3 Challenges Faced By Students Going Back To College After 25

As reported by NewAmerica, over the past 20 years, 31M+ students “have left college without completing a degree.” Surprisingly, almost 4M of those students have earned at least 2 years of college credit. Economically, going back to school to complete a degree would significantly improve the former students’ prospects. The Typical Student team tried figuring what works for returning college students.

How Does ‘Persistence’ Category Help College Enrollment?

Over 40% of college students are over the age of 25, almost 30% have kids and more than 60% work part time. Of course, juggling a lot of responsibilities isn’t easy. It’s not easy to address returning students’ needs as they’re often perceived with an afterthought. Colleges, states, and researchers have limited information on what these people need to re-enter college. Persistence is the category that is traditionally measured for “first-time, full-time students who enroll in the fall semester and again the following fall.”

What Are The Key Factors In Students’ Continuous Enrollment?

According to Vincent Tinto’s model of student attrition and persistence, the key factors in students’ continuous enrollment absent from this model of persistence are:

• financial pressure
• family obligations
• health problems

However, Tinto’s model is irrelevant for the returning students as it’s exclusively focused on traditional students at four-year colleges. In 2019, a non-profit organization called the Graduate! Network supports adults returning to college in the US.