Back to School Series #2 - Finding the Right School for You

Finding the Right School for You

I am not going to focus on traditional schools during this guide since this is not something I have experience with, other than attending a community college. I’ll also be referring to 

colleges/universities as school during the rest of the posts. When researching any online school, I went to message boards from Facebook, Instagram, the school’s website…whatever gave me access… to see what previous and current students liked and disliked about the school (you would be surprised what you can learn from other students!). You can get an idea if this school would be a good fit for you based on comments left.

Part of choosing a school is thinking about what you want to achieve in school and possibly after you graduate (Yes! Remember, this was part of the last post, “Getting your Mind Right”. Yep. You’ve just got to make a choice at this point.).

Here are some questions you can ask yourself while researching:

• ·         Why do you want to attend?
• ·         What major interests you?
• ·         Is the school paper based or test based?
• ·         Is the school accredited? (Don’t overlook this!)
• ·         What values does the school have values that align with your own core beliefs/values?
• ·         How does this school support students with disabilities? (The recruiter should be able to answer this and you may find this under “Student Disability Services”)
• ·         When is the application deadline?
• ·        How much is tuition (are you in state or an out of state resident?), books and the application fee? Are additional materials needed?  Can you get a student ID (Yes! Ask for one!)
• ·         What school activities are available for online students?
• ·         Will you be able to go to a graduation ceremony? (Yes! Ask this question too)
• ·         Does the school offer online students (on campus) classes? (Some students like to be able to attend classes at their school of choice.

Record some information down on a sheet so you could do a comparison! I have created a college comparison sheet to help you do just that! (Just copy and paste onto a word document.)

College / University Comparison Worksheet

College / University	Tuition	Application Fee	Application Deadline	Major	Accredited	Additional Materials Needed	Paper or Test Based
	$	$			Yes       No	Yes    /   No	Paper / Test
	$	$			Yes       No	Yes    /   No	Paper / Test
	$	$			Yes       No	Yes    /   No	Paper / Test
	$	$			Yes       No	Yes    /   No	Paper / Test

While searching, take your time researching this part of the process. I know it seems tedious, you might even feel pressured to start as soon as possible. Resist the urge to rush! This method will benefit you in the long run. It will prevent you from making mistakes that could have been avoided.

Below are some resources to help you in your search!

Search Resources

Look up the school of your choice on: https://www.ed.gov/accreditation

The Department of Education can pull up any school from the link provided. Click on the school you entered and it will give you the most recent update that school. It will let you know if they are accredited and when they had their accreditation renewed. This is important is because certain states have criteria for certain majors if you’d like to transfer those online credits to another school (traditional or another online school). This can also vary by state. **This is also a question to ask your recruiter.

Why is accreditation important?

A school that is not accredited will be worth no credit value to transfer. Meaning, if you choose to transfer your credits over to another online school or a traditional school, the credits will not be accepted and it will be as if you have no credits to transfer. Then, it’s like start from the beginning with no credits. The school which you are applying to, ask the recruiter if the school is accredited and by whom. The Department of Education website shown above also tells you when the accreditation was in effect. Research this to save time and heartache in the long run.

Here is another great source to use for college rankings at

US News: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges

This website allows you to look for percentage of students that were satisfied with the school, how many students are accepted and the graduation rate for that school in the previous year. If there is a low graduation rate, then I usually place that school last on my list. Why? Because it shows me that there is either not enough support or resources for those students or there is another underlying problem. Sometimes you can ask the recruiters why this may have shown up in data you gathered. You may even have a few recruiters say you ask LOTS of questions. (Which is a good thing for you!)

Best Colleges.com

http://www.bestcolleges.com/database/

Here is another great resource to use to see where your school would rank in the United States! There are also great articles on this website that discuss everything from health to financial aid steps you can take to help with your search.

Already thinking about financial aid? Go to https://www.ed.gov/

There are articles at this website that talk about loans, grants (Yes!Free Money) and educational data.

Speaking to your Recruiter

So you have finally researched your school and now you have chosen your online school. Congratulations! What is next?

You need to get in contact with an enrollment counselor or a recruiter!

Before you talk to an Enrollment Counselor, write down detailed questions. Write it ALL down. Remember that sheet I talked to you about earlier? Have it handy during the conversation. Because as quick as you can remember something, you might forget with learning about other things from your counselor. Here are a few questions to ask:

·         How much is the application fee? (Can it be waived? Yes. Be bold. ASK.)

·         What are the next two enrollment periods if I apply now? (This will determine when you start.)

·         When is the deadline of the applications due? (Ask if the application fee can be waived.)

·         What are the expectations of the program of my choice?

·         Do I have to register for the classes or will I be automatically registered?

·         Where can I locate the syllabus? (Yes, this is important too. You will see later.)

·         Do you have a support group or department for students with special needs?

·         Do you have additional resources for me to access materials if I have a special needs (This really should be mentioned in the conversation since you will find out if it’s a good fit.)

·         Did you attend the school here? If you did, what did you major in? What professors did you have that I might have? (YES, ASK. This can make the difference between passing and failing a course. They can also give you inside scoops on what the professor likes and dislikes that students do with work/or participation.) If so, ask, if you can be placed with the professor they recommended to you.

·           Is the school paper based or test based? (In my school, I did not have to take ANY tests other than when I first registered for class. I wrote numerous papers for school.)

·         How much is tuition?

o   If I am in state, is the tuition different because I am an online student?

·          How much is textbooks and the application fee?

 By this point in the conversation, the counselors will see that you are taking this seriously and may even develop a connection with you because of their recommendations. 

Okay, here is where it gets tricky. The one question that is dreaded but MUST be addressed. 

How can I afford this???

 Most likely, you will get another counselor, a financial aid counselor to help you with this process.

Tune in for my next post on Navigating Through Financial Aid.