Back when I was in grad school, the question often came up about the validity of online schools as a source for a person’s undergraduate education. These discussions took place a while ago, and since then things have changed a bit. For one, it seems like online schools have become more established as valid schools; that is to say that more people recognize them as such and maybe there are no questions anymore about their validity as good places to attend college. It’s like my adviser once said, online schools probably provide just as good of an education as any other schools, the problem (especially at the time of our discussion) is that nobody recognizes them.
Believe it or not, your school’s reputation matters. And the visibility of a school (or distinction among its peers) should matter to you when you are making a choice. Here’s one question to think about as you are looking around:
Which school is going to prepare you the best for what you want to do? If you want to be a psychologist, for example, which school is the best for doing that?
These are good questions to answer so you can begin to shape your own strategy for making a college choice. Knowing your school’s reputation matters. Not only will you recognize this, but when you begin to build your career, other people will recognize the quality of your education as well. . . based primarily on the reputation of the school you attended.
So how can you determine the quality of your school’s programs? Well, one way is to begin to look at the faculty. Who’s teaching and what have they done in their own professional careers that makes them uniquely qualified to help you reach your own goals. Good instructors matter. Not only can they provide you with the knowledge and skills you will need, but they can provide you with contacts out in the professional world.
Another way to gauge what your school has to offer is to look at its program accreditations. For example, the American Psychological Association (APA) accredits clinical psychology programs. This accreditation is a statement about the psych program in which you might be interested. It tells you that the major association governing the quality of such programs approves what your college’s program is offering. If you visit the APA site, you will probably be able to find out more about what their accreditation means and why your school is better than others, etc. When looking at accreditations, remember, there is a difference between program accreditations and regional accreditations. A regional accreditation just means your school meets certain standards to operate as a school . . . program accreditations say something specific about each of the programs your school offers.
The quality of programs matter, and that doesn’t just apply to things like law school and engineering . . . it applies to vocational programs as well. If you want to be a mechanic, then find the school that is the best at turning out great mechanics. Understand what distinctions make the program great. And research how the school and its programs will help you reach your own goals.
This is really great info. I think that a lot of times students aren’t engaged in what makes a school a best fit for them. But it’s important to know what you want. And if you want to be the best at something, then you need the right experiences to help you develop the skills that will make you great. The right college matters.