Women over age 25 represent a substantial age group that may be recruited to bolster undergraduate student recruitment efforts at Northwestern University and similar institutions of higher education. By 1990, the number of recruitable 18-year-olds will fall by 20 percent nationwide, causing financial hardship for many private colleges and universities that do not actively recruit older students as well. Ten percent of the approximately 140,000 women over 25 living on the North Shore of Lake Michigan are singled out as a major target group for recruiting by Northwestern University because of various demographic, economic, technological, political/legal and cultural factors. The barriers older women perceive in a youth-oriented student environment are explained, and there is a brief history given of past efforts to recruit older women into other institutions offering extension courses and adult education programs. Future undergraduate recruitment efforts at Northwestern University should encourage older students to apply by creating a primary demand for undergraduate education at all age levels. Pre-application, pre-admission and post-admission policies and educational literature can be easily modified to accommodate the needs of older women. A number of short-range and long-range marketing plans are also suggested that will attract older students back to college, particularly older women. A bibliography is appended, along with lists of local sources and persons interviewed. (DC)