The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the academic success and challenges of eleven successful nontraditional students in Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina who had an informal support network. Their informal networks typically consisted of spouses, children, extended families, friends, peers, co-workers, mentors, and God. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from 5 women and 6 men ranging in age from 33 to 67. They were either pursuing or had completed degrees ranging from Bachelor's degrees to Ph.Ds. Five major themes emerged from an analysis of the data: (a) participants experienced their informal support network as having an expandable boundary, (b) participants experienced their informal support network as varying in strength and influence, (c) participants experienced their informal support network as having the capacity to magnify the qualities for success they already possessed, (d) participants experienced their informal support network as having the ability to expand their capacity to meet the many challenges faced, and (e) participants experienced their informal support network as an evolutionary process throughout the educational journey. The findings of the study combined with the rich descriptions provided by the participants are of value to those who provide counsel for nontraditional students. The insights provided through this study are also of value to nontraditional students and will help them understand the challenges that lie ahead and suggest ways they can foster and maintain an informal support network with a view to enhancing their chances for academic success.