While a recent Gallup poll found that nontraditional students are less likely to be emotionally attached to their alma maters, several students at Boston University said they will still feel attached to BU after they graduate.
Approximately 14 percent of nontraditional students, those 25 years old or older, said they “can’t imagine a world without” their university and that their school was the best choice for them, the Friday survey suggests, which was conducted by Gallup, Inc. and Purdue University.
“Most of the [online Master of Criminal Justice] program students do not stay in touch with me. However the ones that do I find are very emotionally attached,” said Mary Mastrorilli, professor of applied social sciences in Metropolitan College, in an email. “I have found that many of our graduates are proud to be affiliated with BU. The ‘brand’ means something to them, and I get the sense that their Master’s degree sets them apart from their peers.”
About 77 percent of nontraditional survey participants said they felt neither attached nor unattached to their alma maters, the poll found.
Despite working full-time and taking classes online part-time, Mastrorilli said her students make the effort to attend graduation, ask for letters of recommendation and connect with faculty through social media sites like LinkedIn.
Kate Skow, a first-year graduate student in the Frederick S. Pardee School for Global Studies, said having a close relationship to professors and the school as an older student has its merits.
“You build a lot of other networks besides a university,” she said. “For most university students, I’d imagine college is their first real network, so I can see why they would feel more attached to their school than those who are older.”
The survey is part of a two-part series that analyzes the college experience and life outcomes for those to earn their degrees later in life, the report stated.
Andrew Banasiewicz, a professor of administrative sciences in MET, said although graduate and continuing education programs are usually shorter than undergraduate ones, his graduate students are just as connected to BU as undergraduate students.
“They’re not just there getting a piece of paper, but they’re there because they feel that it’s going to continue to pay dividends to them in the future,” he said. “It [going to school] is a lot more thoughtful and rational. It’s not loving it [BU] for the sake of loving it, but it’s more thought-out reasons for why they want to get this degree from this institution because of what they feel is good for them.”
In comparison, about 20 percent of traditional students, those who complete their degrees before age 25, said they felt emotionally attached to their alma mater, according to the survey. About 70 percent said they were neither attached nor unattached to their school.
Several students said although everyone has different experiences on campus, most people would feel attached to BU after they graduate regardless of what age they are.
Christine Kim, a first-year graduate student in Sargent College Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said although she feels connected to BU, she enjoys the smaller, close-knit graduate community.
“I … like being a graduate student,” she said. “I have more focused studies. I still feel attached to BU, especially because I’ve been here since my undergraduate years.”
Madison Lee, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said living on campus and being immersed in campus activities contributes to her strong sense of attachment to BU.
“I definitely feel attached to BU because I’ve been living here for months,” she said. “As a non-traditional student, it would be difficult to have that same experience because you’re not living on campus or eating in the dining hall, so it’s different.”
Alexandra David and Gabi Arriaga contributed to the reporting of this article.
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