nontraditional student

"nontraditional student" means in a college or university: a student who does not enroll immediately after graduating high school, works full-time or part-time during their enrollment, or is financially independent. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.

"nontraditional student" is informal English meaning in a college or university: a student who does not enroll immediately after graduating high school, works full-time or part-time during their enrollment, or is financially independent. It is mainly used in North American English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "in a college or university: a student who does not enroll immediately after graduating high school" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "nontraditional student" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing.