What is a Non-Trad Student?

I suppose it's helpful to discuss exactly what a nontraditional student is with those who are unfamiliar with the term. I'll start by saying that it's not my favorite term, but it the most accepted. Okay, so a nontraditional college student is one who meets any of the following criteria: Not attending college until one year or later after high school, having dependents, being a single parent, being employed full-time, being financially independent, attending part-time, or not having a high school diploma.

A 2002 NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) report stated that 73% of all college students fall into the non-traditional category.

When I first started my journey with the higher education process, I felt like an outsider. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and no idea how many other students would have similar situations to mine. I began my journey at a community college in order to fill the gaps between high school and college and there was a large population of nontrads there. But, now that I'm at a small, well-known, very traditional university, I'm one of only a very few nontrads. It's difficult to fit into a world of under 21 people relying on their parents to get them through school. I don't know what that's like and the transition was a bit scary. I'm a wife and a mother so I don't do many things all by myself. Going to a university was giant step that I had take all alone. I'm here to let everyone else in a similar situation in life or those who have been considering higher education know that it IS possible and being a nontraditional student actually has many more advantages than disadvantages.