Every college student relies on some form of financial aid to help them complete college, but UTM is making it easier for non-traditional students to complete their degrees.
One of the biggest differences between traditional and non-traditional students is that traditional students typically don’t have near the expenses outside of college that many non-traditional students pay.
“As a non-traditional, we have a few more obstacles to face,” said Kara Kidwell, secretary of NTSA, the Non-Traditional Student Association.
“In a lot of cases there might be a spouse that is out of work and going to school while the other spouse is supporting the home. That presents its own unique challenges to that household, so any financial aid that the person going to school can get their hands on is always appreciated.”
When it comes to financial aid, many students use a combination of loans, grants and scholarships to help pay for their education and it may come as a surprise exactly how many opportunities UTM offers non-traditional students to help pay for school.
“It’s the same money that you have for your [traditional students],” said Sheryl Frazier, interim director of Financial Aid.
“There’s really nothing different that we offer for non-traditional students that we don’t offer for traditional students.”
This is something that has helped UTM not only increase its number of non-traditional students, but also helps make it easier for those students to actually afford to finish their degrees.
“I think it’s fantastic that non-traditional students have the same options for school financing that traditional students have,” Kidwell said.
“Many of us are coming from a work environment and don’t have money saved up in college accounts like many students’ parents did, so having these funds available to us is something that is really good for us.”
The one difference is that non-traditional students aren’t initially eligible for the same departmental scholarships that high school students are, but, once they get on campus, they can apply for the same money as any student who arrived on campus straight from high school.
Non-traditional students also are eligible to receive the Tennessee Hope Scholarship, but with some slight differences.
The student must be 25 or older, or have not been enrolled in any post-secondary institute in the past two years. Their parents’ adjusted gross income must be $36,000 or less on the IRS tax form. If they are independent, their income and their spouse’s income must meet the same income requirement. They must be continuously enrolled at an eligible post-secondary institution in the fall and spring semesters and maintain satisfactory academic progress.
Also, they have to maintain a cumulative GPA after 12 attempted semester hours or required GPA at subsequent benchmarks.
A lot of students have trouble paying for school regardless of their background, but allowing non-traditional students to receive the same money as traditional students is just one more thing that bridges the financial and life experience gaps between the two.
