should i go for unaccredited school?

[jefhatfield]

here is my problem:

i want to finish my second and final year of graduate school, but i am in the process of getting a small office/storefront for my computer business so i do not have lots of cash

the private schools in my area are very expensive, though highly regarded, and the only nearby public school is still unaccredited though very affordable...cal state university monterey bay...and their accredidation may come one day...some say in five years but it could take ten years or more

i don't want to finish online at a cheaper accredited state school either so that option is out...for now

what should i do?

1) take out loan and finish private graduate program and really be in debt along with startup of store?...with startup of store being 25k or more and second year of computer science/telcomm mba being another 25k or more...i hate to see that kind of debt!

2) make the computer store main priority and just finish inexpensive, public, unaccredited master's degree anyway to save money?

3) rethink my options and finish at an affordable, accredited online school like san jose state university or cal state dominguez hills?

note: the two private universities have the same professors as the unaccredited public state school since the area i live in is small and rural...monterey...south of san jose, ca, usa

[bousozoku]

I would personally take the courses I needed, as I could, at San Jose State, just because of its reputation. I would not think of going to an unaccredited school unless it had such a great reputation in the industry that everyone who cared knew about it.

[neut]

isn't going to school about learning?

go where YOU feel comfortable. if you have learned what you needed/wanted to know, then you will have succeeded.

don't let the norm get in the way of your life.



it is YOUR life...isn't it?

[evildead]

Unfortunatly the quality of your education often matters less than the quality of the schools football team. Name reconition counts for a lot. I would do what ever it takes to go to the accredided school. You you don't want to have to back track later on in life. That takes time. I know people that have had degrees in Computer science for several years and have not found jobs. They are returning to school for a teaching credenshal now. Their shool was not a big name. It is accredided but it does not even have a football team. I am still working on my degree and Im all ready working in industry. I make more money full time in the summer/ part time durring the semesters, than all my friends that finnished school all ready. I got in to my company through an guy that got his degree from my university. My shool is not a big one... but I found someone that went there too. Thats way USC can boast 100% job placment... its alumnni hookups. Education...no major...no training.... no.... football, name recongnition, and who you know.... YES YES YES.

-evildead

[macsurfer]

Originally posted by evildead
Unfortunatly the quality of your education often matters less than the quality of the schools football team. Name reconition counts for a lot. I would do what ever it takes to go to the accredided school. You you don't want to have to back track later on in life. That takes time. I know people that have had degrees in Computer science for several years and have not found jobs. They are returning to school for a teaching credenshal now. Their shool was not a big name. It is accredided but it does not even have a football team. I am still working on my degree and Im all ready working in industry. I make more money full time in the summer/ part time durring the semesters, than all my friends that finnished school all ready. I got in to my company through an guy that got his degree from my university. My shool is not a big one... but I found someone that went there too. Thats way USC can boast 100% job placment... its alumnni hookups. Education...no major...no training.... no.... football, name recongnition, and who you know.... YES YES YES.

-evildead

Hmmm, if the way you write and spell is what your school taught you, I'd be asking for a refund...........

[arn]

Originally posted by neut
isn't going to school about learning?

No... learning is a fortunate side effect

Going to grade school, middle school, and high school is about learning.
Going to college may be about learning, but a big name goes a long way.
Going to graduate school is about getting a degree... and where you go does go a long way regarding how people/jobs view you and consider you.

arn

[BongHits]

Originally posted by arn


No... learning is a fortunate side effect

Going to grade school, middle school, and high school is about learning.
Going to college may be about learning, but a big name goes a long way.
Going to graduate school is about getting a degree... and where you go does go a long way regarding how people/jobs view you and consider you.

arn

if you go to a school that has no accreditation you'd be just as well off buying one of those college degree offers you get in the mail, they're really just as good as each other. No accreditation means the school doesn't provide (or is not recognized for providing) the skills used in your future industry. If a future employer sees you went to an unaccredited school you have as much chance of getting in with a GED.

[jefhatfield]

Thanks guys...i have been on vacation and on the way back i am typing on a free cal poly computer en route back north to monterey...being form a small town does not always give me perspective

i will go for a name

while the two options i have are private and local, at least they are accredited and sometimes make top tier and/or peterson's list of top colleges in usa

..but nothing like the two real names in california (which have the connections to match)...stanford in northern california and universtiy of southern california in...southern california)...embry riddle, berkeley, ucla, davis, and cal tech are also good, but not known for it's connections...but at my age, i would rather buy a house down payment than go for a two year master's at stanford or usc, which with living costs go for 100k+ ...200k+ with forgone salary...maybe in next lifetime

[Backtothemac]

Jef,
Take out the student loan, and go big! Don't go for an unaccredited school. You will regret it big time. Trust me on that. I know people who have done it and they rue the day.

Go big.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by Backtothemac
Jef,
Take out the student loan, and go big! Don't go for an unaccredited school. You will regret it big time. Trust me on that. I know people who have done it and they rue the day.

Go big.

jefhatfield of stanford...man that has a ring to it...i will have to get loans from about five countires to pay for that...200k, buddy

and last time i checked, dot.coms are way down

gotta go out and take some tourist pix now..thanks...see you when i get back to my part of the state


jhatfield

[bombensington]

Right now I go to an unaccredited school. I made the biggest mistake of my life coming here. (It's a long story. Yes, I know I could have chosen another school, blah blah blah, but an admissions rep said they were "fully accredited" and lied, he is since fired for this, so now I'm the one who is really f-ed.)

Anyway, so now I'm stuck at this school - because if I transfer, I can't take any credits with me. And after I finish, I have a worthless degree because no one really cares about an unaccredited school. Some schools I have talked to and might go to after I am done (I am sticking to bigger schools from now on that are a little more trustworthy) have all advised me to stick it out here, at least I'll have some sort of a degree, even if it's crap. So I will end up spending even more money to make up for this. Ouch.

This is your decision, but make sure you weigh everything first - think about your life after the computer shop - is this something you will positively be doing for the rest of your life, or will you want to do something else later on, possibly? Having an accredited degree might help you more in the long run.

[sickboy_osX]

what? they didnt tell me school was for learning at the University of Utah....I should go and get my cash back, they made it seem like college was about being drunk, and screwing hot chicks! I waisted four years for nothing?? LOL j/k

Personal Story Time.

back in 1996 there was a Boy named Shon, he lived in Southern California, and his parents were mormon, so they made him a deal. try out their Alma Matter at a small school known as BYU. So he did, and did well academicly, but socially he got drunk, and screwed hot chicks. Well they didnt like that so they kicked him out. Shortly After, BYU almost lost their Accrediation for Computer Science and EE.

He then went to a school 50 miles away, and it was known as the "U" or the University of Utah. he went there and graduated in May of 2000.


and now everything is good, except for the fact he cant find a job.....because he uses a mac.

The End

I wouldnt do it, I have heard from some of my friends who stayed at BYU, that they have had hard times getting jobs in the Tech Sector because of who they graduated from.

I would just take the loan and run and be happy

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by sickboy_osX
what? they didnt tell me school was for learning at the University of Utah....I should go and get my cash back, they made it seem like college was about being drunk, and screwing hot chicks! I waisted four years for nothing?? LOL j/k

Personal Story Time.

back in 1996 there was a Boy named Shon, he lived in Southern California, and his parents were mormon, so they made him a deal. try out their Alma Matter at a small school known as BYU. So he did, and did well academicly, but socially he got drunk, and screwed hot chicks. Well they didnt like that so they kicked him out. Shortly After, BYU almost lost their Accrediation for Computer Science and EE.

He then went to a school 50 miles away, and it was known as the "U" or the University of Utah. he went there and graduated in May of 2000.


and now everything is good, except for the fact he cant find a job.....because he uses a mac.

The End

I wouldnt do it, I have heard from some of my friends who stayed at BYU, that they have had hard times getting jobs in the Tech Sector because of who they graduated from.

I would just take the loan and run and be happy

LMAO...too funny

my story is similar

mr teacher thinks i'm a genius so he lets me take college classes in 10th grade

one day i go to biz skool because i know it's the easiest major for someone who hates math and is bad at reeding and riting...three years later i drop out because i become the marijuana king but then i become really religious

next two years are as an english major but i spend too much time being religious so i get married to avoid another semester...don't do this kids

then i work for years and years and then i go back to skool and get 2 degrees because the skools are in the same city

age 16-30 in a nutshell and the 14 year plan on getting AA and BA degrees...that way, any spelling lessins i get in skool are clearly forgottin



ps- don't feel bad if you get off to bad start since the dean and founder of the econ dept at the school spent her undergrad years racking up Ds and Fs but she ended up with an ivy league master's degree once she straightened out

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by bombensington
Right now I go to an unaccredited school. I made the biggest mistake of my life coming here. (It's a long story. Yes, I know I could have chosen another school, blah blah blah, but an admissions rep said they were "fully accredited" and lied, he is since fired for this, so now I'm the one who is really f-ed.)

Anyway, so now I'm stuck at this school - because if I transfer, I can't take any credits with me. And after I finish, I have a worthless degree because no one really cares about an unaccredited school. Some schools I have talked to and might go to after I am done (I am sticking to bigger schools from now on that are a little more trustworthy) have all advised me to stick it out here, at least I'll have some sort of a degree, even if it's crap. So I will end up spending even more money to make up for this. Ouch.

This is your decision, but make sure you weigh everything first - think about your life after the computer shop - is this something you will positively be doing for the rest of your life, or will you want to do something else later on, possibly? Having an accredited degree might help you more in the long run.

good luck on your school...while my undergrad degrees are accredited, the tech school i went to where i got my certification was unaccredited...but now they are accredited...finally...new horizons, the world's largest certification school...tried to block my tech school's accredidation because of local competition...new horizons in tech schools acts like microsoft does in the IT world

as far as the tech shop goes, i will probably want to teach once i am a senior citizen like a lot of the senior citizens do at the junior college...it's their last hurrah before they die...and most of the junior college professors have their master's degrees (like i want) and the average age of them is 60-ish..every semester i take a class there for fun but i hear another professor has died and some bench or tree or plaque is dedicated to them...man, in a few years, it will look like a cemetery

i also have a friend who is in the last decade or so of employment (having been with uncle sam for probably 25 years) and he too wants to get a master's and teach once his job forces him to retire in his early 50s..he he...but he is so high strung i wonder if he will make it even that far

[idkew]

I have talked with many business professionals, and they say that if it is not a *great* school, don't bother. that may not be the case 100% of the time, but from what i have been told, save your money and get you business going.

-Ben

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by idkew
I have talked with many business professionals, and they say that if it is not a *great* school, don't bother. that may not be the case 100% of the time, but from what i have been told, save your money and get you business going.

-Ben

absolutely...my small business is first since the education (master's degree) is in the support role of it...but i do know some people who work so they can rack up many degrees and certs...one friend i know has 4 or 5 degrees culminating in a phd (after nearly 30 semesters i think his family made him get job i think) and his roomate has 3 degrees and 2 certifications (that way he can stay in america on student visa)...and one man i mentioned before has 9 certifications (i don't know his excuse...he he...he must have a world record...i don't know the last man directly, but he is well known and an oddity

as far as good school goes, i look at peterson's best 335 schools, us news and world report, and the gourman report to get an idea on good schools

as far as "great" schools go, out here on west coast, the one's that turn heads are usc and stanford...there are probably fifty other highly regarded schools (mentioned in the above publications) but they still get a ho-hum response and sometimes it's funny to see an immigrant/out of stater brag to a northern californian, "i graduated from uc or cal state"...and the northern californian answers, "so who didn't?"

about one in five walking down the street is a product of the california public university/college system so it is impossible to not run into a cal, st. something, davis, or sjsu alum just walking down the street or buying groceries

but maybe twice a year, i will see a car with a stanford or usc alumni sticker or plate on it...and it's usually some mercedes...but even if its a banged up volkswagen like i sometimes see, those two schools have this air of mystique to them

it would be like seeing the stanley cup in person and touching it...it gives one the chills...the other day while i was on vacation with wife in malibu at a greek restaurant, a whole bunch of hockey players and hollywood actors busted in carrying the stanley cup and everyone in the restaurant got to touch it or photograph it...it was a treat and i am a baseball, basketball, and football fan...but seeing that silver cup up close made me dizzy...my wife thought it was a bongo drum when the screaming crowd ran into the restaurant with it

[mymemory]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
what should i do?

Dude, I'm 27 years old and every time I think more like my mom when I was 15 or so. Finish school first, do it well. When I was young I faild one year in school and I have to change to another school with a inferior quality level. Now all my exfriends of the first school have very good working positions when I am here living with my parents trying in ten years to get to the same position I should be if I only.... do you get it.

Now, the education you are gonna get it as long you wake up in the morining, but that doesn't waranty anything. In your case I can hold on just one more year in that school, just that year is gonna make a big difference in your life.

Secund, do not rush, when I was 24 I though I was old and I needed to stle down, not I'm 27 and I feel like I'm 17 (but with more experience).

Finish your eschool, if you are talented to open a business now, you will be in the future, one year in nothing but that traing (the school) is one time only chance.

Just to give you a real example, when I was 23 I had the chance to become a proffesional model (I'm 6'3, etc, etc), that oportunity came to me two months before I started my Multimedia school in Orlando, So, I was in Venezuela and I could do two things:
1. Spend $3.000 (at list) going to Brazil for 2 month to try to figurate in the fashion model media.
2. Spend $50.000 in education in Orlando FL.

I took Orlando and I'm so glad, today I have a proffesion, I have something in my mind, the modeling is a big risk. I'm a good loking guy when ever I go, I do not need to be in the cover of the magazines

Take the education, the good one, that degree is gonna work very well later on on live I promess you. This business you want to start now is gonna be peanuts. I you start your business you are going to get stuck there for years, live is long and endless, do not rush or push things. Some time we have to learn when to let things flow.

That is my advice

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by mymemory


Dude, I'm 27 years old and every time I think more like my mom when I was 15 or so. Finish school first, do it well. When I was young I faild one year in school and I have to change to another school with a inferior quality level. Now all my exfriends of the first school have very good working positions when I am here living with my parents trying in ten years to get to the same position I should be if I only.... do you get it.

Now, the education you are gonna get it as long you wake up in the morining, but that doesn't waranty anything. In your case I can hold on just one more year in that school, just that year is gonna make a big difference in your life.

Secund, do not rush, when I was 24 I though I was old and I needed to stle down, not I'm 27 and I feel like I'm 17 (but with more experience).

Finish your eschool, if you are talented to open a business now, you will be in the future, one year in nothing but that traing (the school) is one time only chance.

Just to give you a real example, when I was 23 I had the chance to become a proffesional model (I'm 6'3, etc, etc), that oportunity came to me two months before I started my Multimedia school in Orlando, So, I was in Venezuela and I could do two things:
1. Spend $3.000 (at list) going to Brazil for 2 month to try to figurate in the fashion model media.
2. Spend $50.000 in education in Orlando FL.

I took Orlando and I'm so glad, today I have a proffesion, I have something in my mind, the modeling is a big risk. I'm a good loking guy when ever I go, I do not need to be in the cover of the magazines

Take the education, the good one, that degree is gonna work very well later on on live I promess you. This business you want to start now is gonna be peanuts. I you start your business you are going to get stuck there for years, live is long and endless, do not rush or push things. Some time we have to learn when to let things flow.

That is my advice

wow, that is really cool...there are not too many male models around where i live...the girls would be all over you

where i went to high school, this one boy became a model and now he plays the villain on some soap opera and at his tenth year reunion back in 1994, women from all over the us tried to bust into the high school reunion because, in his genre of daytime tv, he is really famous

but as far as famous people from my old high school, he is the only one since 1947 and we are all extremely proud of him...our high school is 95 percent white and he is black and while he was at our high school, he was very popular

[bousozoku]

Originally posted by bombensington
Right now I go to an unaccredited school. I made the biggest mistake of my life coming here. (It's a long story. Yes, I know I could have chosen another school, blah blah blah, but an admissions rep said they were "fully accredited" and lied, he is since fired for this, so now I'm the one who is really f-ed.)

Anyway, so now I'm stuck at this school - because if I transfer, I can't take any credits with me. And after I finish, I have a worthless degree because no one really cares about an unaccredited school. Some schools I have talked to and might go to after I am done (I am sticking to bigger schools from now on that are a little more trustworthy) have all advised me to stick it out here, at least I'll have some sort of a degree, even if it's crap. So I will end up spending even more money to make up for this. Ouch.

This is your decision, but make sure you weigh everything first - think about your life after the computer shop - is this something you will positively be doing for the rest of your life, or will you want to do something else later on, possibly? Having an accredited degree might help you more in the long run.

I suppose that you could always move out of the area so that no one will know the school or care about its accreditation. If i were looking to hire someone, I would look at the school, but if I did not know something specific, I would not ask about it.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by bousozoku


I suppose that you could always move out of the area so that no one will know the school or care about its accreditation. If i were looking to hire someone, I would look at the school, but if I did not know something specific, I would not ask about it.

that is so true..as an hr person, there were schools and tech schools/training programs i had no idea of

national schools would be like duke, georgetown, university of texas - austin, university of connecticut, university of miami, notre dame, etc...most with one or more good sports teams...sad but true

often better schools, at least better than most i mentioned above, like cal tech, oberlin, amhurst, school of visual arts, embry riddle, cooper union, risd, etc. are not as well known because they are not big in sports