Admissions Checklist

All-

Good afternoon! Today I have been requested to type up a list of questions to ask a school when looking to start a new degree. At many schools, Enrollment Counselors (or Admissions Counselors, or whatever they are called) tend to be 'sales people'. Some schools are VERY guilty of this. At the end of the day, go with your heart. If you do not trust the person or what they are telling you- don't deal with them. Either pick another school or ask to work with a different counselor. YOU are the client/customer. Don't do anything you don't feel comfortable with. And if something really sounds off, ask for documentation on the school or Department of Education website to prove why they are asking you for something.

THE LIST (what you are looking for is bulleted under the question)
1. What is your accreditation?
               *Regional Accreditation is the highest form of education you can get in the US. That doesn't mean that National accreditation is bad, it just has different requirements. The biggest two differences are nationally accredited degrees are not as respected and do not allow for continuance in a master program. If you are looking to continue through your academics to master or doctoral level work, it MUST be regional not national.

2. How long has your school be established?
              *There is nothing wrong with having a school established for a short amount of time. The two things you are looking for here is 1. to challenge the Enrollment Counselor that they really know about the school and aren't just selling you and 2. that the school has a history. Being established for 100 years is great, but it doesn't mean the education will be better than one only 10 years old. It just means there's a different story. If history and tradition is important to you, ask more probing questions here. See if the enrollment counselor really knows what they are talking about.

3. Where is the home office or main campus? (If it's somewhere other than where you are sitting, ask how long they have been at that location.)
             *If you are at a remote location (or satellite campus) ask which student services you are able to get on site v. which services will have to be handled out of the main office. Some people want to be face to face on all of their interactions. If you are not at the main campus, this is something you will have to consider. Additionally, if they are new to the area, they might not know the market and trends for the area. Consider this upon entrance.

4. What is your tuition?
              *Money is always an issue. If they don't give you a direct answer to this question, keep asking. There should be no reason to hide the cost of the program. Additionally, ask what fees are on top of the tuition fee and if the books are included in the cost or if that is separate. The last thing you want is to think you're going to get a degree for less money than they end up billing you. There are schools out there they will try to lie to you about tuition. It's dishonest and unfair to the rest of us in the education business that they do this. So push until you get a definitive answer.

5. What are the admissions requirements? (If you cannot meet those requirements ask what other options you have to get accepted into a different program and transfer in.)
             *The most important thing is, can you get accepted. If there is a GPA requirement you cannot meet, what can you do to raise it? You want to make sure that you don't waste your time and energy trying to get into a school that will not accept you from the start. This happened to me. I applied to a grad school to get my MA in Art History. When I received my denial letter I was shocked. I had met with a department chair and everything. When I questioned her she said, "well we require three years of full time work experience". I said, "Why didn't you tell me that when I met with you? I wouldn't have wasted my time writing essays, filling out applications, getting transcripts, taking the GRE, etc." I was so upset and annoyed, I never went back.

6. What is the course format? Is it online? On campus?
             *What is most important to you? There is no right or wrong way to take classes and online classes are not transcripted any different than in class courses. So which one are you considering and how will it fit best into your schedule?

7. Online: Are there required days or times to log in?
             *Find out. If you are looking for the flexibility of online and then you are still required to be 'in class' at a certain time, is that really giving you flexibility?

8. On campus: What are the days and times for the class?
              *How does it fit into your schedule? Simple as that.

9. On campus: Is the schedule flexible? If it's one night a week, does every semester or class have to be on the same night?
              *Some campus based programs require you to commit to a night the whole way through your program. What if life happens? You cannot ever guarantee that you will be free every Wednesday night from now until graduation, so why would you start a program that requires that? Ask if that is a requirement what your options are if you later need to change nights.

10. Do you have any required study groups or group work?
               *As someone who has never participated in a study group, I can only speak to what has been told to me. The problem with study groups and group work is there are always the workers and always the followers. People who tend to work well in these types of programs either have no problem doing all the work, or are the student who lets someone do all the work for them. If this is something that bothers you, don't go to a school that requires it.

11. How many students are in each class on average?
              *No matter what way you look at it, you learn more in a smaller class. Lecture halls of hundreds of students where your instructor doesn't know your name is harder to learn in than a class of 10-15. When your faculty knows your name, your background and your history, you have a better working relationship. Additionally, the bigger the class, the less feedback on your work and less individual attention...

12. Are the instructors working professionals in the field? Or are they academics?
               *Now there is nothing wrong with either one. But decide if this is something important to you. If you are looking to find a job in a related field, it's easier to talk to someone who is currently working in the field. Sometimes the academics forget how the course content applies to real world. Remember all of the times in your high school math class you asked, "And when am I ever going to use this again?" If your instructor is working in the field they can say, "When running a blah blah blah report... " Or whatever. Now people who are academics mean they are full time professors. Their main job is teaching. That means they are experts in the field but they might not always be on top of current trends. It never hurts to ask so you know what to expect.

That's my list. If you can think of any other questions please let me know! Once again I'm here to help so please don't hesitate to ask questions, provide feedback or give me more topics to blog on!