Non-traditional college students -- married with families -- are a growing population on campus

By Leslie Syme

May 6, 2005 | Chris Cordero is anticipating graduation like most other seniors. Sitting in the seats at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum will be his pregnant wife and two daughters, applauding him as he receives his degree.

In 2000, Chris and Stephanie Cordero became pregnant. They were both working full-time jobs in Arkansas and the unexpected news changed the course they were taking in life. By the end of August of 2001 they had a baby girl, had moved to St. George, Utah and Chris was going to Dixie College. After getting his associate's degree they moved their family to Logan, so Chris could work on his bachelor's at Utah State University. They had another child in 2004. Chris is graduating with his bachelor of Political Science Degree this weekend. Their next move is go on to law school and they are having their third child in June 2005.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), Chris is considered a "nontraditional" student because he has dependents. He has provided for his family by working for the school he attends or by participating in the work study program. A problem that he faces while going to school is how to support his family at the same time. It has been hard, but they have gone through school with only having to take out loans for three semesters.

Another concern that Chris has is "interacting with students that are twelve years younger." He worries that he will not have much in common with younger students or feel like he fits in. He is anticipating graduating with his law degree by the time he is 37.

Students with children face another challenge when deciding where to take their children while they attend class. Mackenzie Swenson is the mother of a two year old daughter. She returned to school when her daughter was six months old. She puts her daughter in day care for about three hours a day while she goes to school. She wants to have her daughter in day care as little as possible. She worries that she is sacrificing her daughter's safety by returning to school. She had taken her daughter to one person's home for three days, but her daughter would cry whenever she was dropped off. They pulled her out and put her into another home by a licensed day care provider and things have been better. She has to plan to leave almost a half hour before class even though she lives on campus.

College students that are also parents have to worry about how they spend all their time. There is a constant conflict between having enough time to do homework and having time to spend with their families.

Daniel Perkins became a dad the Friday of spring break. He commented that it would have been nice if the baby had come earlier in the week, so he could have spent more time with the new baby before returning to class. The hardest struggle for him has been managing his time. He doesn't just come home and study anymore, he relieves his wife by taking care of the baby so that she can have a break.

Starting back to school at 41 was hard for Renee Bair, but she had an enjoyable time. She started school in 1978 and received her associate's degree, then got married and had a baby. She started school eighteen years later as her firstborn entered USU. She completed her bachelor's degree in four additional years. She went back to school because her work wanted someone with a degree for her position. At the time she had four children, worked full-time and took night classes that fit in to her busy schedule.

"The hardest part of going back to school was dealing with small children that didn't want me to be gone," she said. Bair recommends finishing school first when there is more time to concentrate on school work, not family responsibilities.

A "traditional" undergraduate is a person who enters college right after receiving their high school diploma, financially depends on their parents for support, and who either works part-time or not at all, according to NCES.

A "traditional" student doesn't have to worry about their family responsibilities, something that Brad Bowser considers a priority. Bowser, a USU student finishing his master's degree, said that he can't study at home anymore unless it is his children's naptime. He can't concentrate as his son begs for his attention, so he mostly studies at school. His wife had a baby the day before he started his master's program. He couldn't miss the workshops, so that first week he would call his wife every hour to check on her. Two years later, he spent the morning before defending his thesis with his wife at the hospital because she was having contractions. Early the next morning they had their second child.

In 1999-2000, 73 percent of undergraduates were "nontraditional", according to NCES and is on the rise. For additional information on "nontraditional" students look at the NCES website.

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