<p>How do they decide between a traditional (18-20) versus a non-traditional student (late 20's)?</p>
<p>The primary criterion seems to be... who will flourish the most in the campus' environment. But suppose both candidates are equal in potential to flourish. Does the distinct experiences of the non-traditional student beat out the ability of the traditional student to develop further for 5 more years under the influence of the campus' philosophy and experience?</p>
<p>I was thinking along the lines of some tech schools - MIT, Caltech, Stanford, CMU.</p>
<p>Given the type of students they want to generate (science prodigies), intuitively wouldn't they want to shape the younger untapped potential that has more time to develop?</p>