The White House College Completion Agenda encourages higher education institutions to increase the number of students completing an undergraduate degree by the year 2025. Given the external context of economic uncertainty and limited resources, these tasks are daunting for associate's colleges with a history of low retention and completion rates and with an enrollment primarily of non-traditional students. GED students are among the collection of non-traditional students who face challenges of retention and completion in postsecondary education. Over the past decade, this body of students has increased enrollment in two-year associate's colleges. Thus, understanding how GED students experience postsecondary education can increase the retention and completion rates of American college students. The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the experiences of students who completed a GED and then enrolled at a two-year associate's college in the Southeastern region of the United States. Qualitative research methods were carried out by conducting individual interviews and document analysis. This study used qualitative inquiry to address the following research questions grounded in Astin's I-E-O model: 1. How do GED recipients experience the academic demands of an associate's college? 2. What role do student involvement and personal characteristics have in the experiences of GED recipients enrolled in an associate's college? 3. What role does the college environment have in the experiences of GED recipients enrolled in an associate's college? After analyzing the study's data, three themes (Preparedness, Involvement, and Location) and four subthemes (Family, Time, Small Settings and Distractions) developed. In conclusion, the college experience of GED recipients can be improved by enriching academic learning prior to college enrollment and responding to financial, family, and employment obligations.