Colleges
see increase in number of older students
By Christine G. Adamo
On-line Forty-Niner
Becky
Bailey, 50, returned to school on a dare.
“A friend made a bet that I would thrive
on campus - and in women’s studies,” Bailey
said. “If I didn’t like it, she said she’d
pay for my classes.”
Bailey, a third-year student at Cal State
Long Beach, said she had received her associate’s
degree from Long Beach City College 27 years
earlier.
She said she was afraid, but knew it was
a worthwhile endeavor. She was suffering
from depression, a bad marriage and an unhealthy
social life.
“It’s been life changing,” Bailey said.
“[It’s given] me the self-confidence to
make positive changes in my life.”
Bailey is now two classes away from a bachelor
of arts degree in women’s studies.
Adult Re-Entry Services at CSULB reports
on its Web site that “adult learners are
returning to complete or continue their
education in record numbers.” The office
cites a U.S. Census Bureau report as estimating
that 6.2 million, or 40.9 percent, of U.S.
college students were over the age of 25
in 1996.
According to census.gov, the number of U.S.
college students 25 years or older grew
by almost 20 percent between 1996 and 2000,
representing 60.4 percent of the college
student population.
For Bill C., being a student in his 30s
is different. No more taking classes sporadically;
he wants his money’s worth.
“My value of a dollar is vastly different
from when I was younger,” he said. “I want
the maximum effort for my buck. I’m concerned
with what I’m going to learn and how I am
going to apply it in my life.”
Bill C. is working on his teaching credential
at CSULB. The fourth-year student also began
his education at LBCC. He cited parking
issues as a stumbling block for people who
maintain employment while finishing their
studies. He said he resents taking time
away from his career to arrive early, find
parking and get to class on time.
Then, he said, there is the issue of controlling
his education. Bill C. contends that if
he needs to withdraw from a class, for personal
or professional reasons, he should not have
to go through an instructor or a dean to
do so. He sees no justification for such
a requirement at the junior, senior or post-baccalaureate
level.
Veronica Bisesti remembers her mid-’80s
days at CSULB and the adult, re-entry students
she shared the classroom with. She also
remembers, at 27, becoming one herself.
“At the time, I thought [they] were a whole
lot older than I was,” Bisesti said of her
over-25 classmates. “They were maybe nine
or 10 years older.
“I liked their perspective and never thought
it was annoying, but I could see on other
people’s faces that they thought it was
- as if they were trying to be the teacher’s
pet.”
Bisesti, now 35, moved south, took a break
and enrolled at UCSD when she was 27 to
complete her degree - with renewed appreciation
for her education.
“Other students were paying the same dollar
amount I was, but getting nothing out of
it,” she said. “I was getting $1 million
out of it because I had lived life…I wouldn’t
have gotten what I had out of it if it weren’t
for being an adult.”
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