by Darrel Hall
What I want to talk discuss is the opportunity cost in being a non-traditional student. When we talk about non-traditional students we are talking about students who did not come to college directly from high school and are at least twenty-three. Opportunity cost is the cost of doing something when something else can be done. So many times opportunity cost isn’t money.
Opportunity cost can be time, peace of mind, fun, studying, spending time with family, or doing your favorite hobbies, its giving something up to do something else. Some examples are: spending time with my children is critical to me, but spending time with this weekend means I will have less time to study for two tests I got on Monday. Another example is the time traditional students have after college to make up for school costs is going to be higher than non-traditional students. By the time I graduate from college I will be almost 30, meanwhile most traditional students will be done by the age of 24. Lets just say we all average at least 50k a year, which means a traditional student will have an opportunity to make 600,000 more than non-traditional students. That is a lot of money. It also means we have left time to retire and enjoy left the right way. The last example I want to talk about just the all out competition between traditional and non-traditional students. Mostly what I mean is the interview process. When I am applying for a job I have to convince an employer that I will be more valuable to him in the shorter time he will have me compare to the traditional student who he will be able to provide his service for a longer time.
Which leads me to the one thing most non-traditional students will have over traditional students is maturity. The opportunity cost of having bills, kids, and a lot of responsibility instead of party at will is you will grow up a lot faster. In all no matter what the playing field is it is never fair so all we can do as students are compete.
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2 comments:
I agree that it would be alot harder coming to college as a non-traditional sudent. You will have much more to deal with, maybe a few kids, you might have your own house and pay your own bill yet kids that come right from high school probibly didn't have a job, hopefully no kids, and still live at their parents houses.
When it comes to the opportunity cost of being a non-traditional student it would be very hard concept to inquire. My brothers fiance has a kid and she is a part time student and is a single parent. She's now graduated from Bloomsburg and now is getting her masters in education. I give these people credit.
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