84-Year-Old Woman Gets College Degree After 67-Year Break

You’ve heard of college grads on the 5 or 6, maybe even 8-year plan … but Betty Sandison blows ’em all away — it took her nearly 7 decades, but she’s finally earned her bachelor’s degree.

The 84-year-old just matriculated at the University of Minnesota with a degree in multidisciplinary studies, and all that stood in her way was a marriage, raising 2 children, a nursing career, one global pandemic and … 67 years.

Ya can’t knock Betty’s hustle! She first enrolled at her now-alma mater in 1955, and got her nursing license after one year — but once she got married, she dropped out less than 30 credits shy of her bachelor’s degree.

Betty says it was always something she wanted to do, but once she had 2 daughters and started nursing … it never happened. It wasn’t until she retired in 2013 that she decided to start checking off her bucket list, which included getting that damn degree.

She enrolled in 2018 and immediately ran into a few, umm … technological hurdles. She told WCCO, “That computer business just almost did me in.” Still, she persisted, even through the COVID-19 pandemic.