Traditionally, the age of college students is 18 to 22 years of age, but that age has been drastically changing over the past few years.

There are many more 17-year-olds and younger students that attend ULM and an increasing number of older students as well. 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “In 2015, there were 11.8 million college and university students under age 25 and 8.1 million students 25-years-old and over.”

“I feel lucky to have attended ULM, because the education is wonderful. The staff really cares about my success and the success of others in my program,” 30-year-old senior elementary education major Ashley Blanchard said.

In the past, college wasn’t required for people to get a good-paying job to support their families.

Many people graduated high school and pursued their careers at entry-level jobs. 

A lot of those people were blue-collared workers, and there were not as many professionals that were required to have a college degree. 

These requirements have changed in the workforce requiring college degrees at even entry-level jobs.One of the reasons many didn’t go to college is because they were marrying earlier. The cost wasn’t affordable.

About 66 percent of adult learners were enrolled in public institutions. The proportion of students attending for‐profit schools among the 25‐29 age group is smaller than the proportion for the 30‐39 and the 40 and over groups. 

There weren’t any programs like TOPS to help with the burden of college expenses.

Now, it is not uncommon for those older people who did not attend college to either move into professional positions or have the funds to attend college to earn their degree.

“Being a woman, [I believe] you have to have a degree in order to ‘make it’ in competitive career fields,” 33-year-old marketing major Beth Navarro said.

Studies show that older students are more determined to succeed than they may have been at a younger age. 

Junior psychology major Christy Carter-Gertz began her college career at 39.

“After all these years, I finally have a chance to I think maybe I strive harder than I would have when I was younger, and I’m fast tracking to get through and on to my masters,” Carter-Gertz said.

There is also a tremendous rise in students of younger ages attending college. High schools are offering AP classes which allows students to take college credit while attending high school.

Taking classes during high school is a “jump start” to college and allows students to begin in their careers faster