What Keeps Prospective Adult Students from Pursuing a Bachelor's Degree?
There are a number of reasons why going back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree is not an easy choice for prospective adult students. In some cases, adults have been away from school for quite some time and are nervous about diving back into an academic setting. In other cases, they have sizable family and work responsibilities that make them doubtful about having enough time for homework and studying. Every prospective adult student has their own unique set of barriers they have to overcome before making the leap to go back to school.
But knowing what these barriers are is important—especially since it allows you to then remove—or at least diminish—obstacles during your marketing efforts. That’s why we’ve identified four major barriers that keep prospective adult students from pursuing their bachelor’s.
The Financial Burden
Cost is consistently a big barrier for nontraditional students, as noted in Stamats’ annual Adult Students TALK research. It’s important that prospective adult students can actually afford the large investment of paying for school. This is why it’s critical to make sure they can easily find and learn about all financial options available to them.
Since some prospective adult students will need to be willing to take on student debt (it’s an investment after all), it’s important to provide an opportunity to walk them through this process over the phone or in person. A financial aid counselor can help them think about key questions like:
How much of your schooling can you pay out of pocket without loans?
Will this severely limit your ability to take care of your family or other responsibilities?
What is the likely salary payoff for earning a bachelor’s degree in your career?
While the decision will be different for each and every prospective adult student, your willingness to work with them and help them think through their financial options might help diminish this large barrier.
Not Sure Where to Begin
Many adult prospective students, having been away from school for some time, are not sure how to begin the process of researching schools and applying. What kind of program formats are available, and how can they decide which one is best for them? How do they get their community college or prior university credits transferred to the school? What do admissions counselors look for in an applicant’s personal statement?
This is why having a user-friendly website with the right info is so important. They should be able to find information about program offerings and formats with ease, and to walk away with a clear understanding of how they can apply to your program when they’re ready. Whether your site uses chat technology or clearly lists contact info, nontraditional students should be able to easily get in touch with your school to get answers to their questions. The more you can anticipate and accommodate their needs and expectations, the more likely it is that they will actually apply and attend your school.
Feeling Like They Don’t Have the Time
This is an unavoidable reality for many prospective adult students—they usually are already quite busy and not sure that they have the capacity to take on school.
Aside from offering flexible and online programs that are conducive to adults’ busy schedules (which is a must!), it’s also important to give them a better sense of how much concrete time they can expect to devote to their schooling. In other words, can you provide a breakdown on your website of expected hours for class time and homework? Can you help adult prospective students get in touch with current students so they gain insights on finding time for school and other responsibilities?
Prospective adult students may feel overwhelmed knowing they will need to sacrifice some nebulous amount of time every week in order to go back to school. But the more you can give them a picture of how much time, per week, they can actually expect to devote to school, the more you can diminish this barrier in their minds.
Fear of Not Being Successful in the Program
This can be a major barrier for those who have been away from school for some time. They might be ready to make the investment from a financial and time standpoint but be apprehensive because they are worried they might not succeed in a program.
This is why it’s important to offer resources to help them prepare for going back to school. Additionally, a good conversation with a counselor can do one of two things. It can put their mind at ease by assuring them that they have a good chance of being successful. Or, it can advise them that it would be beneficial to take more community college courses or brush up on certain skills before diving into a bachelor’s program. (One of your school’s own college-prep offerings may be an option.) Of course, this kind of guidance requires counselors who are able and willing to be honest about where prospective adult students are with respect to their readiness for school.
Many nontraditional students are simply “stuck” on a complicated path toward their goals. By helping them overcome these four major barriers, you’ll open the pathways so they can move forward. If prospective adult students feel that you have their best interest at heart, there’s a better chance your school will be top of mind as they continue their journey.
