Any Non Traditional Students? Over 30, Over 40 and back at school? How are you doing?

I graduated high school in 1994 and did not start college until 2004.  I came to Western in 2006 and am finishing my B.A. this quarter (in psychology and sociology) and I must say that despite the fact that there is an age (and sometimes generational gap), it has been one of the best experiences of my life.  I only wish I would have done it sooner!

I have been able to make friends with people (most of whom are all much younger than me) and still relate.  I think most people don't realize that I am almost 33.  Part of it is context too.  Everyone assumes I am younger because I am a student. It has been a lot of hard work, but it has also been a lot of fun.

I agree, it's been a great experience for me too.  Just wish I'd done this a decade earlier...like you!!!!

I am 32 and finishing my BA. I thought next year with all of the other clubs I'm involved in trying to get a few nontraditional students and starting a AS club for nontraditional students. I enjoy being in school even being older than the other students.

It definitely has taken me a very long time to finish my degree here at Western. If you have to work a defined schedule, Western's class scheduling makes it virtually impossible to complete a degree in any normal time capacity. Personally, it has been a long, tough, and sometimes very frustrating road. However, I know the end will come at some point and I will be so happy when that moment arrives........I just hope it's before I reach 50!! haha! Good luck to all the "older" students out there! What we are accomplishing is well worth the struggle!

will be 31 at graduation this quarter, and I'm glad I did it too. Came back to achool in 2005, nailed an AA, and eventually came here to WWU. I know I don't blend in, and I find myself oddman out often enough, but I think that has helped me become more outgoing socially. I think the redirect in my life that lead me here keeps me in line as well. I'm not out doing college things as much as I could, and I am leading a lot of the classes. At 27 I was able to blitz the GURs in my AA with minimal effort due to life experiance, so being older helped a lot. Now, however, I find myself anoyed with the reality of what WWU has provided me as far as an education. Overal I feel I could have just skipped the classroom time and long hours if they had just interviewed me for life experiance. Knowing a lot of the material makes the courses kind of unchallenging, so my interest level peeters out and grades slip.

I'll be glad to move on though. Grad school should offer challenges and focus that will get me to my goals.

When I think about the campus life though, it's amazing to hear what some of the younger students say in class isn't?

The other day I head, "I don't eat meat, but I eat chickens. It's better for the environment because they're small." LOL! Ah, WWU, you never cease to provide the entertainment....

Yes, it is interesting what some of the students say in classes.  For as many assinine things I hear some 19-year-old say, I also realize there are some very bright young students who never cease to amaze me.  I certainly did not have some of their wisdom at that age.  With that said, when I hear dumb things being uttered I remember that I was that age once too and was doing pretty much the same thing -  though not in college. 

Hey, you're going to be 50 anyway, with or without a degree--it's better to be 50 WITH a degree!  That's what I keep telling myself anyway!!!

I am a 26 year-old returning student.  I re-enrolled last fall and was stunned at how old I felt almost immediately.  While I am sure I blend in at least physically, when I'm in class I find myself wondering if I was talking about party keggers and passing out a few years ago before I left school for a bit?  Often times I find myself feeling exhausted particularly with group assignments.

I don't believe Western to be particularly friendly or encouraging when it comes to their treatment of returning or older students.  I it is my opinion that they have a certain type of student or at least a few types that fits their idea of what "diversity" means on campus.  And where they might encourage variety amongst that of the 19-22 year-old crowd, they don't seem to have the same intrigue when it comes to that of the needs of older students.

It's unfortunate because there becomes a sort of status quo with regards to topics in class discussions, particularly in the Social Science Departments as well as History.

I am here for a reason however, but I agree that it's difficult to stay motivated when you can't relate to your peers too well and you find yourself quieting your opinions so that you won't monopolize a discussion topic.  Argh, I can't fly around the world backwards like Superman in order to go back in time and finish school a few years ago, so it's simply a life challenge that I will have to walk parallel to for the next two quarters.

I think it would be great however to have a club for older or returning students, to offer support particularly when one feels overwhelmed by discussions involving the MTV Movie Awards or whose house they awoke at with vomit stuck in their hair.

I retired in 2003 after a 32-yr career in IT, and returned to school in September 2003 to finish the undergrad music degree I'd started in 1969.  I graduated from Seattle Pacific University in June 2006 with a triple major in Conducting, Composition, and Vocal Performance.

I started here at Western in fall 2006, going for a M.Mus.  I'm now 57, and working (slowly) to finish my thesis so I can graduate next year.  It's taking a little longer than I originally planned, but that's OK.  I'm doing this for myself, not to have some sort of second career.

Since I'm retired, I have the luxury of more flexible scheduling (no job to interfere with classes).  I've been having a ball -- I enjoy research and writing, HATE tests.  I've been a little surprised that my grades have been consistently good (graduated summa cum laude from SPU with an overall GPA of 3.99 --- I got *one* A- in a 2-credit orchestration class) -- I think that's more a testament to my stubborness and over-compensating for a sometimes less-than-cooperative memory.

Another surprise was Bellingham.  I had originally planned to finish school here and return to the Seattle area -- but I fell in love with Bellingham, and ended up buying a house here.

Anyway, you asked how it was going -- so there it is. 

I think you really have to WANT your education if you are a "non-traditional" ("mature?" what is the PC term for us old-timers?) student.  In addition to the actual education making me a stronger person, walking around campus more than twice the age of the average student lends itself to an extra dose of grit/moxie, don't you think?  An additional growth experience!

I started college when I was 29 and got my BA when I was 45.  Talk about satisfaction!  Now I'm in grad school.

I find I need to reach out more to the younger students, to make them see I'm also a person, not just someone who happens to be in their parents generation. I do have school friends of all ages that I hang out with.  It helps to be an outgoing person.  I try to make my age a non-issue and hope that others will follow suit.

I agree that WWU could offer more support for older students.  It was especially hard when my kids were small and I see some of my colleagues struggling with that now.  Juggling school with kids, marriage and possibly a job is nuts!  Support for students (of all ages) with families and support for students (of all ages) with jobs/careers that don't offer flexible schedules would contribute a lot to honoring diversity in this regard.

Didn't there used to be a club for non-traditional students?  Oh yeah, probably no one had time to attend ;-)

How many of you have been through the shock of having your first prof who was younger than you?  That was a rude awakening!  Now I'm sure I'm older than the average age of the faculty in my department.  Oh well!

I'm a younger cat. 20 years olf as a matter of fact, but my arrival at Western could be considered non-traditional.
I quit highschool when I was 16. I have a G.E.D. and a vocational training certificate in building maintenence (I hope to never have to use it). I came from a extremely broken home.
Statistically, it's a miracle of sorts that I have made it this far in my education.
I had never imagined myself coming to a University, but here I am. (Many thanks for financial aid)

I feel really wierd because I fit in with the younger crowd, age wise, but my whole life experience set me apart from most students. I really can't imagine myself out partying, or goofing off in my classes.
I have a hard time relating to most students on campus, so I spend every weekend with my girlfriend outside of Bellingham. 
I am an Elementary Mathematics major, and I rock a 4.00 GPA.

I spent two years in community college, and I found the aptmosphere to be much better for a student with my background.

I couldn't imagine trying to attend school full-time while trying to work, let alone raise children!  I've known some folks who did it, but I don't think I could have managed it.  I tried taking some night classes when I was working and did OK, but it was next to impossible to get a degree that way because so few classes were offered at night.

I'm very lucky to be able to do this now.  When I started, I just wanted to finish my undergrad degree, and it was with the encouragement of some of my professors that I decided to go on for a masters.

Interaction with younger students has been very interesting.  As an undergrad, I usually encountered four reactions, depending on the student and the situation.  Most of the time, I was treated as "just another student," especially when it became apparent that I was serious about participating fully.  Then there were some students who tried to turn me into a surrogate mother -- they just needed someone older to talk to, I think.  Another smaller group seemed to have a LOT of difficulty relating to someone as old (or older than) their parents, so they just ignored me.  And a very small number -- just a few, really -- showed outright hostility (one actually asked me "Why are you here? Why are you taking up space?  You're too old for this!").  

Western is a different matter.  As a music grad student, I'm relatively isolated from the rest of the student body.  My first year, I was in classes most of the time, and ALL of them were in PAC.  I'd arrive before 8:00am, disappear into the dungeon that makes up the lower level of the PAC, and then be regurgitated around 5:30pm after rehearsals, classes, etc.  There are relatively few graduate students in the music program here, and most of our classes are separate from the undergrads.  The only interaction we might have is if we participate in one of the performing ensembles.  Other than that, we're in classes of 5-8 students OR working alone on projects (thesis, etc.).

I've actually met more students at the bus stop or on the bus than I have in classes.  When I arrived at Western, I was told not to attend grad student orientation since I wasn't going to be teaching, so I never had a chance to meet other grad students outside the music department.  And I tend to be kind of shy anyway. :-)

If all goes well, I'll graduate in June 2010 -- that's assuming I get my tush in gear and finish my thesis (it's just over half done, and already over 60 pages ... ).

It's been a blast so far --

I've got ten years on you, but a similar background. I was surprised at how many students here are sort of on auto pilot, like they don't realize how lucky they are and they are more interested in socializing then studying. I lived in NYC for ten years and nothing I have faced in my academic career has been as difficult as an average day as a lowly fashion designer. (it is not anything like project runway)

But, aside from the first quarter loneliness I got when I transferred, I am doing well.  

I definately fall into the "non-traditional" student category.  Over 40 and finishing my BA too!  I love school, but trying to balance "real-life" (family, other committments - like everything that comes with parenting, familial health issues such as octogenarian parents...etc.) is overwhelming at times. I have had to take a quarter off and cut way back on classes a few times but this year has been the best so far (I've been enrolled since fall 07).

I am also surprised there are not more of us here.  I am in Woodring now, after a senior year drop-out from my former life as a management/spanish major in the late eighties.  So graduation is postponed for 22 years...lol. 

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who never finished their BA.  I am now on track to finish - finally! 

34 here, just finishing my first quarter here after completing my AA at WCC. I work full time and attend 3/4 time, used to be full time but after 3 years of that I burned out on it. So far I think WCC had more to offer older students but maybe I just haven't been here long enough yet. WWU has more of a high schooly vibe to me (both from the avg age of students and from class format). But that just means I have to adapt to the environment and accept it for what it is.
 
I do feel that being older is a bonus. I'm more focused and have a clear idea of what I want and expect out of my education. There's a different drive to wanting to learn when compared against my younger days. Had I gone right out of high school I probably wouldn't have been happy with it, performed well, nor would I have had a good idea of what really interested me subjectwise. So overall it's been a good experience for me.

salwitj - I agree with everything you said!  I loved WCC.  And I so would've bombed college right after high school... not that I had the grades to get in!