what the dorm life is like and they’re thankful for engaging in the dorm life. Nontraditional students may have chosen to go a different route by doing whatever they feel the most comfortable with doing.

11. You don’t really care to engage in on-campus activities.

Life catches up to everybody through different rates of time from every angle; you can only do so much in so little time. Some students may either not have time engaging in the on-campus activities their university offers, or they are simply not interested in what their school has to offer and focus on themselves instead.