How to find a reputable online college?

Going back to school is a great way to improve your career. And it goes not only for the wage increase, but you will usually have more options available for switching jobs or gaining promotions. There are lots of advantages of online colleges, they save time and money allowing many people to get a degree who would have been unable to if they had to depend on traditional college environments. Before investing your resources in an online college degree, you should make sure you are not attending a diploma mill.

Avoid Diploma Mills

Yes, it's true: online you can literally buy a degree. All you need is to pay accurately and get a degree without having to take classes or do homework. In some cases you can even pay for transcripts or graduation certificates. And even if it sounds appealing, they are almost never accepted for a job, and will not be accepted if your profession requires any type of licensure or accreditation. All you have is an expensive waste of time.

How do they attract people?

Generally degree mills say that they are giving degrees based on your life experience, or based on academic standards that are well below that of legitimate universities. Sure, getting a degree won't take you too much time but it will not help you when nobody will accept it. Nowadays online you find many legitimate college degrees that are quicker and cheaper than brick and mortar schools.

It's just wrong

For the majority of people, purchasing a degree from a diploma mill is simply a morally wrong decision. When most people earn their degrees, buying one from a diploma mill is just an expensive and mostly unsuccessful way to cheat the system. Even if your work experience alone would have qualified you for a job, many employers will turn you down due to a diploma mill degree. Moreover, in many states it is illegal to attempt to apply for a job using a diploma mill degree.

Luckily, there are things you can do to find legitimate online college degrees:

• Start with looking for accreditation websites. The online university should be accredited by a legitimate accreditation agency. That means, it should be listed on the university website, as well as the accreditation agency website
• Reviews and comments of former students are very useful, so search for them
• Compare the program of the chosen school with those ones of the others
• Make sure the degree requirements match what is typically expected for other similar programs

Make sure you invest enough time in research and you can be sure to find online college degrees that are reputable, legitimate, and will help you get farther in your career.

It's Never too Late with Online Colleges

No matter how long it's been since you graduated high school, it's never too late to go back and get your degree. Whether you've been out of school a few years or a few decades, you can still attain the education you missed out on when you were younger.

More Adult Students

While it used to be odd to see an adult on a college campus carrying a load of books, that sight is very common today. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of adults over the age of 25 who went back to school increased by 42 percent. This is a higher rate than for those under 25 years, which increased only 34 percent.

Not everyone enrolling is in their 20s and 30s either. Many of them are in their 40s and on up into their 60s. You might even find a few students who are older than that, and are perhaps in their retirement and want to do something they missed out on when they were young.

You'll find these adult students in both online colleges and in the traditional classroom setting. Some of them are enrolled part-time while others carry a full class load. They may have a full-time job or they may have quit work to focus on studying full-time.

Everyone's Reasons are Different

The reasons that adults choose to go back to school are as varied as their ages.

• You'll find some who wanted to go to college but didn't have that option when they were young. For them, this is the realization of a dream. They may be the first person in their family to graduate college.
• Other adult students have lost their jobs and need to find a new skill set for today's work force.
• Others are stuck in dead-end jobs with no hope of advancement or salary increases. Still others choose a college degree that was practical instead of what they really wanted to do.
• There are also many students who want to advance in their current field or company and see an education as the way to do that.

The growth of online colleges has helped make a college degree a reality for many adults. You'll also see many college campuses changing to cater to the growing adult student population. It proves that it's never too late to go back to school and get the degree you've always wanted. Make your first step to making a college degree with this helpful recourse.