Next to getting a driver’s license, graduating from high school can be one of the most liberating and exciting moments of a young adult’s life.
For young adults with a high school diploma, life after high school opens up a world of possibilities, choices, paths and dreams to chase after.
Some might go straight to working a full-time job or join the military. Others might choose the more ‘traditional’ path and go directly into pursuing higher education at a university or community college. College students that decide to pursue higher education directly after high school, live on-campus and get a degree after four years are called traditional students.
But more and more students are being categorized as non-traditional students—students that don’t finish their education in four years and instead take a longer route to their degree.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2010, 75 percent of students in the United States no longer fit that traditional model, and most students that start college do not actually finish.
Only 56 percent of students at four-year colleges complete a degree within six years, and just 20 percent of first-time students at public community colleges get a degree or certificate within three years.
There are a variety of reasons why it takes some students so long to get their degree, but financial restraints seem to be the leading cause, especially among a rising number of older college students enrolling in higher education facilities.
About half of today's students are financially independent, 49 percent are enrolled part-time, 38 percent work full time and 27 percent have dependents of their own. Almost half — 12 million — attend two-year community colleges rather than four-year schools.
Ben Taube, a 24-year-old senior at the University of Memphis majoring in international business has been working on his bachelor’s degree for 7 years.
Taube began college in 2008 immediately after high school and said he expected to graduate by the year 2013, but due to getting married and having to take on a full time position has a General Manager for IHOP, his new expected graduation date will not be until May of 2015.
“The responsibilities of life got in the way and now I work anywhere from 70 to 96 hours a week at IHOP just to make ends meet while trying to take at least 9 hours a semester,” Taube said. “I currently have $40,000 of student loan debt, but the biggest issue is even with all the loans I have taken out I still have to work long hour weeks just to get by.”
Taube said his average workday is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and he has to take online classes in order to fit his work schedule around his education.
“My schedule barely leaves me enough time to sleep, study, have time with my family and my social life is basically nonexistent,” Taube said. “If I could do it all over again I would have never taken a full time job position but instead focused on my degree and even take summer classes.”
Taube advises students in similar situations to focus on their degree, rather than on their job.
“The amount of money you can make without a college degree may very well be plenty of money but it is not worth sacrificing a college degree,” Taube said.
Taube said he hopes to pay off his $40,000 in student loans in 10 years and hopefully lose the 80 pounds of weight he has gained since he began his stressful work and school load.
Lillan Hill began her college career while she was still a 16-year-old highschooler in order to graduate early and get a head start both in college and in her dream to join the army.
Now 29 years old, Hill is still working towards her bachelor’s degree in neurobehavioral science at the University of Memphis.
Hill has faced many struggles that have delayed her college career. At the age of 18, Hill completed a 9-month medical training program offered by the US military, and through 2004 and 2005, Hill was deployed to Germany as a trauma tech for the U.S. Army. She took online courses through the University of Maryland, working towards a premed degree. Not long after her deployment Hill found out she had cancer.
After returning to the United States for treatment, and getting married in 2006, Hill returned to college in 2007, despite still being on chemotherapy. She recently moved to Memphis, and shared how her experiences have shaped her.
“Even though I have spent years in school I would not change a thing, because all the struggles I overcame made me who I am today,” Hill said. “At the age of 29 my goals have deepened and I have learned to value of a higher education and I take my education very seriously and appreciate it more than I did at 18.”
Hill warns incoming freshman that college isn’t a game—it’s a gift.
“You have to decide that a degree is worth it and commit to it, be willing to sacrifice and finally decide to succeed,” Hill said.
Hill also had some advice for older students.
“Don’t give up, and make school your number one priority even if you have to work full time just to be able to afford college,” Hill said. “Use the skills you have learned as an adult to succeed, apply and use them to your advantage to finish your studies.”
