Free Republic

The American Council on Education is a coordinating body for higher education. Recently it released some interesting statistics - interesting to people who care about higher education, non-profit and fopro alike. Just one in six of the undergraduates in college are the "typical" 18-year-old who lives on campus and gets a BA by cramming 4 years into five. Students who are 25 years old and up account for almost 40 percent of undergraduates. More than half of all the older students attend a community college - 29 percent are in private schools, and 12 percent attend fopros. Most of the...

The Baltimore Sun has this story about an 80 year old lady who is trying to become a lawyer. Her kids and grandkids no doubt want her to stop wasting their inheritance on going to school. Age is less and less relevant to new students these days. With nearly 40 percent of college students above 25 years old, many of them are bringing 'baggage' to school with them. That is, they are bringing habits, kids, work loads, excuses, and the challenge of paying their tuition with their minimum-wage jobs. Schools have accomodated older students with special courses, accelerated courses and...