Schools that are really businesses...

[kuronosan]

University of Phoenix, Westwood, National American University, Brown-Mackie, etc.

Seriously, what the fuck? No, I don't want to pay your non-government-assisted 10x the cost of a (real) university tuition so I can go to school for business, medical assisting, criminal justice, or autocad. Fuck you and stop calling and sending me letters.

What are some peoples' opinions of these schools? I hate that they pretty much exist to make money off of people who want to rush through school with a half-assed degree. Does anyone attend one of these schools and, if so, did you have a good experience or did it hamper your ability to get a job with whatever degree you obtained?

I talked to someone at one point who told me they applied to one of these schools and (for one semester) owed $20,000 in non-accredited hours and loans... and on top of that, when they finally finished, they couldn't even get a job.

Thoughts? Universities should be better, yea? Why do people even bother with these schools that are more like businesses and less like schools?

[Korietsu]

Why would anyone go to an online college in the first place? None of the universities give out accredited bachelors degrees (and if they do, they're near worthless anyway). You've got the time to sit on your ass at home, that means go to a real 4 year, see what they offer in distance learning. Take those classes. Show up 1-2 times a week for a class in the evening or early morning, and fix your schedule if you want a real degree.

[Kiro]

"So you're a dental assistant?"

"Yeah."

"Where'd you go to school?"

"University of Phoeni-"

<Gets up and leaves>

[Tyche]

I had read in a business article a long while ago (so stats my be off a bit), that 98% of CEOs couldn't care less if an employee holds a bachelors degree from an online university or a brick and mortar university. I think it was 98%. It was really staggering.

[Darus Grey]

Why would anyone go to an online college in the first place? None of the universities give out accredited bachelors degrees (and if they do, they're near worthless anyway). You've got the time to sit on your ass at home, that means go to a real 4 year, see what they offer in distance learning. Take those classes. Show up 1-2 times a week for a class in the evening or early morning, and fix your schedule if you want a real degree.

This may be hard to believe, but if you already have a career, going back to school is a nightmare because of class scheduling, online classes relieve that nightmare by allowing you to watch lectures, etc when you can(or at work!lulz). Which still isn't an excuse to go to any of those schools, there's plenty of "real" schools that offer the same thing.

That said, online classes are a scam, you will learn as much reading wikipedia articles about the subjects. Unfortunetly wikipedia is not accredited(yet) and doesn't offer shiny paper.

[Fahren]

DeVry is another don't go to that piece of shit school.

[Demosthenes11]

lol, college elitism makes me laugh.
I'm sorry, but your undergrad degree is the same no matter where you go to 99.9% of employers

[miokomioko]

My college was a business. It sucked in ways that you could imagine, but it was also (at least at one time) quite prestigeous in its field (professional photography). When it got bought by a larger company (CEC) it became the commercial shit it is now. I got out just as the shit was hitting the fan. They almost got their accredation pulled for advertising false job-placement statistics. Regardless of what went down, I have a Bachelor's Degree, and I can say, without lying, that I have a Bachelor's Degree. This is something that people without Bachelor's Degrees can't do. Period.

[Darus Grey]

lol, college elitism makes me laugh.
I'm sorry, but your undergrad degree is the same no matter where you go to 99.9% of employers

Pretty much true, there's only two tiers.

Ivy League(or "new" ivy league schools)
and
Everything else...it baffles me why people pay so much to go to private schools, if they aren't in that top tier then it's the same as everything else.

[Maaglin]

What you fail to recognize is that all schools are businesses.

Money, it makes the world go round. Sooner you figure this out, the sooner you can stop QQ'ing about life.

[kuronosan]

No one is QQing. And while schools are businesses, the discussion is about the difference between schools that actually aren't government-assisted who overcharge for an underwhelming education and schools that are who don't.

I guess you failed to recognized that. I mean, it's not like I don't go to a school and know this myself.

[Correction]

I don't have Labor Dept. statistics next to me but I'm willing to bet that it matters where you went to school even less in this economy than in years past. It won't matter what school you're from, nobody is giving good jobs to wet-behind-the-ears BA/BS recipients anymore. Have fun working for shit pay until you get lucky/connected or pay your 5 years of upkeep to get the halfway-decent jobs still left for you.

[Jaybar]

Or don't wait until you graduate to start your career in your business field? Like Correction said, make connections, and that starts (well, in it's simplest form) with internships/studying abroad/other stuff I am neglecting.

Also, Fraternities and Sororities help if you do your research and don't join a "party" house.

[Beckwin]

it's the "go to college so you can get a job" mentality present in this topic that gave rise to these for-profit joke schools. when educations started getting reduced to resume-requirements (that are about as significant as the applicants address, unless it's an Ivy school), it only makes sense that teh free market would jump all over that.

[Azkarin2]

I feel like undergrad schools only matter when trying to get into a graduate degree (and then work experience/references are weighted much more heavily). If you have similar candidates then maybe it comes into play but not really. There is definitely a tiered system although I think there are 3. Ivy League-like schools, all other name recognizable schools, and everybody else.

I went to high school with a girl who was very similar to me in personality, education, etc and she went to Wake Forest and I went to UGA (in state so I got HOPE scholarship- pays for everything pretty much). After 5 years, we are both graduating with the same degrees and are going to do the same job for the same employer. The key difference? I paid $30k for my entire education and she paid $250,000+.

[Demosthenes11]

it's the "go to college so you can get a job" mentality present in this topic that gave rise to these for-profit joke schools. when educations started getting reduced to resume-requirements (that are about as significant as the applicants address, unless it's an Ivy school), it only makes sense that teh free market would jump all over that.

r u mad bro

[Jefe]

Eh, my supervisor was getting a degree from the University of Phoenix. @ the water cooler we were like "wtf, is she serious?" I guess for a tradeish type of career it isn't a problem. However, I think I'd get the stink eye if I told a colleague I got my BS in CE from one of those schools.

[Korietsu]

This may be hard to believe, but if you already have a career, going back to school is a nightmare because of class scheduling, online classes relieve that nightmare by allowing you to watch lectures, etc when you can(or at work!lulz). Which still isn't an excuse to go to any of those schools, there's plenty of "real" schools that offer the same thing.

That said, online classes are a scam, you will learn as much reading wikipedia articles about the subjects. Unfortunetly wikipedia is not accredited(yet) and doesn't offer shiny paper.

Can't get a job at half the places I want to work at without an accredited degree, much less not having taken the PE exam.

You either make the time to get the degree, or you don't, and if you get a trash degree, its not even worth its weight in paper if you come under scrutiny.

[Beckwin]

r u mad bro

naw bro i got mah bachelerzzz w/o debt and now i haev a jerb thats only req is to have a bachelerzzzzzzzzzzzz

[_chuchu]

Only matters if you plan to work for someone else the rest of your life