The term non-traditional student is typically used to describe students who are a bit older than their classmates e.g. a person who didn’t go to university immediately following high school. For graduate students it can be a bit different. For some disciplines, it is normal to continue directly to a master’s or PhD after one’s undergrad studies. For others though it is normal to return after gaining some real-world experience. I was a non-traditional student for both my undergrad and graduate studies. While I started my undergrad immediately after high school, I didn’t finish it. After a year of school, I left and ended up in the Navy for six years. It was only after this, at age 25, that I returned to school and didn’t graduate until I was 29. I began my graduate studies at 38, which for engineering is rather old as the vast majority of students enter immediately after their undergrad or perhaps after a few years of work in industry. I hope to share a bit of my experience with being a non-traditional grad student as I found there was little information about this. I hope this will help others who are interested in returning to school after an extended absence.
Applying
The biggest challenge for me was obtaining three letters of recommendation from professors. Having been away from school for some time, I had no close connection with previous professors. Additionally, my employment at the time was not connected to my future studies, so a letter from them would not be particularly useful. I returned to school and began to take classes as an undeclared graduate student. This allowed me to gain some references and experience, but it was an expensive and slow process. I was eventually able to reconnect with one professor from my undergrad and find additional new references. I was also able to spend some time in a lab helping perform research. These kinds of experiences are essentially expected for an engineering graduate school application and depending on your background, you may not have a comparable experience. This time was very useful for writing my Statement of Purpose in my application and gaining a recommendation from a professor. I also learned some skills that I have used through my entire time at school.
I recommend that anyone planning to return seriously consider how they will find references and research experience. Depending on what you have been doing since graduating, you may not have meaningful non-academic references and your old connections may have little memory of you. One advantage of taking classes as I applied is that I was able to take some high level (500 level) courses, thus I was able to show that I could handle the more advanced courses.
Academics
It can be challenging to return to the classroom after even a short absence and a long one will be harder. Despite having majored in mathematics, when I returned to school, I had not done any advanced math in years and had to re-teach myself the basics of calculus and linear algebra. I still find things that I surely once learned in class, but no longer remember clearly. I also made a bit of a jump in what I was studying. As I mentioned, I majored in mathematics, but I am getting my graduate degree in mechanical engineering. While I have a strong practical mechanical background and took many physics classes, I often find myself missing information from some core mechanical engineering undergrad classes that others take for granted. This can require some effort to bring myself up to speed on these topics. However, people switching specialties is not uncommon for grad students. In addition to knowing the material, it can also be challenging to get back into the habit of weekly homework, routine tests, projects, etc. Grad students typically don’t take as many classes as an undergrad. As a grad student I typically took 2-3 classes a semester depending on the rest of my workload. I often wonder how I took 20 hours a semester as an undergrad, and I am not sure I could do it anymore.
Socializing
Many non-traditional undergrad students worry about their ability to work and socialize with their younger classmates. I didn’t find much issue with this as a 25-year-old freshman. Most of my classmates worked hard and those that didn’t just seemed to be poor students. Though I generally socialized with older undergrads and grad students.
I don’t think most non-traditional grad students have the same worry. Older grad students are not super uncommon and most of the time that age has added a bit of experience – having left school, we have worked in environments that include a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. Upon my return to grad school, I didn’t find adjusting to working with younger grad students or undergrads to be an issue. Most grad students are significantly mature, and undergrads are of course all over the place. Most are hard workers and only a few make things difficult.
Family
I am single, so I can’t speak much about this. I am not sure how people with a spouse and children balance the high demand of studies and family obligations. Working as a graduate student can be quite flexible at times – outside of class things often don’t have hard deadlines, but many things just require massive amounts of time. Obviously, a serious consideration for anyone returning to school.
Pay
For some people returning to school will be a pay cut. At UIUC, you are considered a part time worker – 25% or 50% (10 hours and 20 hours respectively). Pay will depend on your department. For engineers, it is typically not hard to get a 50% position if you want it and the pay is sufficient for a comfortable life (in my opinion…). It is also not hard to be employed the whole year round. For other departments, it can be harder to find positions – especially through the summer – and the pay is less. UIUC provides tuition wavers for 25% or more positions. There are also benefits such as fee waivers, health insurance support, dental insurance, etc. It is important to consider how your school compensates you and how that fits in with your budget.
Getting a Master’s Degree
I chose to get a master’s degree, but a lot of people in engineering choose to just get a PhD. For some programs this can be faster, but this also depends on your advisor and how quickly you can get the work done. I wanted to get it done in case something went wrong, I would at least have a degree. At my age, if something went wrong like an accident, illness, or family emergency that set me back for a year or more, I don’t know if I would return to school to finish. The master’s degree can also be a pivot if you want to change directions. I believe that many non-traditional students need to compromise as they return to school – attend a school of convenience or take an advisor of convenience – and finishing a master’s can be an opportunity to do things differently. You may also find that you don’t really care about the PhD anymore.
Return on Investment
I think one thing that a non-traditional student must consider is the return on investment. Some of this depends greatly on what you are studying and your goals. If you want to be a university professor, there is no way around a PhD. For engineers, going to school is a significant pay cut. Every year you spend in school is money lost both in income and advancement. A graduate degree might increase your potential pay, but it might take years for that increase in pay to make up for the money you didn’t earn while in school. For a PhD this can be a long time and depending on your age, it may not make economic sense. Given my age and how long I have taken, I might never match my income compared to if I had only finished my Masters, but for me, I just wanted to do the PhD. For some areas of study, it may never make economic sense as the graduate degree simply doesn’t improve your earning potential. There is nothing wrong with pursuing your passion, but it is important to be honest about the economics.
Final Thoughts
I hope this write-up helps someone as they consider returning to school. It can be quite challenging at times, but I don’t believe being a non-traditional student has that big of an effect on your life once you are started.
Written 9/17/2024