Proprietary Poison - Let the buyer beware! (masters degree, schools, accreditation)

[sheena12]

I am not sure why people flock to proprietary schools in this day and age, but what I knew and took for granted as TRUTH - seems to be something that this generation of college applicants are not learning nor understanding.To be fair, when I went to college, they did not advertise on television.

Well the lecturer in me wants to make this simple-
There are three broad types of colleges and universities that exist:

!.. PUBLIC - this group includes all of the state colleges out there.Think. Now you know of one Also city colleges such as CUNY in NY. Were ever you live your local Community College is in that group of schools.
2.PRIVATE (including religiously affiliated colleges and Universities) This includes any and all universities that while not run by the state, adhere without a fuss to the guidelines set out by the regional accrediting agency.
Some of what is overseen by the regional accreditation groups include, but are not limited to evidence of financial solvency .
One would not want to find out that the college that they have faithfully attended is going out of business. This is happening with a small mid-western college where a dear friend teaches. Their saving grace is that this school is working tirelessly to assure seats for it's students at similar colleges, an they are taking responsibility for what happened.So while the situation is far from ideal, the student will have the opportunity to graduate with their cohort group - OR to transfer to any other college that would accept students that meet the second school's criteria THAT IS FROM A REGIONAL ACCREDITATION BODY.
3. PROPITIATORY COLLEGES these are not to be confused with trendy, cutting edge or progressive schools schools such as Goddard in VT Bard in NY,Evergreen in WA State, Reed, Oberlin, Skidmore or others like them.
Proprietary schools are not progressive at all. There are colleges that opene and shut their doors on many occasions. Some of them claim to answer to a "higher authority" and say that the Lord Jesus Him Self told them not to seek approval from the world or man but only from God himself. Now I have a real hard time thinking that God is happy with the fact that money is being siphoned away from a deserving middle class students, so that some insanely egotistical Televangelist or preacher can ride around in a Lincoln Navigator.

TO SUM THIS UP FOR YOU - AVOID ALL FOR PROFIT SCHOOLS AS ONE WOULD THE PLAGUE.

FAMILIARIZE YOUR SELF WITH YOUR LOCAL REGIONAL ACCREDITATION Agency and apply to colleges and universities who adhere to these standards and do not make a mockery of education.

I can not think of one class offered by a FOR PROFIT College, nor one major than can not be taught to you by a regionally accredited` college.

There are some colleges that are accredited that are offering incentives such as a mac computer (of I forget the name) but ask your local under 25 person

If you or your parents have any questions about what I have written, or questions about a college please feel free to send me a DM. I will be happy to help!

[sheena12]

Also, to make things even more clear AVOID ANY COLLEGE THAT IS NOT REGIONALLY ACCREDITED.
That is the accreditation that MATTERS and the ONLY one that will assure you that your credits willl transfer, or you will be able to continue at grad school.

[citizen477]

Also, beware of schools that tell you that you can get a masters degree in less than eight months and so on.

Think about it. You are pursuing a "masters" degree. This means that you should be able to comment on, write and think about issues surrounding your degree of study without having to consult a text. This requires hours of study, reading and interacting with other students.

With that in mind, can one really do that in eight months, particularly, if it is a highly technical degree?

[nicet4]

Originally Posted by sheena12

I am not sure why people flock to proprietary schools in this day and age.....

Because they will get accepted.

All you need to be accepted to a proprietary school is a pulse and the ability to get a student loan. Most students will never obtain the degree or certification they were going after but they will end up in serious debt to the federal government.

Think of it, a debt that can never be discharged. You will owe this your entire life and if need be the federal government can even take it out of your social security check.