by Vickie Becker, EdD,
The nontraditional college student, age 25 or older, continues to be a “hot topic” of conversation. Previously, I shared that the nontraditional college student population has increased faster than the percentage of younger students. A recent Gallup study showed that the percentage of nontraditional college graduates has nearly doubled in recent decades, from 16% in the 1970s to 32% for 2000-2014 graduates. But what about quality of life issues? How does the nontraditional and traditional student compare when it comes to issues of well-being?
Once again, Gallup is here to help respond to the question of how someone returning to college at an older age will have their personal quality of life affected. This study, the Gallup-Purdue Index, is based on surveys with nearly 4,000 nontraditional college graduates and approximately 7,500 traditional college graduates who earned their degree between 1990 and 2014.
First, the money issue and personal income. When it comes to comparing personal income earned during a certain calendar year, individuals who’ve graduated from college around the same time but at different ages are currently faring equally well. Of course, when it comes to lifetime earnings, the traditional graduate will likely enjoy higher earnings because they reap the economic benefits of a college degree for a longer period of time. But the study showed that in terms of current income, the two groups are equal.
After personal income, other quality of life issues include finding purpose, social fulfillment, community involvement, and physical wellbeing. With these topics, the older adult college student does not fare quite as well as the young student. I would imagine if you are over age 25 and reading this article then you will say “dah,” because you know that significant personal responsibilities increase as one ages and increased personal responsibilities, temporary as they are, can temporarily decrease quality of life.
Adults know that determining the best time to finish your college degree or earn an advanced degree will require personal sacrifices. The fact is, sometimes great rewards require great sacrifices. One thing I’ve shared with many of my students is that the good thing about attending college is that the pain does not last forever but the college degree you earned does last forever.
Vickie Becker, EdD, is the Executive Director for the Azusa Pacific University Murrieta Regional Center. She may be reached at 951.304.3400 or murrieta@apu.edu
