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10 questions for adult students to ask
By Lucy
Lazarony • Bankrate.com
Here are 10 questions for adult students to ask when
researching prospective colleges and universities.
The answers will help you determine just how well a school serves
its nontraditional student population.
- What's the percentage of nontraditional
students on your campus? What's the number of nontraditional students?
If you don't get a quick answer, you may want to think twice about
the school. "If they don't know how many there are, they're
not that focused," says Gabe DeGabriele, executive director
of the Association for Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education.
- Are there evening and weekend classes available?
If so, what kind?
- Does the school offer accelerated classes? If
so, what kind? Accelerated classes cram a semester's worth of
material into six- or eight-week sessions. The classes, while
intense, can really help to move up your graduation date. You
get the credits you need in half the time.
- Does the school offer services for adult students?
If so, what kind? Does the school have an adult degree division,
which counsels older, returning students? Is there a support club
for adult students?
- Does the school offer credits for prior learning,
including work and life experience credit? With life experience
credits, a college awards a student credit for a course based
on a skill or previous work experience. Someone skilled at playing
the piano might earn credits for a music course. An experienced
office manager could be awarded credits for an entry-level management
class.
- Does the school offer distance-learning courses?
Will the school accept distance-learning credits from another
regionally accredited institution? Some colleges air courses on
local public television channels. Others offer Internet courses.
- Will the school accept credits from the local
community college?
- Does the school have a flexible payment program
for tuition and other bills? Can I pay my college bills by installment
plan?
- What kind of financial aid is available? Are there
specific scholarships targeted toward older, nontraditional students?
- What kind of child care facilities are available
on campus?
-- Posted: Aug. 30, 2002
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