Education’s hidden toll: Adult learners squeezed by everyday costs, tuition and child care

Morgan Kelly didn’t start college until she was 21, at the age when many of her peers were close to graduating. In May 2024, she graduated from Wilson College in Pennsylvania at age 32 with a 4-year-old and a bachelor’s in environmental science. All in all, it took nine years, three colleges and the birth of her daughter before Kelly was finally able to graduate.

“I’ve done a lot of weird things and just done a lot of different jobs. I’m always the person that, if I’m going to do it, I’m just going to do it. There’s no day like today,” Kelly says.

But it was a long, difficult, expensive road to get there.

Kelly, who grew up in rural Pennsylvania and is the first person in her family to graduate college, dealt with a number of obstacles that kept her from graduating with a diploma in her early 20s. One of the biggest barriers was an all-too-familiar issue for lower-income Americans — the cost of higher education.

Anyone who survived on ramen while living on student loan money knows it’s common to struggle financially during college. But Kelly’s situation as a nontraditional student (meaning, a student going back to college a year or more after graduating high school) meant she also had additional costs to worry about that couldn’t be covered by student loan funds alone — like rent, transportation and child care for her daughter. On top of that, she had to stop working full-time so she could go to school, further limiting her budget.

The disproportionate financial burden that nontraditional students face, compared to their “traditional” peers, can be immensely difficult to manage. Amid the high cost of living today, many adult learners are being forced to choose between focusing on their studies, or working to put food on their table.

Adults going back to school this fall are having to weigh a lot of options before they even apply. Can they handle working and going to school at the same time? Will they have to find child care? After years away from the education system, do they know how to fill out FASFA? What student aid options are available to them?

On top of all these considerations, a nontraditional student needs to consider how they’ll pay for classes, books and fees — in addition to paying their everyday bills. More than 1 in 3 (34 percent) Americans feel that they’re living paycheck to paycheck already, according to Bankrate’s Living Paycheck to Paycheck Survey. The cost barriers for nontraditional students can make what should be an opportunity seem like an impossibility.

During the 2023-2024 school year, a student at a public, four-year, in-state school paid $28,840 on average for tuition and fees, housing and other expenses, according to College Board. Specifically, that includes:

• Tuition and fees: $11,260
• Housing and food: $12,770
• Transportation: $1,290
• School supplies: $940
• Course materials: $310
• Other expenses: $2,270

The amount students pay for tuition, fees and other expenses can balloon to $46,730 on average for public four-year out-of-state students and $60,420 on average for private nonprofit four-year students. If they need childcare while taking classes, parents already managing the cost of school and their everyday expenses will also pay, on average, $11,582 per year for childcare, according to Child Care Aware, an advocacy nonprofit.

At the same time, students typically make less than the average working American. Nearly three-quarters of independent students make less than $20,000 per year, or have no income at all, according to the Urban Institute. (Independent here means students who aren’t a dependent on their parents’ taxes.)

With too many expenses and a low average income, nontraditional students can become housing or food insecure, or, in some cases, become unable to finish their studies.

Kelly received financial aid at school, but she still struggled financially and saw the impact that finances had on other students. Kelly had to scramble to find child care for her daughter, and her classmate had to drop out of school because she couldn’t afford a car. Kelly took a job and a paid internship to afford day-to-day expenses, but she had to take on student loans to afford the tuition for Wilson, which is a private school that costs $25,950 per year for full-time students.

“When you think about food, when you think about medicine, when you’re thinking about transportation, those are the kinds of things that can turn a student away from coming to college, or finishing,” says Wilson College Dean of Students Katie Kough. “There’s that assumption that if you go to college, you must have the money, which is so not the case.”

These challenges can feel like an impossible hurdle for some adult learners. But to help nontraditional students finish their studies, some schools have their own programs and scholarship opportunities that provide aid for tuition, books, housing and food. While it’s not always enough to cover everything, Kelly chose to attend Wilson specifically for the enormous helping hand it gives to single parents.

‘Do it scared:’ Going back to school as an adult is a challenge, but local programs can help

Kelly doesn’t believe she would’ve been able to attend school again if it weren’t for the Single Parent Scholar Program at Wilson College. The program provides free housing and child care for single parents, along with a handful of scholarship opportunities.

By living in a dorm with other young, single moms, Kelly was also able to save money through small acts of kindness from the community. Moms living there as part of the program, she says, would watch someone’s child if they needed to study late, and they would pass hand-me-down clothes or toys to the smaller children.

If you’re a nontraditional student, local programs can help you succeed financially

Kelly says it was a difficult process to learn what options were available to her to save money while going to school, such as how to access food pantries and find the cheapest stores around. She encourages aspiring students to face their fears if they want to go back to school — and do it anyway.

For her, going back to school was more than worth it. Earning her degree led to her current job as a utility forester, where she identifies species living on power lines. Later down the line, she plans to go back to school again, this time so she can earn a master’s in environmental education.

“If you’re looking at your circumstances and you’re like, ‘Wow, I can barely scrape enough money to pay my bills’ or ‘I really want this career,’ you are worth it. Do it scared,” Kelly says.

3 financial tips to maximize your learning potential as an adult

Whether it’s going back to school, seeking certifications or other forms of learning, there are lots of options available if you’re interested in continuing your education as an adult while keeping costs down. Consider these three tips when looking for the best — and most cost-effective — option for you.

1. Understand your aid options

There are many different student loan options available to you if you’re interested in going back for your degree. Most notably, the federal government offers direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans, which are fixed-rate loans available for undergraduate students. If you demonstrate financial need, you can apply for direct subsidized loans, which don’t accrue interest while you’re in school and give you a six-month grace period after you graduate.

Other options include Direct PLUS loans for graduate students, as well as private student loans, which can be either fixed or variable interest rates.

2. Consider your local community college

Community colleges tend to be more affordable and offer more resources to older students than four-year universities do. Lottia Windham, regional director of Financial Aid Campus Operations/Research at Austin Community College (ACC), speaks highly of community college programs like the ones at ACC.

“Back in the day, (the student aid process) was very cut and dry: fill this document, here’s your options. But we’ve evolved. We still have some ways to go, but there are more options than ever,” Windham says.

Now, community colleges can offer assistance on everything from filling out FASFA to classes on financial literacy. Many community colleges also offer scholarships geared towards adult learners, food pantries, on-campus child care and an emergency fund for students in crisis.

3. Consider alternative forms of education

If you’re looking for additional earning opportunities in computer science, technology, marketing or more, consider an online certification program or bootcamp. A coding bootcamp can cost anywhere between $7,800 to $21,000, according to Course Report. That’s far less than the cost of a degree, yet these programs can give you the knowledge and experience for new job opportunities. If you’re interested in health care, trades or other hands-on skills, check out your local community college or university for certification programs that can teach you in-demand skills for your area.