November 15, 1994
There is a group of students who do not worry about possible fee increases or agonize about how they can afford to stay in school. They pay only three dollars per semester for tuition, have their application fee waived, and they can earn a degree in anything they want. The only catch is, they have to have reached their 60th birthday before they start classes.
Pat Sinasohn isn't pursuing a degree, but she's taking classes in Russian because she wants to participate in the Russian Orthodox church she just joined.
"What I take are things I want to take," she said. "I'm not interested in being old."
There are two programs for senior re-entry students. As of Jan. 1, 1980, legislation passed that allowed and directed the California State University system to develop programs for older students, according to Pat Wade, an SF State admissions officer.
The first is the Elder College Program, which allows students to audit classes on a space-available basis for free. Students don't receive credit for classes they take on an audit basis.
The second is the Over-60 program.In this program, students who meet the age requirement get a substantial break in fees, but must comply with all the regular student rules and requirements. They go through the CSU application process, take placement tests, and submit their high school and college transcripts.
"The (Over-60) program does not in any way diminish the rigor of the major," Wade said.
Students enrolled through the program also have to pay full price for books.
According to Ronnie Owens, coordinator for the re-entry program at City College of San Francisco, general re-entry students and especially older women, often return to school as a result of a personal tragedy, like divorce or death of a spouse.
"Unfortunately, a large number of students are forced to return to school because of some life-altering circumstance," Owens said. "Some return for personal fulfillment, but mostly out of necessity."
Mary Cronin was primarily a housewife, until she decided to returned to SF State in her late 50s. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in women's studies, and in 1987, she received a master of arts degree in public administration. Cronin said she went back to school because, "I'd never done it."
Cronin did not have difficulty adjusting to school. "It was easier than I expected," she said. "The other students were quite welcoming. It's a very stimulating environment."
"I come back to school any chance I have," Sinasohn said. "This time (my husband and I) are both back. He's taking Italian."
The entire Sinasohn family is attending school now. Pat and her husband have three children in college. Their son is at SF State, one daughter attends University of California at Berkeley, and another daughter attends school in Rhode Island.
According to Eva Chuck, the coordinator for the re-entry program at SF State, many older students, such as Sinasohn and Cronin, return to school for personal development. "If they had started school some time before and quit, they get a feeling of completion," Chuck said.
After Sinasohn received her degrees in English literature and education, she returned to school several years later to pursue her master of arts in English, but didn't finish.
"I became totally bored with it," she said.
Many older re-entry students run into problems upon returning to school, Owens said. The math requirement is a big one.
"I suffered through statistics because I didn't have the background," Cronin said.
However, not all students have this problem. Sinasohn said she has always been good at math and completed the requirement with no trouble.