"Many nontraditional college students must balance family and work responsibilities with academics. …
… Sarah Petty, a student at the University of Richmond in Virginia, knows that grind well. She left school more than a decade ago before returning to college in 2017. Now, at age 34, Petty is on track to graduate in December with an education degree, all while raising three children with her husband. …
… Academics tend to think of traditional-age students as those from 18 to 24 who enter college directly out of high school. When it comes to nontraditional students, experts generally agree that term is defined by characteristics such as having independent status for financial aid, having at least one dependent or more, or being a single parent. Other characteristics include not having earned the traditional high school diploma, delaying enrollment in higher education, attending college part time or working full time. …"