Nontraditional Student bloggers, comment about a nontrad blog today!

I love reading other nontraditional student blogs. 
Some of these blogs tell about the day to day discoveries they are making as a nontraditional student. Sometimes I get ideas from them on what to write about. Other times I read them to find out new stories, completely different from my story of when I was a nontraditional student in 2004-6. (I can't believe it was so long ago now!)

Here are just a few nontraditional student blogs you may enjoy reading. I have added their names, where I can. Some bloggers don't share their names, which I can understand. I hope to add to this list soon.

Older Non-Trad Student (Zickbee, An Arizona native. She has graduated, but has some good advice for other nontrads here, plus of course her earlier postings.
Back to School at 40 (or 41) (Jeffrey from Alabama) - this is a new one; I can't wait to read more here.
Diaries of a Neurotic Non-Trad (Nicki from New York, USA)
The Mature? Student (A mature 2nd year female student from Galway, Ireland)
Man Who Stares at Coats (2nd year medical student Patrick from Indiana)
My Life as a Mature Age Student (Caz from Australia)
College Mummy (by Cup O Tea from Glasgow, UK)
Rantings of a Middle-Aged College Student  (Connie from the Ozarks, USA)
Studying Parent (This student has just finished her dissertation. She had been going back to school for about 7 years before that.)

She recommends these additional sites on her blog, which I look forward to checking out.

http://onlyonechance.wordpress.com/ http://oldgirlatuni.blogspot.com/ http://maturestudenthanginginthere.wordpress.com/ http://secretworldofahousewife.blogspot.com/ http://blossom43.blogspot.com/ http://maturestudent102.blogspot.com/ http://vivisunoriginal.wordpress.com/ http://juxtabook.typepad.com/books/ http://workingmumonverge.blogspot.com/ http://bookworld.typepad.com/book_world/ http://aliceinwonderful.blogspot.com/ http://goodenoughwoman.blogspot.com/

Thank you so much for these suggestions,  Studying Parent!

More suggestions:

Undergrad RN (From a "20-something Canadian student"), and
Going the Distance... Three Credits at a Time (Colleen from Maine, USA) She's graduated, but you can see her earlier postings for more.

Do you have some nontraditional student favorites you would like to list? Or would you like to tell people more about your blog?

Leave a comment!

Here are some of my Nontrad links:
The Nontrad site and blog
Join Nontrads on Facebook
Nontrads on Yahoo
Nontrads on Twitter

Would you call yourself a techie? Remembering Steve Jobs...

Steve Jobs... all students, including nontraditional students, owe him a lot...

Students around computers - from the Microsoft Office clipart website.

I have been learning so much about the late Steve Jobs after his passing yesterday.

He helped to change the world as we know it, by further incorporating tech and computers into our daily lives.

Steve Jobs, the co-creator of Apple Incorporated, helped change the face of computing and how we learn.

He gave new tools to the whole world, really - making research, studying, and lots more a lot easier and quicker. School really has improved today. Notetaking can be done by computer, and instant messaging transfers safety information quickly on school campuses if there is an emergency.

I wish we had these tools 20, even 30 years ago. I think they are great. Now schools teach students using computers in classes, showing presentations on screens in class, and offer online courses with many students and the teacher speaking to each other using White or Blackboard programs.

Would you call yourself a techie? Do you use a Mac, an IPhone, an IPad? Do you order music on Itunes? Did learning how to use a computer help you at school?

A curious mind wants to know! Leave a comment!

"We're here to make a dent in the Universe." - Steve Jobs
"Your time is limited... so don't waste it living somebody else's life..." -Steve Jobs

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

Good changes for nontraditional students!

Why it's a great time right now to be a nontraditional student.

I am excited about the trends today and how schools are starting to help nontraditional students more and more.

When I research new articles, and see how different states are doing in regards to nontrad student support, I am coming up with more and more links to groups, pages, and a new recognition of nontraditional students across the country, and across the globe.

Many more schools are choosing to support their nontraditional students today. In the past, nontraditional students had to just tough it out by themselves and do what they could to get through classes and learn new things. It really could be hard.

Everything used to be slanted towards new, traditional students. Now nontraditional students often have so much more support from the schools and also have many more other nontraditional students to talk to.

Ten things I like about today for nontraditional students:

1. Nontraditional students may not be alone at their school. (See above...)
2. Nontrads get to choose online OR face to face classes today.
3. Some schools have dedicated professionals helping them pick classes, find daycare, and much more.
4. More research is available online for nontraditional students to find out what jobs will be available when they graduate or get that training.
5. It is now easier to do research because of the internet and many libraries going online.
6. Student loans don't just apply to younger students. Older students can also apply for them.
7. More and more schools are offering scholarships and other financial aid just for nontraditional students.
8. Some on-campus groups, including fraternities and sororities, are starting to welcome older students.
9. Some schools are making guide booklets especially for nontraditional students.
10. Other schools provide a "one-stop shop" for nontrads to get registered, get information, and have a place to study.

Can you add another reason why it is great to be a nontraditional student going back to school right now?

Some 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

Guilt and the nontraditional student - is it healthy?

Guilty Feelings and Nontraditional Students...

Yes, nontraditional students DO feel guilty about being back in school sometimes.

Some nontraditional students feel guilty because they seldom get enough time with their kids or family.

And if they do their homework or projects, home projects and family get the back burner.

Women seem to have this guilt more than others, and have even more the more traditional their role is in the family.

From the J. Benshoff and H. Lewis article, women who are going back to school can worry about these things:

"*feeling guilty about not "being there" for their children;

*concerns about quality and expense of childcare;

*feelings of responsibility for maintaining their role within the family;

*making compromises in careers due to family considerations;

*minimal individual free time;

*perceived lack of credibility when returning to college;(and)

*insufficient support from family for returning to school."

Cyr, who was a nontraditional student with a child, worried about her daughter being affected by her being back in school. She remarked, 

" I also have huge guilt over not being able to put her sports or scouts or some other extra-curricular activity with some of her friends, but I'd never be able to take a class if I did. I just keep telling myself that when I'm done, there will still be plenty of time for her to do all those things and things will be better for all of us in the long run." (From the CollegeNet Forum).

Amber Stephens at the Fisher College of Business hits on another point. She says that other people (and even pets!) can try to make nontraditional students feel guilty about going back to school too.

"Even when you’re not at school, you are still in school. There is always something to do. This means the ones you love will see less of you. They’ll be supportive. They’ll also find ways to make you feel guilty, even if they don’t mean to intentionally. Even my German shepherd works the guilt card, running to be with me whenever I’m home, always trying to burst in the door to sit by my feet. It’s pitiful, but I miss him too. I miss everyone. So plan your get togethers, picnics, parties and coffee klatches before school starts. Afterward, it’s a crap shoot."

She goes on to say that it's important to think about relaxing or having fun when you are back in school. I love it when she says: "Remember how much fun school used to be, like when we were kids in the ’80s…or whatever your decade of choice might be. After all, we’re never too old to be students again."

I can add to that. I think that feeling guilty is a huge time-waster. Nontraditional students need some times to just have fun and take some time off from studies.

Participate in some fun activities AT school just for fun, or go to a nontraditional student meeting once in awhile.

Taking some time for yourself may be a new thing, but I think it's healthy.

After all, feeling guilty can be a choice, and a time-wasting one at that.

Your thoughts? Leave them below as a comment. Thanks!

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


Article/Posting resources:


Nontraditional Students by James M. Benshoff, and Henry A. Lewis via Eric Education Reports

Guilt - from the 2003 issue of the Non-traditional Student News at the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg

Cyr's comments at the CollegeNet Forum  

Nontraditional Student? Here's What I Wish I Knew by Amber Stephens


The photo of a nontraditional student with a headache is from the Microsoft Clipart pages.