Tell me about your nontraditional student group - online or offline.

Are you in a nontraditional student group?

This original photo is by klk13 on Morguefile.

Are you in a nontraditional student group on or offline? I would love to add you to the BA Nontraditional Student website listed under your state or country. I have a few groups listed already, and more than a few on some state sites.

Just send me information about your group or tell me about it in a comment at the end of this posting. I can contact you that way too.

Having this information online can help your nontraditional student group get more members.

Some questions to answer for an article or going on the webite are: How would somebody join? What kinds of things does your group do together? How many members do you have? and  Do you have any funny or interesting stories about your group?

Some nontraditional student groups at schools have their own meeting area and percs, like lockers, study tables, and computers. Some nontrad groups are also on Facebook and have their own websites.

Many nontraditional student groups are members of ANTSHE, the Association for Nontraditional Students in Higher Education. They are getting ready for their yearly conference, which is at Eastern Kentucky University this year in 77 days.

Other groups are part of the Pinnacle and Spire Honor Society, which provides recognition and awards to nontraditional students.

If you are not already in a group, and want to be in one, you can often start one yourself at your school too.

Two other articles you may like are:
Starting a Nontraditional Student Group, which tells you more about what is involved in doing this.
and
Are you in a nontraditional student group?

All for now,
Betsyanne
Former Nontraditional Student
at WKU

Some more nontrad links: The Nontrad site and blog
Join Nontrads on Facebook
Nontrads on Yahoo
Nontrads on Twitter

Are you in a nontraditional student group?

Nontraditional Student Groups - are you in one?

Not all schools have nontraditional student groups. But they are fun to join and participate in.

You can check the Map Page at the Nontrad site to go to your state or country and see if there are Nontraditional Student groups at your school or in your state.

Ask your school too, they may be able to give you a contact number or the location of the Nontraditional Student lounge, if they have one.

Also, if you are a member of ANTSHE, you can check their groups list and locations there too on the Discussion Boards.

Also, some groups are listed on Facebook. I have found a few and listed them as favorites on the left side of the Nontrad Facebook page. 

And you MAY want to consider starting a nontraditional student group of your own at your school. Just saying!

If you are in a group, or want to find out more, talk about it in a comment. Thanks!

Some more Nontraditional Student links:  
The Nontrad site and blog
Join Nontrads on Facebook
Nontrads on Yahoo and
Nontrads on Twitter

What about dating for nontraditional students?

Some News from the Yahoo Nontrads Group

Today I went straight to the Nontraditional Student Yahoo Group to see what was going on there. There are two conversations going.

One is about what to do about a loan, and the other was how to date on campus.  Dating? It's something people going back to school don't think about every day. But older students are human, too, and naturally want to find that someone special.

Wow!

Older people who are single have a unique situation... they can either date younger people (which some people are doing) or just not date, especially when there aren't many social events at school.

I think having a nontraditional student group could help this situation. The leaders of the group could plan social events, and just having meetings could be a good idea and help single nontraditional students meet others.

And these connections could lead to meeting friends or friends of friends too!

Of course, you are going to have some older nontraditional students who are off the market or married, but you just might find a single person or two right in the group a nontraditional student could become friends with.

And, depending how you feel, if you open yourself up to relationships with younger people, you could have fun too. Even if there is no nontraditional student group at your school, maybe there are other people who are going back to school after a break. One idea is to maybe introduce yourself or start a conversation with somebody who looks older and may want to meet others too.

Another idea is to join clubs at the school. Many clubs are opening up to nontraditional students. Just pick one that interests you. OR start a nontraditional student group if there isn't one there already.

At the Yahoo group online, someone also suggested going to conferences and joining other groups as a way to meet new people. I think this is also a good idea.

What are your thoughts? Leave them as a comment below.

Oh - and if you are a nontraditional student and not on the Yahoo Nontrads group yet, you can join there and be Member #273.  I hope to see you there soon. And who knows? Maybe you will make a friend there too.

Here are a couple of other articles you might like:
Five ways for nontraditional students to get connected
Nontraditional students in college - 11 more tips for success

...and here is my Squidoo page: How to make friends at college for nontraditional students.

Some Nontrad links: The Nontrad site and blog Join Nontrads on Facebook Nontrads on Yahoo Nontrads on Twitter 

This fun photo scene and rose letter are both from the Microsoft Clipart Images site for MS Word users.

Forming a Nontraditional Student group

Are you going to trade school, community college, getting your GED, or attending college?

A great idea is to join a Nontraditional Student Group. You can share ideas, parenting tips, stories, and more at group meetings, which can be held weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

If there is no group at your school, you can start one.


Five Ways to get a nontraditional group started

1. You can advertise in a school paper (it usually doesn't cost a lot and is worth it...)
2. You can talk to other nontraditional students you see at school about it and see if anyone wants to help with it.
3. You can make a list of interested students and send an email to them or call them and let them know when the first meeting is, or plan a Interest Meeting.
4. You can put notices up on school bulletin boards with your email or phone number attached to let others get in touch with you.
5. You can talk to other groups at nearby schools to find out how they got started.

You might also talk to the school staff about it. Often, a staffer will be happy to help you start a group. Sometimes a teacher will be assigned to your group, and sometimes it will be up to you to find a teacher to be your group's mentor or sponsor. Other members who are interested may know of somebody who is interested. Maybe a group was once active and just needs another new start to become active again.

Schools like new groups. These groups help students stay in school by giving them support and making the experience more fun. Just check with your school and they can give you all the paperwork to fill out. After you are official, it will be easier for new members to find your group.

Then, after you have formed your Nontraditional Student Group, make sure to list it on the Nontraditional Student website, on your State Page.

Good luck, Nontrads!
_____________________________________________________________

Some of my links:

Nontrads on Twitter

The Nontrad site and blog

The Betsyanne page and blog

My Squidoo Pages and referral