About the Author:

Alexander Price is a non-traditional student at Rutgers University, finishing his degree in his late-20s. Working full-time and taking classes at night, he blogs about his experiences trying to straddle the real world and college. Start a conversation with him on Twitter – @asprice18.

Not a lot of people think about what to call a student who didn’t graduate in the typical four years, but isn’t living with mom & dad anymore. There is no shortage of terms: Returning Student, Continuing Education, Adult Education, and so on.

I tend to like the term “Non-Traditional” – I should know, I am one.

How does one become non-traditional? It seems everyone has there own path, but here’s my story.

When I was a freshman in college, I loved it. I attended and loved Rutgers, the atmosphere, the people, and New Brunswick. Everything. Unfortunately, after that first year, I wasn’t able to afford the $15,000/year tuition and had to drop out.

Now, when I was a kid, I spent a lot of time with my grandfather. He was a kind old guy who grew up working in the coal mines of northern Pennsylvania, and when he got sick of it he ran away, only to enlist in the Army a few years later to fight in World War II. Pretty romantic story, right? You can imagine how that captured my six-year-old imagination. My grandfather wasn’t a dumb guy, but hadn’t had much schooling past the fourth grade. He knew how important education was and still is to get ahead in this world, so he made me promise that I would go to college and come out with a degree. Just before my senior year of high school, he passed away due to leukemia. I make good on promises, I’m just glad he didn’t nail me down to a time frame.

So here I am, 27 and working on my undergrad. I’m two years into my stint as a “non-traditional” student, and still trying to come up with what to say when I run into someone I knew in high school or college (thanks Facebook, thanks a lot), and the inevitable:

“Oh, you’re still in school? Masters or doctorate?”

The one thing that seems to redeem me is that I’m double-majoring. For some reason, people convince themselves that it takes twice as long to get two degrees. It doesn’t, but who am I to burst that bubble?

During my off-time from Rutgers, I took a few courses at Ocean County College at the Jersey shore, and Middlesex County College when I moved back up to New Brunswick. At those colleges, it wasn’t outrageous to find older people taking night classes (and I was still relatively college-aged). When I came back to Rutgers in 2009, I was thankful for my ability to throw on a t-shirt and hoodie and look like I’m 21 rather than 25. But with every birthday that passed, I felt more embarrassed about taking so long.

Then something amazing happened. I started meeting other people who put college on hold. Not only that, but I found many people, my girlfriend included, who said they wished they had taken more time with college. While I used to write it off as patronizing or attempts at support, I started to realize that maybe it was better for me to take the time off. I’m certainly getting better grades now than I did then, and I have more to discuss with my professors, who are usually shocked to find out that I can go out for a drink with them.

It took me a while to be comfortable being a non-traditional student, but when I reached that place, I committed. I even started a blog to poke fun at it, and my views of New Brunswick as a late-20s college student. So if you’re a non-traditional, share your story of how it happened and where you’re going. If you’re not, feel free to ask about anything, or share your story about college. No one’s pursuit of a degree comes easily.

The non-traditional mantra: It doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as I get it.