How do you picture today’s college student? Straight out of high school, living in a dorm, and graduating in four years? Better think again. The traditional student today is non-traditional.

According to USA Today, nearly a third of today’s undergraduates are at least 25, nearly 70 percent of them have at least one characteristic the government considers non-traditional, such as part-time enrollment, caring for dependents, or working full-time while enrolled. And among older students, almost half take eight years or longer to graduate.

According to the National Center for Education Studies, about half of today’s students are financially independent, 49 percent are enrolled part-time, and 27 percent have dependents of their own. Twelve million of them, nearly half, attend community college rather than four-year institutions.

One of the reasons institutions are so focused on improving retention is because of the poor student success rate. Only 56 percent of students at four-year institutions complete their degree within six years, and just 20 percent of first-time students at community colleges earn a degree within three years.

Despite the attention being paid to financial aid these days, a recent study conducted by UCLA determined that today’s freshmen entering a four-year college or university are more financially advantaged than at any time in the last 35 years. They also come from families with a median income 60 percent higher than the national average.

How well do you know the students you are trying to attract? And what characteristics of your institution will most appeal to which unique student profile? Important questions to answer before implementing your marketing plan.

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