What You Should Know About Going to College Part One (U.S. Specific)

Part One

In my opinion, most people of average intelligence or greater should attend college and get a degree. There are many colleges out there, and you may see a lot of ads online and on billboards across your town advertising the advantages of attending a specific institution of higher education. With so many colleges vying for your attention, time, energy and money, there are a few things you should know before even contemplating the allocation of your resources towards post-secondary education:

Accreditation

Is the college you plan to attend accredited by a legitimate accrediting agency? There are a lot of phony accrediting agencies out there and phony colleges that pretend to be accredited, but the legitimate colleges and accrediting agencies are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. To learn about accreditation in the United States, click here.
Unfortunately, some people have found they have a worthless degree at the end of their college program at an unaccredited institution because the place they attended is not legitimate. If you are planning on attending a college, do your due diligence in making sure your short list of schools includes institutions that are all legitimately accredited. To see a listing of all legitimate accrediting agencies, go to U.S. Department of Education Recognized Accrediting Agencies

Nationally or Regionally Accredited?

If you know exactly what you want to do and are sure you will be doing it for a long time, then a Nationally Accredited Institution may be right for you. These places of learning are usually for technical or trade schools and often offer specialized training in specific vocations. You have probably seen many of these places advertised during daytime television for such things as medical billing, medical assisting, dental assisting, computer drafting, cyber security, criminal justice, etc. If you want to get into a specialized trade, then a Nationally Accredited school may be what you want. Degrees from these institutions, however, are not as prestigious or recognized equally in the academic world as compared with degrees from regionally accredited schools. You would almost think it would be the other way around, huh?
Regionally accredited institutions of higher learning usually offer a well-rounded education that gives you training in writing, history/social studies, mathematics, psychology, computer technology, literature, philosophy, arts, physical fitness, business and science in addition to the courses in your major. General requirements for each institution vary. Religious colleges will often require some classes in their particular set of religious beliefs. I personally recommend attending a regionally accredited institution, but I am biased. The college I attended for my baccalaureate, Liberty University, is accredited by SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) and the college I currently attend, Corban University, is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities; both of which are legitimate regional accrediting agencies.

 

Paying for College

If you live in the U.S. then the federal government can help you pay for school. Let's face it: most Americans do not save enough money for college or have the money to pay for it outright, so they must rely on grants and loans to pay for their education. You can get information about federal student aid at www.fafsa.gov where you can apply for a Pell Grant (money you do not have to pay back) or Stafford Loans (money you DO have to pay back). I suggest approaching loans with extreme caution: debt can be crushing and suffocating. For certain aid programs, like the Pell Grant, you will have to qualify financially.
There are a variety of other grants and loans you can apply for, also, but ensure you go through scrupulous agencies for these. Some places might try and trick you into a scam or high interest loan. I could go on and on about student aid, but it would take a long time.
Scholarships and grants can be found on such sites as www.fastweb.com. College 'ain't' cheap, but financial help can be had. Even your intended college can help find you grants and scholarships to pay for school at their institution.
As for me, I paid for college using the military benefits of active duty tuition assistance and the Post 9/11 (Chapter 33) GI Bill to pay for college, in addition to the Pell Grant for my undergrad. I have no student debt. Being in the military is a major commitment and requires a lot of sacrifice, but it does offer major benefits such as money for education.



To Be Continued...

This  blog post is becoming quite the novel and I need to move onto other things for now. I will be back later with part II, which will hopefully conclude today's blog about attending college. Readers, feel free to comment and leave suggestions. You can also ask me questions about education; I am quite knowledgeable :-)