10 Questions to Ask For-Profit Online Colleges

10 Questions to Ask For-Profit Online Colleges Not all for-profit colleges are scams. In fact, some offer students flexibility and a career-oriented learning style that can be difficult to find elsewhere. On the other hand, some online for-profit programs rake in big money while leaving students with lots of debt and few job prospects. If you’re considering enrolling in a for-profit online college, hold off on signing that first tuition check until you get answers to these ten questions: 1. What is the colleges accreditation status? You’ll want to make sure that your school’s accreditation is recognized by the United States Department of Education. The most transferable form of accreditation comes from the six nationally-recognized regional accrediting bodies. 2. Is the school now (or has it ever been) on one of the federal financial watch lists? The federal government recently released a list of colleges that are being monitored due to concerning financial behavior. Although the list isn’t comprehensive, you’ll want to make sure your college isn’t on it. 3. What is the colleges graduation rate? Find out what percent of students who start the program end up graduating. If this number is particularly low, it’s a good indicator that the school may not be providing a quality experience or enough student support. 4. How many students who graduate from the program are able to find a career in their field? The federal government is starting to crack down on for-profit programs that charge a lot for tuition and leave students in the dark when it comes to career prospects. Make sure your investment is worthwhile - you’ll want to know that a reasonable percentage of graduates in your program are able to find employment. 5. How long does it actually take most students to graduate from this program? It’s likely that the average is longer than 4 years. But, if students are taking 6-8 years to earn an undergraduate degree, that might be a sign to look elsewhere. 6. How much student debt does the average student in this program take on? Tuition prices may be posted. But, how much debt are students actually accruing? When you factor in student fees, additional coursework, textbooks, and graduation charges, expenses start to add up. You don’t want to graduate with a photography degree and $100,000 of student debt. Make sure that your debt won’t be too challenging to manage with your expected income. 7. What kind of access to career development does the school offer? Traditional schools tend to offer job fairs, employer meet-and-greets, resume reviews, and other career development options. Does your for-profit program provide any services to help put your degree to use? 8. What other schools or parent companies is this for-profit program connected with? Some for-profit schools are part of larger conglomerate of schools. Sometimes, when a for-profit program fails, it takes new life with a new name. Do a bit of research into your college’s history and make sure they’ve been thriving for a while. 9. What are the advantages of choosing this school over a non-profit alternative? Some for-profit schools offer legitimate advantages. They may be able to let you focus on your career rather than saddle you with too many general ed requirements. Or, they may be able to help you finish a degree in less time and with less expense. However, this isn’t always the case. Find out by comparing your for-profit options with similar non-profit and public colleges. 10. How does this school track their statistics? Don’t just ask the above questions to a telephone recruiter and call it a day. Learn where and how they are collecting this information. Then, double-check the numbers with outside sources. Don’t rely on any school to give you the full picture without your own research to back it up. Jamie Littlefield is a writer and instructional designer. She can be reached on Twitter or through her educational coaching website: jamielittlefield.com.

Kanji for Tattoos

Kanji for Tattoos Since I receive many requests for Japanese tattoos, especially those written in kanji, I created this page. Even if you are not interested in getting a tattoo, it can help you to find out how to write specific words, or your name, in kanji. Japanese Writing First of all, just in case you are not familiar with Japanese, I will tell you a little bit about Japanese writing. There are three kinds of scripts in Japanese: kanji, hiragana and katakana. The combination of all three are used for writing. Please check out my Japanese Writing for Beginners page to learn more about Japanese writing. Characters can be written both vertically and horizontally. Click here to learn more about vertical and horizontal writing.   Katakana is generally used for foreign names, places, and words of foreign origin. Therefore, if you are from a country that doesnt use kanji (Chinese characters), your name is normally written in katakana. Please check out my article, Katakana in the Matrix to learn more about katakana. General Kanji for Tattoos Check out your favorite words at the following Popular Kanji for Tattoos pages. Each page lists 50 popular words in kanji characters. Part 1 and Part 2 include the sound files to help your pronunciation. Part 1 - Love, Beauty, Peace etc.Part 2 - Destiny, Achievement, Patience etc.Part 3 - Honesty, Devotion, Warrior etc.Part 4 - Challenge, Family, Sacred etc.Part 5 - Immortality, Intelligence, Karma etc.Part 6 - Best Friend, Unity, Innocence etc.Part 7- Infinity, Paradise, Messiah etc.Part 8   - Revolution, Fighter, Dreamer etc.Part 9 - Determination, Confession, Beast etc.Part 10 - Pilgrim, Abyss, Eagle etc.Part 11 - Aspiration, Philosophy, Traveler etc.Part 12 - Conquest, Discipline, Sanctuary etc Seven Deadly SinsSeven Heavenly VirtuesSeven Codes of BushidoHoroscopeFive Elements You can also see the collection of the kanji characters at Kanji Land. The Meaning of Japanese Names Try the All About Japanese Names page to learn more about Japanese names. Your Name in Katakana Katakana is a phonetic script (so is hiragana) and it does not have any meaning by itself (like kanji). There are some English sounds that dont exist in Japanese: L, V, W, etc.Therefore when foreign names are translated into katakana, the pronunciation might be changed a little bit. Your Name in Hiragana As I mentioned above, katakana is normally used to write foreign names, but if you like hiragana better it is possible to write it in hiragana. The Name Exchange site will display your name in hiragana (using a calligraphy style font). Your Name in Kanji Kanji is generally not used to write foreign names. Please note that although foreign names can be translated into kanji, they are translated purely on a phonetic basis and in most cases will have no recognizable meaning.   To learn kanji characters, click here for various lessons. Language Poll Which Japanese writing style do you like the most? Click here to vote your favorite script.