How to Find the Right For-Profit School
For-profit schools are privately owned institutions that offer education in specialized fields. Some students choose to attend a for-profit school instead of the traditional four-year college because it may cost less and take less time to graduate, and a variety of courses can be taken online at some schools (enabling students to get a degree without having to give up their full-time job). Schools such as University of Phoenix, DeVry University and Drexel University offer certificates, associate and bachelor's degrees in two years or less. Available courses differ among the schools. The most popular are allied health, computer graphics, engineering and criminal justice.
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Instructions
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Visit the U.S. Department of Education's College Navigator, an online database, to find statistics such as graduation rates, accreditations and admissions policies of the school you are interested in. Also visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's website to see if the parent company of the school is publicly traded. If so, they are required to disclose information such as lawsuits and investigations. The schools listed in the intro are all accredited; University of Phoenix, for instance, is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and its nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
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Schedule an appointment to visit the school. Talk with current students to find out if they are being provided with a good education.
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Meet with a recruiter to learn the admissions process. Discuss the cost of attending the school, including books and fees. Ask the recruiter for a list of employers that hire graduates, what the job placement rate is, what the qualifications are for instructors and if your intended field of study requires students to take a certification exam upon graduation.
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Contact the certification agency if the field of study requires graduates to be certified, and ask if graduates from the for-profit school are permitted to take the exam.
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Investigate a local community college. They may offer the same courses at a lower cost.
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Contact potential employers to see if they hire graduates from the for-profit school.
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Make a final decision about attending the school and start the admissions process.
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Tips & Warnings
The two main accreditations for post-secondary schools are regional and national. Historically, regional accreditation has focused on the resources that are put into the student body and faculty, such as the level of education of teachers and size of the school's library, while national accreditation takes into consideration the result, including graduation and career placement rates.
Credits from schools that are not nationally accredited may not transfer to four-year educational institutions.
Not all employers hire graduates from for-profit schools.
Not all for-profit schools are accredited.
Not all for-profit schools are recognized by certification agencies.
References
Resources
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