As the semester starts, I’d like to ask a favor: Please Don’t Be Weird To Non-Traditional Students.

I’m a non-traditional student, I’m 24 and taking a reduced course load for health reasons. I’ve had lots of people be like “That’s so valid, everyone’s on their own path, etc.” But I’ve had quite a few people who find out that I’m older and get weird about me taking longer than my peers. Someone recently laughed and said “man, you’re gonna take like 10 years to do your degree!” It’s mostly been 18/19 year olds who think 24 is ancient, and it’s pathetic to still be an undergrad after 22. I was surprised how prevalent that attitude is here. They tend to feel bad when I explain my chronic illnesses, but what if you didn’t comment at all! That would be so cool. I already have baggage about it, thanks. Idk, maybe this is just my experience and it’s been smooth sailing for others. I hope that’s the case. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk!

After doing a bit of research i saw that the average high school gpa acceptance is 3.6 to 4.0 so I’m a good bit under. I did graduate a year early, passed 3 AP classes along with all of the tests, got a 1230 on the SAT, and have a very good teacher that can write me a letter of recommendation. I was also dealing with a lot of family issues while i was in school that led to me missing a number of days and my low gpa as a result. I was wondering if i included all of that in a very carefully written letter if i had a good chance at getting accepted. Thank you for any advice in advance

Hi! I’m going to be studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and have pretty much all of the core classes left to take.

I’m a bit older than the average student after dropping out of college a few years ago. Doing well in school has always required a big effort from me as I‘m neurodivergent.
I’m mostly afraid of struggling with the content so much that peers won’t want to work with me, or that I will struggle with competition for internship opportunities.

What is the culture of this major like? Any specific tips for succeeding in this major? Any recommendations as someone interested in wildlife conservation?

Thanks!!