This research aimed to examine the profiles of the candidates who had applied to the alternative retraining programs at the selected college. The study then would compare them with those candidates who had been accepted onto the traditional programs. The authors found that the alternative programs attracted students with an academic and personal profile different from the one that characterizes students in the traditional teacher retraining programs. In all three alternative programs, the number of students with advanced postgraduate degrees was significantly higher than the number of students with advanced degrees in the traditional programs.