Older adults are returning to school at NECC this fall to further their education. Most students begin their college career shortly after high school.
However, many others choose to return in later stages of life. This could be for one of many reasons. It could be for better job opportunities, to feel the accomplishment of earning a degree or simply because there are subjects they would like to learn more about.
Kimberly Ortiz is a Business major in her first semester at Northern Essex. Having earned a GED in 2002, Ortiz says she decided to return to college because, “there comes a point where your income level is limited without the aid of a degree.”
This is a motivation for many adults to return. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, data from 2022 shows that the median weekly income for Massachusetts residents with a high school diploma was $853. In contrast, the same bureau stated that a college graduate’s median weekly earnings were $1,089.
Money, however, is not the only motivation for returning to college. NECC and UMass Lowell professor, Dave Rattigan, had won several writing awards in his adult life.
He states, “At age 36, I decided it was ridiculous that I did not have a degree.” It was at this time that he decided to enroll in classes at Emerson College, where he spent the next four years earning the degree that had eluded him in his younger years.
Still, others come for the sole purpose of learning. Linda Goss graduated from an adult based education program in 1977. Goss said, “After moving to Massachusetts from Connecticut in 2019, I started a job at Stop and Shop. Each day, on my way to work, I would pass the NECC campus.”
In 2020, she chose to enroll in one class in hopes of improving her writing skills. As of this fall, Goss is now a Liberal Arts major, taking three classes. She has also become involved in the school’s theater department.
Older adults returning to college is not a new phenomenon. While not widespread, some adults did return to college throughout the 20th century. In the early 21st century, however, the number of older students returning to college began to rise significantly. The National Center for Education Statistics noted a 23% increase in enrollment for students thirty five years old and older between 2000 and 2014.
Now in his 21st year of teaching, Rattigan has a different view of older students than he did when he returned to college.
He has come to notice that, “Some older students feel lots of nervousness when returning to college. It is a big step coming back to school after a long time.” He goes on to state that, “traditional, younger students often have a better learning foundation, having just come from high school, but older students tend to be more serious.”
He concludes by saying, “The best advice I could give older students is to trust yourself and do the work. Don’t be worried about everything you’re worried about. And for younger students, don’t disregard the life experience older students bring to the class.”
