<p>I'm in my mid-20s and hoping to go back to a high quality school, but I don't want to be ghettoized into a special college within a university. E.g., Columbia has a school just for non-traditional students (even though the courses are all the same), and non-trads are required to apply to the General Studies Program instead of Columbia College.</p>
<p>I want to go to a quality Top 50ish school WITHOUT being cordoned off into "returning education" programs. For instance, can I apply as a transfer applicant to Brown, or can I only apply to their RUE program?</p>
<p>Don't even think of patting me on the head and telling me to go back to State U! Been there, done that.</p>
<p>You don’t have to apply through the non-traditional programs, but it makes getting in a little easier. For example, I was told I could easily get into Columbia GS, but I chose to apply to Columbia. I was denied. It’s really up to you. GS is not a bad program at all. You ARE a Columbia student, but I just couldn’t afford it.</p>
<p>hey. no. I applied to a bunch of schools…just regularly. Just apply to all the schools you want to as a transfer. And dont be afraid to call and ask admissions counselors for advice on your situation. For example, sfurd wants SATs that are 5 years old r younger. I was completely happy with my SATs from oer 5 years ago and asked if that could be waived…they said it was totally fine. I did have a complete application but was Rjected hehe. But I did get accepted to many other schools who dont have special admit ways for older students.</p>
<p>i completely see what you’re saying. but in the end, if it’s not negatively impacting your experience at school X to be at their “continuing students” program, does it matter?</p>
<p>this topic comes up a lot in regards to NYU’s GSP program. people turn their noses up at it, but in reality, all NYU students are graduating from NYU. if you went to Columbia GSP, at the end of it, you’re still going to be graduating from Columbia. </p>
<p>is it possible to internally transfer from the special program, to the program you really want to be in within the University? </p>
<p>i contemplated doing this for my transfer to NYU, but ended up not doing it, ONLY because their SCPS program did not have my major in it. </p>
<p>State U wasn’t an option for me either. i went from CC to NYU and i kind of took a huge risk and only applied to TWO schools. :-/</p>
<p>You have to investigate the “special” programs very carefully. Some are separate academic programs, but others are just a label that helps you find other students whose life experiences are a bit more like yours (sort of like the way being labeled “international” gets you on the email invitation list for the International Student Office).</p>
<p>I’d rethink the attitude that the non traditional programs are ghettos. They are there for a reason, most in their mid twenties and older would like a peer group other than beer drinking, pong playing teenagers. Many also let you not have everything they are looking for from traditional students like the SATIIs you asked about and judge you based on criteria more relevant to your age group.</p>
<p>That said, if you want to apply to the regular program choose your school wisely, many colleges would not offer a great social life for an older student.</p>
<p>I’m a non-traditional student (28) and I’m going to a very reputable school (Berkeley) andb because I am an upperclassman, I am in smaller classes (30-50). I don’t know if you are speaking strictly about Ivy League schools, but Berkeley is definitely in the top 50 and it doesn’t have “watered-down” requirements for non-traditional students. It does have an awesome transfer center for us, though, so there is a solid non-traditional student community.</p>
<p>i second hmom in that not all schools have a social life that caters to an older student. I know that Pomona College for example is not very keen on having older students… i was talking to the asst. dean of admissions and he said in so many words that I would have to think about things because I am married and pomona students must live on campus… no ifs ands or buts. so that knocked pomona off my list. Hopkins isnt bad like that,but they certainly believe that they cater more toward a traditional age student…as said by an adcom member.</p>
<p>^
JGee, I’m very sorry to hear that about Pomona. I just lost a lot of respect for them for that. </p>
<p>Here’s the thing, any school that shies away from admitting non-traditional student on the most absurd, arbitrary, grounds is lying if they say they are trying to create the most diverse class of capable students possible. Period. I think I’ll write a letter to Pomona telling them that.</p>
<p>Man, I thought Pomona was better than that. They should be ashamed for stonewalling you like that.</p>
<p>i sort of agree w hmom, even tho i didnt like what i heard from pomona. because they really are about the residential college system and they thought if i lived off campus i wouldnt get the education they wanted to give is why under the most extenuating circumstances they wouldnt allow me to live off campus. its too bad, because i wouldnt just be a commuter student and just go for the classes, but who is to say that other students wouldnt?</p>
<p>"Every school can’t cater to every group. Write away, but schools are entitled to create the type of diversity they want. "</p>
<p>What a BS line. What if the school didn’t cater to black people, or hispanics or women, discriminated based on sexual preference, religious affiliation ? Would you be saying that? Then why is it ok to discriminate based on age or marital status? Explain to me the difference. </p>
<p>And it’s not difficult for a liberal arts college to allow you to live off campus under special circumstances. Amherst does it in rare cases (I’m living proof), as does Williams and Swarthmore.</p>
<p>And you’re right JGee, private institutions have the right to admit students based on arbitrary criteria of their choosing. And I have the right to call them out on unethical practices. The whole “you have to live on-campus to experience the education of Pomona” is the biggest crock I’ve ever heard; a cop-out of the highest degree. Yeah, you’re really going to miss out on that education because you couldn’t live in a dorm swilling beer with under age drinkers.</p>
<p>^
Really? Explain the difference so I understand it better.</p>
<p>Most legislation on discrimination doesn’t make that distinction. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, for example, often lump age discrimination in with racial/sexual/gender/religion discrimination. But go ahead and explain to me why age discrimination is a valid form of discrimination while those other forms are not.</p>
<p>To expand on the topic a little, ask yourself WHY discrimination based on religion, race, or gender is not acceptable. Could it be that these factors have absolutely nothing to do with how successful you will be as a student? </p>
<p>Similarly, how does my age, in and of itself, effect my potential performance in a negative way that gives any institution a credible reason to discriminate against me?</p>
<p>I don’t see it as discrimination. Schools need to figure out who is a good fit. If they are a small, 100% residential college with a mean age of 20.6, an older married student will probably not be happy there. They are allowed to choose those who they believe will do well there and that usually requires a good fit.</p>
<p>And frankly, schools practice social engineering that effects all groups. The decide to be 10% black, 8% Hispanic, 12% jews and 13% Asians. They want 17% athletes and 12% legacies. They need 40 marching band members, a few with physical disabilities and a transsexual or two.</p>
<p>But it’s because of that discrimination why older students wouldn’t enjoy the school. It’s like only admitting one race, and the excuse for not admitting students from other races is, “well, they won’t be happy here.”</p>
<p>OP, if you are a woman, look at Smith College and Mount Holyoke College – they both have the type of program you are trying to avoid BUT the students are completely integrated within the school community. They often house their non-traditional students together for social reasons, but there was a NY Times article a while back about a Smith College Ada Comstock Scholar who lived in a regular dorm (called “houses” at Smith.) </p>
<p>These special programs don’t segregate non-traditional students, but they do offer the support that older students may need. They also offer admission based on a slightly different set of criteria that may end up gaining you admission.</p>
<p>By no means did I say age discrimination was valid in any form. </p>
<p>It can be considered valid when one’s age becomes a barrier which restricts the educational agenda for an institution. Stanford’s a large school, so even though 8/21 of our class is considered non-traditional – there’s still plenty of room for each type of student to find his/her niche. There’s no stigma for someone who’s older here. It’s means next to nothing to me. </p>
<p>Pomona is a vastly different school. Much smaller, much more intimate. It demands of its students that they foster a community of residential camaraderie. There, someone who’s obviously older would not receive the social/educational experience that Pomona would like to provide. The school does not consider itself an adequate environment to educate that type of student. </p>
<p>Simply put, that type of discrimination is not equal to racial/sexual/religious discrimination.</p>