Some Seniors Take Advantage of Free College Tuition

“Some of the people call me Aunt Judith now,” she says.

Carson is part of a program at Georgia State University called GSU-62. Students who are at least 62 years old can qualify for free tuition.

“The kids are accepting; I’m accepting to them,” she says. “We each have something to offer the other.”

GSU Vice President and Director of Undergraduate Admissions Scott Burke says the first step is getting in.

“You do have to apply to the university and be accepted as one of our special student populations,” Burke says. “You have to meet the admissions requirements.”

That’s true for every Georgia public college. All offer similar programs.

About 200 seniors took advantage of the free tuition at Georgia State this fall. That’s a fraction of the university’s total population of 32,000. But Burke says the program is growing.

He says students of all ages benefit from being in class together.

“That’s one of the great things about being at an institution like Georgia State is the diversity, the diversity of age, where our students come from, their racial and ethnic backgrounds,” he says. “I think it really adds something unique to the classroom.”

Students still have to pay for some premium programs, like medical and law courses. The program just covers tuition, not books or other fees.

Burke admits there’s a technology learning curve for most students. But GSU offers free classes to help them catch up.

Judith Carson, the 70-year old poetry student, has some advice for seniors returning to school: try out some classes before diving into a field of study.

“I felt my way around, took all the undergrad writing courses, but it’s really good to get your feet wet if you’ve been out for a long time,” she says.

The seniors in GSU’s program seem to be adapting pretty well. Their average GPA is about a 3.2.