Has it been a few (or a lot of) years since last you were a student? Gone are the days where adult learners would be treated like a typical 18-year-old student with only daytime classes, rigid degree plans and a minimum of four years until a credential was earned.
“A lot of people had to start from scratch, and that was a lot of unhappy people,” says Donna McGowan-Smith, senior academic adviser for Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Multidisciplinary Studies.
Today’s programs for adult learners accommodate people of any age who are looking to:
Start or finish a degree
Get further career training
Change careers
Receive a higher credential
Earn a skill-enhancing certificate.
Here’s what to do to find a program that matches your educational and life goals.
Make contact
“Typically, the first step should be to meet with an adviser,” says McGowan-Smith. “Half the battle is over now; you’re here.”
An academic counselor will review the transferability of any college credits you already have, help you evaluate your educational goals and examine any life experiences you have for which you can earn college credit.
Evaluate your goals
When choosing a college, program or credential, visualize your end result first. Will you earn a higher pay rate if you finish your bachelor’s degree? Do you need an update of your current skill sets? Are you looking for career specialization in a master’s degree?
Apply
At some colleges, that kind of forward thinking is part of the application process. As part of the admissions portfolio at RIT, adult applicants are required to submit a one- to two-page statement of their educational and career goals.
“The committee is looking for why you are looking to do this degree instead of another, and how this degree is going to help you in the future,” says McGowan-Smith.
Other application requirements include:
A high school transcript (At RIT, this is not required if you have fewer than 30 college credits from a declared major program.)
A standard RIT application
A résumé
Don’t let an unimpressive high school or early college career keep you from applying.
“We review everybody’s application and keep in mind that we may see that their grades aren’t so good,” says McGowan-Smith. “We know that when students get out of high school, they might not be ready to go to college. They may decide to return to college 13 years later.”
Evaluate the costs
At RIT, displaced workers who meet specific criteria can be eligible for a tuition discount of up to 60 percent. But financial costs aren’t the only ones that should be evaluated. Will the time put into a credential program pay off in the end through a career change, a better job, more money? What credentials will help you reach your goals?
Be aware that most colleges do have residency requirements, meaning you must earn a certain number of credits at the credential-issuing institution.
Colleges evaluate transfer credit on a case-by-case basis. Generally, credit from previous college experiences lose their transferability after 10 years, though that can depend on how much information on the topic would have changed. Computer programming courses, for example, would be radically different.
Don’t get discouraged
Self-doubt is a common feeling from adult learners because so many things have changed since many adults last attended college.
“A lot of students have anxiety about returning, which is understandable if you haven’t been to school in 15 or 20 years,” says McGowan-Smith. “They think it’s more complicated than it actually is. What has held students up from matriculating is that they have to write that one- to two-page essay! I tell them that if you take one class at a time, that’s one more class you’ve taken. Next year at this time, you can say, ‘I should have started last year’—or you can have four classes under your belt.”
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