Tip for Adult Students

Bucks County Community College welcomes you as an adult learner. More than 40% of our students are adults and we provide the high quality programs and services that will help you to feel comfortable and to be a successful student. We believe that our wide variety of programs, flexible scheduling, convenient locations, and distance learning options can meet the needs of any adult student who wants to continue their education.

As a returning adult student at Bucks, you may find that you are much like many of our students who:

  • Never attended college, but always wanted to;
  • Attended college previously, but were unable to complete a degree;
  • Are currently working without a degree and want to upgrade skills or move into a new career area;
  • Completed a degree program, but want to upgrade employment skills or to move into a new career area;
  • Are coming to the United States with credits or a college degree from another country, but need additional college courses to practice their career in the US.

If you'd just like some direction in terms of getting started, you can set up an appointment in the Office of Adult Student Services.

Some adults know exactly what they want and need and enroll in a major/courses without counseling. See Getting started at Bucks to make sure you receive the services you need to get the best possible start.

Many of our students are not sure about what they want "to be when they grow up." Our Career Center offers workshops, counseling, and computer assisted assessments that will help you to better understand your interests and aptitudes and to set appropriate career goals. From there, you can determine which program at Bucks will best serve your needs and interests.

If you attended Bucks as a young person, and did not do as well as you hoped you would, you may want to explore the option of an Academic Restart. This process allows you to start with a "clean slate" so that previous low grades won't pull down your grade point average (GPA).

In some cases, your life and/or work experience may be worth College credit(s). Our Prior Learning Assessment Program (PLA) can determine how to best evaluate your experience and the College program where these credits will be of the most value.

If you already have a degree, you should send your transcripts along with your application to the Office of Admissions so that a representative may evaluate your credits and determine what will transfer into your program at Bucks.

If you are a foreign student, you must schedule an appointment with International Student Services to determine how you can get started or to evaluate your previous experience/course work.

We want you to get the best start possible as an adult student at Bucks. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions or wish to receive more information.