Picking a School

The next step in this process is to figure out what school you need to attend. This can be a daunting task but research is your best friend. Also, don’t let a school talk you into enrolling in a program. Before you walk through the door, you need to be armed with the facts. First and foremost, you need to choose a school that has the proper accreditation. Years ago I met a women at my community college who was pursuing a nursing degree. One day she mentioned to me that she had originally started attending a different school for nursing. She had started without doing research and she later found out that while her school was accredited, the nursing program was not. She had only attended 1 semester but once she began talking to other nurses/healthcare professionals, she realized that a degree from that school would only hinder her career.

What school should I attend?

This is dependent on what you want to do. Remember last week when I asked if you needed skills or a degree? Well if you just need skills, you should speak to your HR or supervisor about what those are, and where they can be obtained. Computer skills are easy to develop with so many online options out there (some even free!) you can gain these skills quite easily.

Trade/Career Schools

Some occupations require trade licenses and school, i.e HVAC techs or mechanics. If this is your career path, find out if your local school district has an adult vocational school. In my area, the city offers classes in everything from cosmetology to medical assistant. Their classes tend to be cheaper than career schools. There are sometimes extra steps involved in going this route though. For instance, cosmetology school usually have their own salon where real clients pay reduced rates for services. This provides students with hands on training that is required to sit for the state exam. This is not the case with the vo-tech here and many cosmetology students have to get an apprenticeship in order to get the hours required to take the exam. This apprenticeship they actually have to find on their own. Still, it is about 10K cheaper to go the vo-tech route.

There are career schools that specialize in a certain vocation. These schools can be pretty pricey but if that is the only option available, you need to be very careful about the school you choose. It goes back to accreditation. If they are not accredited, don’t waste your time! Also, ask them if they provide any sort of job placement. Find reviews online or try reaching out to people in that field for guidance.

Community College

Most community colleges have a combination of trade programs and academic programs. You will get an associate’s degree or career certificate here. Accreditation still needs to be verified – both the school and the program/major. Community college is also a good option if you have plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree. An associate’s is basically the equivalent of your freshman and sophomore year at a traditional four year college/university. You cam save a lot of money going this route. A 3 credit English class at my community college was about $400. A three credit class at my University is about $1400. Huge difference! Most community colleges also have guaranteed transfer programs with four year schools. I didn’t bother to apply to multiple universities when I graduated from community college because my school has a guaranteed admissions program with my university. I knew I was automatically accepted to my university’s business school based on the fact that I had completed my associates with a certain GPA.

College/University

If a bachelor’s degree or higher is needed, this is the route you will have to go. Colleges and Universities are probably the most expensive route. We can break this category down to for profit schools vs non-profit schools. I talked about the dangers of for profit schools here.  so I won’t got into that. I will say, not all for profit schools are created equal so do your research! Whichever college you choose, it should be accredited. Read more about accreditation here.  The big accreditation for colleges and universities is regional accreditation, but as mentioned above, some programs may still need to have additional based on industry standards. Again, research is your friend!

Next Week: Paying for school