The Best School For You?

Starting this week, we will periodically pick specific disciplines or fields of study and ask some probing questions to help you decide on a career. Then, you will be in a much better position to choose The Best School For You! For example, if you believe “aviation” is what you want to pursue, put “aviation” and “degree” in a search engine as keywords. You will get many websites listing tens or hundreds of schools in the U.S. and thousands worldwide; an example is BestAviation.Net, which lists 2,513 aviation schools around the globe. And some sites will even aid in comparing different schools. As we have suggested in earlier articles, talk to trusted and respected relatives and friends about their suggestions; then, look at a particular school in more depth.

Other keyword examples might include: aviation and college; aeronautical and university; flight and education. For electrical engineering you could try: electrical and engineering; electrical and degree; etc. Remember, with most search engines if you want to search for a two word phrase (or more words), put quotes around the phrase, such as “electrical engineering” or “aeronautical university.”

Aviation?
If you are considering an education to be a pilot, here are some questions for you. Are you intrigued by anything that flies? Do you like or enjoy driving cars, trucks or motorcycles? Piloting an airplane, helicopter or glider is really the ultimate in manipulating a vehicle and involves much hand/eye coordination. Do you thoroughly enjoy video games? Do you like math, especially mental arithmetic? You do not have to excel at calculus; but you do need to make fast and accurate estimations; for example, in a car moving at 50 mph how far will you go in two hours (100 miles), how much fuel will you use in those two hours while consuming 10 gallons per hour (20 gallons) and when will you get to your destination if it is 600 miles away, you stop for an hour to eat supper and you left at noontime (1:00 AM).

Physical fitness is important. But uncorrected 20/20 vision is only required by the military. The best school for you will probably require a physical examination before entering any aeronautical degree program requiring flight training.

Electrical Engineering?
If considering an education in electricity, are you good at math? Have you taken both calculus and chemistry in high school? Did you excel at either or both? More importantly, did you enjoy either or both? Are you fascinated by the huge variety of appliances, gadgets, gizmos and electronics, which use electricity? Are you computer literate and really enjoy computers? Have you ever built or taken apart a computer or a radio? Did you try to understand why it did not work after you put it back together?

If you answered “yes” to all of these inquiries, pursuing a career in electrical engineering may be perfect for you. But you might also consider a computer science degree, or a major in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science.

Business?
If you are very well organized, enjoy math, tend to enjoy keeping accurate records of both your activities and your money, business may be for you. But do you also enjoy meeting new people? Can you relate to a variety of personality types? Have you ever been cheated out of some money? If so, did you get mad or just “chalk it up” to experience? Do you enjoy seeing others be successful, or is life all about you being successful? Do you work well with others? Do you mind working long hours if you have a reasonable expectation of making an excellent income five or ten years in the future?

Again, if you answered “yes” to most of these questions, a business school may be the best school for you!

Thank you for reading! See you next week, when we will address additional questions about other disciplines and fields of study.

If you are very interested in one, two or three schools and cannot decide which one to attend, why not talk to someone who has already graduated? With four or more years of experience, many alumni will already be registered as alumni and will have supplied much contact and other information about their current employment.

Review the school’s website for alumni. Usually, a prominent link will be found on the home page. If not, use the site’s “search” function with key words describing those former students with the major you are considering; for example, “alumni, bachelor, electrical, engineering” or “alumni, associate, geology, science.” Also, you might find alumni from the school through Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter; then search for alumni having the particular major you are considering.

To save you some time, our Internet research did not discover any directory of all alumni associations in any given state, nation or country. Most searches resulted in alumni pages or alumni associations, but only for a particular school. However, these web pages did have a wealth of information about graduates, as well as the usual mass of accompanying advertisements and links to associated web pages on the school’s website. We also discovered many sites and advertisement for companies offering to setup alumni web pages for high schools, colleges and universities.

Therefore, search the alumni pages, or alumni association pages, for the school you are interested in attending. Look for names, addresses and contact information from a few recent graduates (3 or 4), a few graduates that have been working in their fields for a two to five years (2 or 3) and then some (1 or 2) alumni who gradated eight to twelve years go. You may not be able to contact all of them; but it won’t hurt to try. After identifying yourself as someone seriously considering enrolling in XYZ University, here are some suggestions for pertinent questions:

• How well did the University prepare you for your current employment?
• Did the University help you find employment before and after graduation?
• Did many of your fellow employees also graduate from XYZ University? If not, what are some of the schools they attended?
• Do you plan on staying with your present employer?
• Do you plan on staying in your current discipline?
• What level of compensation can I expect right after graduation? How about two years later? Five years later?
• What course or courses taken at XYZ University were most helpful in your transition from college to your present employment?

Be sure to thank them for their time and wish them well in their future career.

Now you have some first hand idea about where you could be going and what you could be experiencing after graduation. That may be invaluable information, in some cases even a game-changer, in determining your college and career aspirations.

Thank you for reading!

Those You Know
Do not ignore relatives, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, neighbors or anyone else you know who is currently employed in a field of interest, even a casual field of interest. They may inspire you to investigate their chosen career field further; or, they may provide you with ideas about a related field.

Other Courses of Action
So you cannot think any other relatives, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, neighbors or anyone else you know. Then, your next step is to find people you do not know, but people already employed in careers you are considering. Start with those in your community. Retired airline pilots, carpenter, artists, plumbers, astronomers, pastors (although they should be rare), teachers, etc. Use the phone book, both white and yellow pages, to come up with names and people to call. Also, query those you do know about people they know in these fields.

Be polite, ask if they have a few minutes to talk and that you are thinking about becoming a …; and be specific. Do not say, “I’m thinking about carpentry.” Rather, say “I’m thinking about becoming a finish carpenter, who builds kitchen cabinets.” Do not say, “I’m thinking about becoming a pilot.” Rather say, “I’m thinking about becoming a pilot for a Part 121 carrier, specifically United Airlines.” Do not say, “I am thinking about nursing.” Rather say, “I’m thinking about becoming a cardiac nurse.” The idea is to express a keen interest in exactly what they are doing as a professional. Your interest in them as a person, as well as them as a particular professional, will inspire them to give you much more information and in some cases guidance toward that profession. Almost always, they will have a story to tell about how they got to their present status in the profession. Listen carefully and ask questions, such as “How did you first get interested in …” and “How did you get started?” and “What do you believe is the future of …?” And show some enthusiasm for the professions, even if you have little and are simply inquiring about a possible career field. If they are a true professional, they will be enthusiastic, energetic and have plenty of ideas for aspiring young professionals.

Do you have any small, large or community colleges in your city or town? Visit their Admissions Departments. Even if they do not have a major or even courses of interest, they may be able to give you some ideas. Look over the faculty and their backgrounds, possibly from the institution’s website. When you find someone with knowledge or expertise in a field or related field that may interest you, call or visit them, again being aware they may be busy at the time. Often faculty members are retired from specific professions and may have a wealth of information and guidance for young people; after all, that’s now their chosen profession – working with young people!

Don’t Give Up!
Use your ingenuity. Speak to people who, you believe, have more ingenuity than you do. Looking for a career, just like looking for a job of any kind, should be viewed as a full-time commitment or a full-time job in itself. There is something out there just for you. And there are people ready, willing, able and enthusiastic about helping you to become a laborer, worker, supervisor, administrator, expert or professional in that field. Often, all you have to do is find the right person and ask questions. By being polite, assertive and enthusiastic, people will respond! Now go for it! It’s an exciting world out there!

Thank you for reading!

One of the very first steps in determining the best school for you is choosing a major to match your interests, aspirations and goals in life. Should you choose a hobby, a singular intense interest, a special talent your possess, or your parents’ or other relatives’ chosen source of income? Or, maybe you should choose none of these; for you really don’ know. Well, here are some guidance, directions and ideas to think about.

Choosing The Obvious
A hobby, interest, talent or a relative’s chosen source of income may be a fine choice. However, think long-term. Do you really want to pursue a hobby you now simply enjoy doing? Are there facets of the hobby you really detest? For example, you build model airplanes, but have always been deathly afraid of heights. You love skateboarding, but a friend of yours was seriously hurt (or even killed) in a freak accident while skateboarding. You love to help mom in the kitchen, but working with you hands is not your favorite pastime.

You have always had an interest in a number of areas, but are not sure you really want to pursue them as a career. Ask yourself, “Do I want to learn more about …? Do I want to learn almost everything about …?” Regardless of the interest you pursue, there will often be aspects of it you would rather not pursue. However, that is part of becoming a professional or an expert. That is often why doctor’s specialize in a certain anatomy. It is why scientists specialize. It is why policemen or policewomen become detectives or administrators. It is why trained pilots become air traffic controllers or center controllers or one of many other aviation related fields. Do not think that just because you choose a particular major that you have to be an medical doctor, a police officer, a nuclear scientists, a pilot or some other stereotype profession. No education is ever a waist of time. Choose a major, but do not feel locked into a particular employment job. There are almost always many related fields, which you may eventually choose as a career.

You are a talented pianist and thoroughly enjoy playing. However, being forced to practice for hours each day is a major turn off! You have a talent for drawing images of people and animals; but doing it for a living would cause you to soon get burnt out, mentally if not physically. Just because you are talented in a certain area does not mean you have to choose that area as a career or even a major in college.

What about your parents’ chosen source of income or profession? Responsible parents will allow their son or daughter to make that decision. Eventually, you have to make your own choices in life; and this is one of the first and a big one. Can you envision taking over your mom’s or dad’s business? Would you want to do that? Is there a passion or any interest? If the answer to all of these is “no,” look elsewhere. If some are “yes,” consider it carefully.

Choosing The Not So Obvious
Study, investigate, research and read about a wide variety of disciplines. High school students who do this will often discover a hidden interest, or even an earlier talent used in a forgotten past hobby, which now could be pursued as a possible vocation. Search engines on the Internet are a wonderful tool. Be careful of the sources of your information; however, there is a wealth of data, facts, statistics, research findings, etc. on just about any subject.

What do you do in your free time? Who do you admire or aspire to be like? Have you ever been fascinated by how something works, how an airplane flies, why a star twinkles, why dogs bark, how a digital camera works or why a baby smiles or cries? Think of other similar questions and investigate or research the answers.

You Really Don’t Know!
And if you have not done so already, read, read and read some more. Too many high school students do not read enough. If eyesight, problems concentrating, self-imposed or parent-imposed time constraints or limited physical or financial resources are inhibiting your opportunities to read, find a way to overcome or address them. Do so with your parents, relatives, teachers, doctors or others. Choosing the unknown discipline for a college major may seem a daunting task. But embrace the challenge with all your might, resources and ingenuity. And don’t give up! The effort will be well worth it!

Thank you for reading!

In our introductory article we listed a number of “wrong” reasons to got to college. These included convincing arguments by parents, just having the funding in the bank or obtaining loan funding, wanting to party, finding a spouse and “all my friends are going.” Here we will add a few more, but also provide a number of the “right” reasons for going to college. Finally, we will explore the answer to “Is college right for me?”

Analysis of the Wrong Reasons
Quite naturally, parents want the best for their children. However, for some parents factors adverse to the best interest of the child may be present. One of these is pride. One or both parents, or other relatives, may have gone to college and secured an excellent career as a consummate professional. However, securing one of the many scholarships for high school seniors and convincing or even forcing a child to attend college, just because a relative wants be able to say, “Johnny went to …” or “Mary is attending …” could be one the greatest disservices a parent could provide for their child. Addressing parents for a minute, “Does your child want to learn? Does he or she hate school? Is there a long-standing predisposition against education? Does your child have a learning disability? (Actually, this is rare.) Does your child have a passion for something, anything?” Parents must capitalize on the answers to these questions and not depend on convincing the child, or debating the pros and cons of pursuing higher education.

“All my bothers and sisters (or my bother or sister) went to college, so I must go also.” This is another wrong reason. Other than identical twins, everyone is unique. A brother or sister may not even have similar interests, talents or natural abilities. Parents should encourage children to explore the possibility of pursuing further education beyond high school, but not demand it.

Materialism, or seeking the highest paying job, is often a motivation to attend college. And it is true that college graduates average a much higher income than those with only a high school diploma. It is also true that a bachelor’s or master’s degree today is often a minimum requirement for many employers; whereas a high school diploma was often the minimum requirement forty or fifty years ago. However, money alone is a poor reason for attending a college or university. And students with that sole motivation, along with students whose parents pay all college expenses, seldom excel or find the “job of their dreams” – because there actually is no dream and often no passion to achieve. The disappointments and frustration of becoming a “college dropout” can be temporarily devastating for both the student and the parents.

The Right Reasons
One key here is “passion.” Others are natural talents, keen and ever present interests, something I always wanted to try, wonderment about “what would it be like to…,” the sincere comment “Dad (or Mon), I want to be just like you!”, lifelong hobbies, aspirations to be a … or something Johnny or Mary spends an inordinate amount of time doing or pursuing.

Parents, watch your child carefully and note their fears and their joys. Do they love to be around people, or do they prefer to be by themselves? (Either could also be a key; and neither is necessarily bad.) Do they excel in school at any of the basics – reading, writing or arithmetic? Query your child’s teachers about this and anything else they may notice about your child’s intense interests, not matter how bizarre or unconventional they may be.

Finally, sit down and talk with one of the high school guidance counselors. Do this with the child present and without the child. If the guidance counselor does not know the child, or is having problems communicating with him or her, have the counselor visit your child’s individual teachers. Guidance counselors are often very insightful and intuitively may come up with some excellent suggestions; for that is their field of expertise!

Is College Right For Me?
For both parents and the student, the above considerations will often provide the answer. However, if this question still lingers, consider the following. Ask, “Someday, do I want to marry and have children? Do I want to be doing manual labor all my life? Do I have a passion, or even intensely enjoy, simply driving a car or a truck? (There are professional drivers of both, who are true professionals and are paid very well!) What do I enjoy doing more than anything else in life?”

If none of the above inspires any motivation to attend college, then I hope you (or as a parent your child), pursues a God-given talent, even if there is no passion or interest. Otherwise, a wide variety of miscellaneous manual jobs, and none for more than six months to two years, are very likely to be an accurate description of their future. And any hopes of successfully entering into marriage and raising a family may never be realized.

A college education is an insurance policy for the future! By whatever means, and college is probably and usually the best, learn and never stop learning. Life is too short to do anything less!

Thank you for reading!

There is a wealth of information available. But where do you start? The Best School For You has done some extensive research to locate some of the best sources of information on the Internet. Start with the section most pertinent to your current questions, but read through all of them. It will give you a broad overview of both the most important information and where to find it.

Listings and Statistics
CollegeStats.Org list colleges and universities by cost, size and demographics as well as by “specialty” – Historically Black, Christian, Catholic or Jewish – and “online” schools. Demographics include institutions with the highest percentages of men, women and minorities. Additionally, schools can be listed by state or by degree subject or type or by choosing campus & online, online or traditional campus. There is also a choice of listing accredited online colleges in a number of categories. The site is very well organized and easily navigated. However, most of the information is from 2007; so be aware that you need to go to the individual college websites, or some of the websites below, for more current information.

Excellent Overview with Useful Links
College Education Cost provides an excellent overview article along with numerous links for college education resources to help you make an informed choice in financing your education. These include such subjects as the average cost of a college education to financial aid award letters to comparing associate’s degrees with bachelor’s degrees to determining if a college degree is worth the cost and many more. In addition the website features an explanation of state-by-state college savings plans, including a description of the tax benefits of “State 529 College Savings Plans,” plan providers, qualified expenses and contribution limits.

Additionally, this website gives specific guidance on financing an education in business, health and nursing, online degrees (including online PhDs) and online colleges in general.

What Were College Costs 12 Years Ago?
This website, titled “Archived Information,” provides an excellent reference for the cost of education for the 1998/1999 school year. By comparing the graphs, charts, tables and other statistics from this period to those charged by your chosen or prospective school, you will have an excellent understanding of how much the cost of a college education has increased over the past 11 or 12 years. Additionally, categories of typical college expenses and a dissertation on tuition costs at public and private colleges provide you with additional useful background information. The site also includes a chart allowing you to determine how much you need to save each month to have $10,000 saved by the time your child begins college.

What Services and Loans Can Banks Provide?
This page of Charter One’s website on “Education Cost” provides an excellent overview of college education costs and financial aid information. Links to numerous student services provided by the banking industry are also included. A student loan specialist is also available through an 800 number. Be advised that other banks may provide similar services; so also check with banks you may already be doing business with and may prefer.

Current Useful Links and Guidance
This Financing For College website stood out by its simple but well designed and easily navigated format. The home page includes a well-written article providing a useful overview of financing options. The website also includes a listing of ten recommended college and university resources and a “contact section” for questions or comments.

A Global Perspective
Although published about 18 months ago (May 2010), Financing Higher Education Worldwide, subtitled “Who Pays? Who Should Pay?,” provides an excellent perspective as financial responsibility for higher education is shifting from governments and taxpayers to individual students and/or their families. Public revenue streams to support higher education are drying up around the U.S. and many other countries. Thus, today students are carrying a greater share of the cost of their higher education degrees. This book provides a comparative approach as different countries face the challenges of cost sharing. Click here for more information and ordering details from Amazon.Com.

Thank you for reading! If this information and the listed Internet resources were helpful, please let us know. Your comments and questions are most appreciated.

Are you being pressured to go to college? Are you naturally talented in some area? Are you exceptionally talented in that area, or do you have a great passions for it? Do you want to be “just like Dad”? Or, do you want to be “just like Mom”? Has another relative inspired you to pursue a particular career? Has another relative made you feel obligated to attend college, possibly to maintain a family tradition or expectation?

Family Pressures
Quite naturally parents and other relatives want the very best for you. And if they have a college education and have realized the significant advantages of obtaining an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees, then they may expect you to do so as well. And the same could be said for a close uncle, aunt, cousin or grandparent. Additionally, you may and should have great respect for that special relative, or relatives, and do not want to violate that respect.

Then there are college students who have always wanted to follow in the steps of a parent or other relative. A good friend of mine once said, “Dad is a pilot; he taught me to fly; and I have always wanted to fly.” That was 25 years ago and today he is a senior captain for United Airlines. However, he had two very significant advantages: his passion for flying and his relationship with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Regardless of your passion, nothing should be able to stop you from attaining your aspirations with both your passion and the Lord working together!

Taking Advantage of Natural Talents, Abilities or Passions
If you have natural talents, abilities or passions for a particular field of work, seriously consider enrollment in a school specializing in that field. Recognize that there are others who have had similar, maybe even identical, passions; and you can learn much from them. And very often they have become teachers, or have significant experience in that field, and now have a passion to pass their knowledge on to others. A college or university can provide you a great boost toward your chosen career; but unless you are extremely talented (e.g. a child prodigy), lucky (a term I use reluctantly as a Christian) or both, you still will have to work very hard to attain your aspirations.

Its Your Life!
Whether you want to study how to become a gunsmith, chef, journalist, pilot or something else, think carefully about your chosen career field. But once you have consulted with relatives, friends, high school counselors and teachers, people in that career field and college faculty and students at your chosen institution, it time to make a definitive decision. Make it boldly and put all your effort into pursuing that degree and career. As I have told many college students pursuing a flying career, “If you want it badly enough, you will attain it. But Part 121 carriers (major carriers like United Airlines, Delta Airlines and American Airlines and the U.S. military), only take the ‘best of the best’.” Today there are many pilots flying for Part 121 carriers, and many international foreign carrier pilots, that were my students in one capacity or another; and some of them I actually taught how to fly! For this former college instructor, there is no more rewarding experience than meeting one of these consummate professionals, whom I had the privilege of training many years ago.

Thank you for reading!

Having provided you with guidance on Web resources, reading and studying college websites and evaluating student online reviews of colleges or universities, we are now going to turn to guidance on actually visiting a traditional college or university campus. Even if you plan on attending one of the top online universities such as the University of Phoenix Online, you will benefit from actually visiting their traditional campus or one of their traditional campuses.

Preparation Before Arriving On Campus
Usually the Admissions Department (or a department with a similar name) will be your main source of information. Study their emails and mailed hardcopy materials carefully. Note any questions you may have directly on the brochures or mailings; or respond directly by replying to emails. You will often be directed to the institution’s website, so be very familiar with that website, especially the pages dealing with your selected internal school or college and those dealing with extra curricular activities you may be participating in when you start attending. (See my article no. 03 on ” Reading and Studying College Websites.”)

Also, learn something about the community where the institution is located. You may want to visit the downtown area, investigate local recreational facilities (e.g. a YMCA), churches or other businesses or points of interest.

What To Expect
Usually, the Admissions Department hires and trains students to provide prospective students with a tour of the campus. The busiest time of the year is early to mid summer before the next academic school year begins. However, tours can be done at any time of year. To increase your chances of having a personal tour of the campus, just with you and your parents or other close relatives or friends, let the Admissions Department know you will be arriving early in the day on a weekday; then if your trip to the campus is during the fall, winter or spring, you will probably obtain a personal guided tour!

If the weather is nice, expect to be traveling in an electric golf cart, open SUV or even a convertible vehicle. For poor weather, you will be riding in a closed Admissions vehicle. They will make every attempt to accommodate you and your relatives or friends, especially if they or you need extra assistance walking around the campus.

Who to See Most Importantly
After you have seen the campus highlights and have a good overview of the size of the campus, including the location of your classes, dormitory (if living on campus), the library and the student union (This may go by a different name; but each college one place where students frequently meet and socialize, usually where their are restaurants or food vendors.), make special note of the location of your chosen internal school or college. Make plans to return there after the campus tour is complete.

Most importantly, talk to students and faculty members within that school or college. Tell them you are going to be, or are seriously considering, attending in the near future and would like to know what to expect. Also ask students how they like the school, their instructors and their classes. If you know you are going to be participating in specific activities or sports, ask if they also are involved with those.

Finally, leave a little time to talk with your accompanying parents, relative or friends to get their impressions of the institution; this should not be just casual conversation, but meaningful impressions of the campus, the facilities, the faculty and the students. By putting all of their thoughts together with your own, you will have taken many of the steps necessary to determine if this college or university really is the best school for you!

All comments and questions are welcome and encouraged. Thank you for reading!

Student reviews are posts or blogs written by college students. Students seriously contemplating enrolling and attending a college or university should read these commentaries; however, it must be remembered that these are commentaries, not hard facts about the institution. Look for an overview of the institution including its history and trends summarizing the reviews or graphing or charting many students’ comments. If these are absent, do your own summaries or even plot your own graphs or charts. An example graph is shown below, chosen arbitrarily from the website called “Online Degree Reviews.”  (To be changed to picture of graph)

Summary of Reviews:
Category                    Score (0 worst / 10 best)
Overall                          7.3
Materials                      7.1
Teachers                      6.1
Instruction                  7.1
Support                        7.3
Value                            8.0
Technology                  8.1

Then, and most importantly, compare reviews between and among several institutions, especially your top two to five choices. You, you parents, or the entity funding your scholarship will be spending tens of thousands of dollars for a two year degree and hundreds of thousands of dollars for a four-year or higher degree. So make your choice wisely.

The Most Valuable Reviews
By far, the most valuable student reviews are those from students who have attended the institution for three or more years, who will usually be juniors or seniors and will be at least 21 to 22 years of age, but often much older. You will find few of these will have totally negative comments; and many comments will be well thought out and written clearly. Unfortunately, these will often be few in number; so you may have to wade through many reviews, unless they are easily identified as positive or negative, as those on the website Online Degree Reviews.

The Least Valuable Reviews
Conversely, the least valuable student reviews will be those from very disgruntled students who have attended for less than a semester or two, or less than one full academic year. Also, these reviews are often poorly worded, include profanities (if the institution or website editor allows them) and will be completely devoid of positive comments. Such reviews should not be completely dismissed; however, they should not be the sole or deciding factor about whether or not to attend.

Even the very best schools have students who give poor reviews. So expect to read them and use your best judgement, together with the above guidelines, as you evaluate their validity.

Those Most Likely to Write a Review
As you probably have guessed from the above text, most students providing a student review for any college have been very disenchanted with the institution. They feel Admissions mislead them, Financial Aid was not cooperative as they applied to get easy scholarships, instructors cannot teach and the Administrators are just out to cheat them out of their hard earned or borrowed dollars. They are thousands in debt and have little or nothing to show for it. In actuality, most have really not tried academically, have held a grudge against specific individuals and have no real passion for their chosen field of study.

Surprisingly, a number of colleges and universities do allow many extremely negative reviews to be published on their websites. I actually applaud these institutions for being willing to publish such comments and allowing the institution and the majority of its students (who often do not even take the time to write a review), faculty, staff and administrators speak for themselves.

Therefore, whenever possible actually visit the college or university well before enrolling; and if it is an online college or university, call or email a number of students enrolled in your degree program of interest. First hand direct contact with current students is invaluable. Communicate with them directly whenever possible.

Your comments and questions are most appreciated. Thank you for reading!

As discussed previously, this should not be your first step in deciding on a college or university.  Studying, contemplating, thinking and discussing your interests, passions, talents and career aspirations should be the first step.  Determine one to three fields of study you really want to pursue; then, reading and studying college websites is an appropriate next step.  Colleges and universities spend significant time, money and technological resources in designing and organizing these websites.  And most are very well designed, easy to navigate and very informative.  However, keep in mind they are selling a product – a $50K to $500K higher education degree or certification program.  Therefore, read, study and compare the degree or certification programs, as well as the environment being created for learning.

Priority #1 – Review Degree Programs

Usually you will easily be able to navigate to the listing of degree programs appropriate for your field of study.  Sometimes they are listed under the internal colleges or schools, which are actually divisions within the institution.  Other times they are listed by type of degree, such as Associate’s Degree (2 years of study), Bachelor’s Degree (4 years of study), Master’s Degree (6 months to 2 years of study) or Doctoral Degree (often 4 or more years of work and study).  Almost always, clicking on any link for an internal college or school will bring you to listings of degree types or certification programs.  Note that the parenthetical “years of study” are only traditional or expected time periods; some students may take shorter or longer periods depending on summer study or family, military or employment responsibilities.

Also read and study about related degree programs, i.e. related but not the same as your determined field of study.  For example, if you decided to get a Bachelor’s of Science (BS) Degree in Business Administration, also look at degrees in accounting, finance and business management.  If you decided to BS Degree in Aeronautical Science, also look at degrees in aeronautical engineering, aerospace physics or astronomy.

Decide Upon Traditional or Online or Both – Consider All Three

Are you computer literate?  A better question is, “Do you like computers, using computer programs and spending time online.”  If so, there are many colleges and universities offering degree and certification programs entirely online.  There are also many traditional colleges and universities (with students living on campus), which also offer online courses and often entire online degree programs.  Then, there are institutions allowing students to do both within a single degree program, which allows flexibility.  However, the two formats are much different; so be sure you are ready for the change of venue.

One exclusively online university, Jones International University, outlines the most important questions for students to ask when selecting an online college or university.  These are:

1. Is the university regionally accredited?
2. Are the online programs ones you are interested in?
3. Is the student experience positive?
4. What are the technical requirements?

Regional and national accreditation is critical.  Not only does this give you some assurance of the quality of your education and the facilities available, but employers will give more weight to your application if you graduated from an accredited university, especially one which is also well-known in its field of expertise.  A future article will deal exclusively with accreditation and regional and national accrediting agencies.

Other Factors Affecting Your Decision

Each college or university website offers a plethora of information about many facets of college life.  Other areas you should be familiar with are financial aid, student reviews (if available; check out other independent websites for a more complete listing), faculty members  biographies and descriptions of their careers in education, student extra curricula activities, benefits for military students and awards received by the institution.

Finally, be sure to compare colleges and universities having the same degree programs or certification programs matching your chosen field of study.  One of the best and most direct comparison tools is the website called “Online Degree Reviews.”  It is built and operated by a single individual in Canada who is dedicated to providing unbiased, quality and trustworthy reviews.  It is well designed and easily navigated to obtain review of the college or university of your choice.  In the next article, I will be comment and elaborate on how to evaluate student reviews.

Your questions and comments are most welcome and appreciated.  Thank you for reading!