High School Drops-Outs Going To College: Beware!
This is the first of three posting on degree mills and online education.
I just finished going to nursing school at 40 years old and got my Computer Science degree at 30. I did not go to college right after high school like most people think I probably should have. To be honest I would have fallen flat on my face if I went to college right after high school.
There are many reasons that people decide to go back to college later in life but mostly they need a better job. There are also many reasons that people did not go to college after high school perhaps they did not even complete high school and that is what I want to address here. The person that want to go to college for a better job but does not have a high school diploma.
A recent article “Quick-Fix Diplomas Often Aren’t Real GEDs talks about how colleges do not accept High School Diplomas that are offered either online or though the mail. The marketing for these programs are all too familiar “Earn your high school diploma in 30 days” with a picture of a smiling parent in her cap and gown with a proud child looking on. These programs pray on students that are low income and strapped for time that want nothing more than to earn a fair living.
So how do you avoid this pitfall and save yourself some time. Either it is a GED or it is not. Do not except any thing that is just as good as a GED. Secondly, visit a local publicly owned college. Either a State university or a community college and speak to an adviser on what is needed to be accepted- do this even if the you do not plan on attending that school because as a publicly owned entity they have no profit motivation to deceive you. Then ask them is there any financial assistance available, there may not be but it does not hurt to ask.
Ok, you got your Real GED and are ready to apply to college now what. Decide on what your goals are either to get a good job or is it to get a good job in a specific career. Then do some research in whether this degree will help you achieve your goals and what is the best school for you to attend to achieve that degree? But beware of sales pitches that sound to good to be true.
The Dumb Kid
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August 13th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
The article makes a good point about the pitfalls of a degree-mill high school diploma. Hoping future installments expand on this and the pitfalls of degree-mill Universities. What happens when you look for a job with a fake degree? Do employers even care? Do they have enough time to research people’s resumes more than just calling references?
I’d be curious to find out.