Is It Too Late To Go to College at 26?
Is it too late to go to college at 26? Definitely not. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Read this article to learn how a degree in your late 20s or even at midlife can bring you increased knowledge and skills, pay grade, and promotional opportunities.
So you're 26 years old and considering getting started with college, which you've put off for five or six years because, well, life got in the way.
Maybe you joined the military, had a child, went directly into the workforce out of high school, but now you'd like to earn a degree.
So you're wondering: 'Is it too late to go to college at 26?'
The answer to your question is 'No.'
You may be surprised to know that you would be in good company.
You might even be shocked to know that one out of every three college students today does not begin until age 25 or later.
The CES (National Center for Education Statistics) reports, 'The traditional path to a college degree, broadly defined as enrolling in college immediately after high school and attending full time until graduation, has become the exception rather than the rule.'
It's never too late to start attending college, but at age 26, you would be on the young end of what is known as nontraditional or post-traditional students.
In other words, go for it! Get started on a degree program today.
What Is a Traditional College Student?
In the world of colleges and universities, the age range for 'traditional '-aged undergraduate students is considered to be 18 to 24.
This sense of what is 'traditional' harkens back to an earlier era when most students entered college directly from high school and attended a residential liberal arts college.
Now largely outdated, this common image of a college student reflected the stereotype of a naive young person who was leaving home for the first time to live on-campus in a dormitory, eat in a campus dining hall, and have a life entirely centered around college courses and the activities the campus provided.
However, between the 1960s and 1980s, American colleges and universities experienced a dramatic transformation that saw the decline of the traditional young and residential student model.
The outcome was the rise of 'commuter students' who, rather than living in campus housing, either chose to live at home with their parents or, as adult students, with their spouses and/or children.
By 1990, according to a study in Metropolitan Universities, a full 83% of American college students were commuters living off-campus.
At that time, 34 years ago, more than 40% of college students were aged 25 or older.
In 2021, according to the NCES, that number was 34%.
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Are You a Nontraditional or Post-Traditional Student?
Students aged 25 or over when they enter higher education are sometimes called 'post-traditional students.'
In the fall of 2019, post-traditional or nontraditional students made up 33.4% of all postsecondary enrollment.
According to the Post-Secondary National Policy Institute (PNPI), post-traditional students have one or more of the following characteristics:
- They delayed enrollment in college after high school
- They attend part-time for at least part of an academic year
- They work full-time while also enrolled in school
- They are financially independent
- They have dependents (spouse and/or children)
Similarly, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) defines nontraditional students as having at least one of seven characteristics. A nontraditional student may:
- Be older than 24 years of age
- Have delayed college enrollment after high school
- Alternately, may not have graduated with a high school diploma
- Be attending college part-time
- Hold a full-time job
- Be financially independent from their parents
- Have children or dependents other than a spouse
- Be a single parent
Do any of these characteristics resonate with you or reflect your personal experience?
The NCES reports that a full 75% of undergraduates are affected by at least one of the above factors.
Be assured that of the more than 19 million college students in America today, a third of them (about 6.5 million) fit into the post-traditional category.
Where Do Older Students Tend to Go to College and How Do They Study?
For anyone who wonders if it's too late to go to college at 26, be aware that instead of those private, nonprofit, residential liberal arts colleges pictured in movies and television, statistics show that older students tend to take different pathways as they pursue their goal towards a college degree.
Some facts we gathered from recent data about post-traditional students (2019-2023) show that older students are more likely to:
- To be commuters
- To attend public (state) institutions or for-profit programs
- In particular, to enroll in two-year public community colleges rather than four-year colleges and universities
- To enroll in college part-time while holding professional or career jobs or raising a family
- To enroll in online degree programs
Most post-traditional undergraduate students (73%) attend public colleges and universities: 32% at four-year institutions and 40% at two-year institutions.
Post-traditional students are the primary market for for-profit (corporate) colleges and universities, comprising 68.2% of all for-profit university enrollment and a full 81.1% of all for-profit part-time enrollment.
If you have a full-time job and can only go to school part-time, you are not alone.
Of the 19 million students attending U.S. colleges and universities, 11.6 million students attend full-time and 7.4 million students attend part-time
Post-traditional students are much more likely to take online courses than traditional-aged students.
In 2021, almost six out of ten college students (11.2 million) were enrolled in a distance education course, and half of those (5.7 million, or 30% of all college or university students) were enrolled exclusively in distance education courses.
The Challenges of Being a Post-Traditional Student over Age 25
Clearly, for millions of students who wait to begin college or university courses when they are 25 or older, many structures and programs are in place to accommodate them and their needs.
An entire industry of for-profit university programs has developed specifically to provide degree programs and especially online degrees, to nontraditional students like you.
No, you are det too old if you start college at age 26, or, or even 54.
However, as you might imagine, being enrolled in college as a post-traditional student comes with challenges.
The greatest of which is finding the time to juggle coursework as well as your other life responsibilities such as raising kids, running a business, working shifts, or taking care of elderly parents.
To succeed in college as an adult student, you need a strong commitment and perseverance because many obstacles may confront you along your journey.
The graduation (completion) rate among nontraditional students is low, although that varies from school to school.
For this reason, it's important to find a school that provides a supportive system to nurture you through your program.
It's Never Too Late To Start Your Journey Toward a Degree
Is it too late to go to college at 26? Not. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
A degree in your late 20s or even at midlife can bring you a sense of accomplishment, increased knowledge and skills, an increased pay grade, and a plethora of promotional opportunities.
