by AirTimmith

Created on: May 19, 2008

How to get nontraditional students to attend college... There are a few ways I'll admit to interest a potential and tenative mind into attending the great American lecture hall-system, granted they rely on honesty, for which no optimist or guidance counselor could ever admit to openly.

Step 1: Remind or inform the subject (yes, subject) that although they are going off to academia, they will not always be in or even around the epicenter of human enlightenment that some are convinced rests in the heart of the institution. Instead, tell of the deadlines, the random assignments, the hours and hours of general education credits that will need to be amassed to merely begin your college education. Let them in on the secret that colleges are businesses, which is why they have gift shops, resteraunts, concerts, events, even parades and carnivals. Inform the subject of their fate to be judged over and over again by proffessors who earned their merits in similair situations in similair institutions. But the most important thing to be passed onto the "nontraditional student" is that they may not be getting an education, but building research skills, and learning how to handle schedules, deadlines and projects.

Step 2: Repeat over and over again in times of doubt that "Yes it's expensive but it's worth the money to get that degree (or you might substitute "that education" instead of degree)". Now this may be the most important step out of this entire article, because a sane human being won't justify spending the thousands and thousands of dollars on something they don't even know if they need. Mind you the financial issue reminds us of why most of went to, are going to, or are attending college. THE MONEY. It's hard to find a decent job with decent pay and benefits unless you have your time in at college. Whether you went for an associates at your local community college (Guilty), or you've spent yourself into a lifelong debt spending your college time at a state or private school, you will come out of it making more money from the starting line than if you hadn't walked the path. This is when you have to repeat that little phrase over and over again, because if the student is "nontraditional" they may either have a career path set, or a family, or they may not just be cut out for college, they will question the time and money spent versus the potential gain. And if they do question that, push business classes, because they're making a management level decision.

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