Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"The only merit I see in for-profit schools is the fact that they've spurred reputable schools to expand their offerings,"
yes, and I think that many university programs in general are not keyed into what is happening in the real world in regards to what is needed for success in the working world. Years ago the for profit schools were an alternative because there were not that many community colleges around. Now, there are many and they are affordable. This should be a person's FIRST avenue as they offer training for the trades, etc. That many "universities" did not offer back in the day. Now the CCs have everything! I am amazed. Our local one has an excellent well regarded culinary program. and a truck-driving school, welding, surgical technician program, and much more.
also keep in mind that there are some brick & mortar for profits as well - these are emerging as the non-profits have managed themselves out of business ..... some of these you wouldn't be able to tell from their tax structure
I think the main issue people have are diploma mills/online universities .... while all of these tend to be for profit, not all for profits are like this .... there are some fairly good and respected ones out there and those that do fill a good niche for education
also as noted there are some absolutely crummy non-profits and many institutions are expensive and not exactly nurturing
it's an unfortunate part of our education landscape
Ouch! I read a lot of negative things about for profit schools, and this may very well be true. However, putting all for profit schools in the same box and label them as bad is just as unrealistic and ignorant. For starters, I will share my experience and also some of the outcome and successes as an Alumni from a for profit school.
When I took the decision to go back to school, I was puzzled by how hard the decision had become. I went to the local Community College in New Jersey and started attending classes. However, the quality of education was so bad that the benefits of attending such school did not out weight the decision, costs, or opportunity of attending a Community College. As a working parent, I couldn’t afford to waste my money on crappy education. So, I started looking at State run schools like Rutgers and Kean University as an option for the education I wanted. These State and nor for profit schools are not designed to provide education to working parents like me. Their schedule, location, course program, and entire business culture was completely disappointing. At age 40, I needed to graduate as fast as I could. Needless to say, I needed a program that provided the education requirements to sit for the CPA exam. Neither Rutgers nor Kean offered the situation I needed at the under graduate level. Therefore, these schools were not a good fit for me.
With that said, I graduated from Berkeley College in three years. I studied for the CPA exam and passed all four parts in the time frame I had planned. I was able to land a job before graduation. And after I passed the exam I went on to work for a Big Four firm as a Tax associate. You can bash for profits schools all you want, but as someone else mentioned earlier; there is an untapped market of students that State and not for profit schools continue to over look. I do have to say that schools like Rutgers University are too busy propping up their branding in order to become Ivy League wanna be schools. I also need to mention that when I attended Berkeley College I was able to take courses like Corporate Federal Tax, Forensic Accounting, Government & Not For Profit Accounting among other Accounting related courses that prepared me very well for the CPA exam. At Kean and Rutgers these courses were offered at the graduate level. So students must analyze what they need very carefully and not get too caught up on the branding of the school in question.
Last edited by Ed Guitar; 05-14-2011 at 08:46 PM..
also keep in mind that there are some brick & mortar for profits as well - these are emerging as the non-profits have managed themselves out of business ..... some of these you wouldn't be able to tell from their tax structure
I think the main issue people have are diploma mills/online universities .... while all of these tend to be for profit, not all for profits are like this .... there are some fairly good and respected ones out there and those that do fill a good niche for education
also as noted there are some absolutely crummy non-profits and many institutions are expensive and not exactly nurturing
it's an unfortunate part of our education landscape
That's exactly right! Additionally, as the unbalanced State budget continues to grow, the final cost of tuition will be passed on to you the consumer. So at the end, the real cost of education between State and private schools will look a lot closer.
Ouch! I read a lot of negative things about for profit schools, and this may very well be true. However, putting all for profit schools in the same box and label them as bad is just as unrealistic and ignorant. For starters, I will share my experience and also some of the outcome and successes as an Alumni from a for profit school.
When I took the decision to go back to school, I was puzzled by how hard the decision had become. I went to the local Community College in New Jersey and started attending classes. However, the quality of education was so bad that the benefits of attending such school did not out weight the decision, costs, or opportunity of attending a Community College. As a working parent, I couldn’t afford to waste my money on crappy education. So, I started looking at State run schools like Rutgers and Kean University as an option for the education I wanted. These State and nor for profit schools are not designed to provide education to working parents like me. Their schedule, location, course program, and entire business culture was completely disappointing. At age 40, I needed to graduate as fast as I could. Needless to say, I needed a program that provided the education requirements to sit for the CPA exam. Neither Rutgers nor Kean offered the situation I needed at the under graduate level. Therefore, these schools were not a good fit for me.
With that said, I graduated from Berkeley College in three years. I studied for the CPA exam and passed all four parts in the time frame I had planned. I was able to land a job before graduation. And after I passed the exam I went on to work for a Big Four firm as a Tax associate. You can bash for profits schools all you want, but as someone else mentioned earlier; there is an untapped market of students that State and not for profit schools continue to over look. I do have to say that schools like Rutgers University are too busy propping up their branding in order to become Ivy League wanna be schools. I also need to mention that when I attended Berkeley College I was able to take courses like Corporate Federal Tax, Forensic Accounting, Government & Not For Profit Accounting among other Accounting related courses that prepared me very well for the CPA exam. At Kean and Rutgers these courses were offered at the graduate level. So students must analyze what they need very carefully and not get too caught up on the branding of the school in question.
You are not the normal student for these schools. In the end there are always exceptions to the rule like yourself but that doesn't change the overall picture of for-profit schools.
You are not the normal student for these schools. In the end there are always exceptions to the rule like yourself but that doesn't change the overall picture of for-profit schools.
Well that maybe true, however, most students I met were working parents. And most of us were seriously focused in our goals. The difference between adult education and your normal College is the mindset of the student body attending the school. Then again, I'm sure that you are aware of this fact. Berkeley is far away from beign a party school.
With that said, I have to admit that their career services actually suck. And that is where your average State or not for profit school may have a better opportunity cost.
The problem is there are a lot of capable people, many leaders in their field/business that have the experience, the knowledge, the common-senst, the drive, the passion but no degree. As time has progressed and having this piece of validation and paper has become more mandatory these people are told they need it to get past a growing and lowering glass ceiling. They make tough choices and many go to these for profit schools on the promise of a degree without maybe doing due diligence in research. They simply want the paper to move up with their job.
Companies are far to much valuing this paper and not really valuing a person's passion, commitment and experience.
No one is forcing people to go to for-profits. If people stopped going, they would well, not make a profit and go out of business.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
