How to recognize diploma mills abd degree mills

Once you’ve made up your mind to continue your education online, you already know it is an important decision. It is very critical though, that you conduct a proper and thourough research in order to get the most out of your online education. In this blog post I’m giving you a few tips and advisories to help get you started off just fine.

Check an online college / online university for proper accreditation

The first thing you should look at when you decide to get an online course or degree program with an online coillege or online university is their accreditation. You should know that more then several, so called “diploma mills” or “degree mills” are there to claim to be accredited but upon closer inspection, you will find that many of those are not accredited at all or accredited by a company that has been set up by the online college or online university itself in order to claim a level of legitimacy to its courses and programs. Be very aware and diligent in contacting the online college or university, asking for proof of their accreditation and legitimacy. Don't be afraid to get in touch with the accreditation awarding body in order to verify that what the online learning insitution claims is in fact the truth. Quite a lot diploma mills / degree mills don’t expect prospective students to actually  conduct due diligence and background research on them, so this can be to your very own advantage. The United States Department of Education (DoE) maintains a website on which they list all recognized awarding accreditation bodies and the Distance Education Council (DEC) will be very willing to help you to verify a particular college's or university’s accreditation.

The degree program instructor, is he suitable?

Examine the course catalogue of the respective online colleges / universities with a detailed eye in order to get a sense of what kind of programs they have on offer. In their rush to monetize on the explosion in the global online education business, more then a few colleges and universities, mostly the “disputed” one’s, will have diploma and degree programs on offer in areas prior to being a reputable or experience faculty. Does the instructor / professor actually have any professional and academic experience in the field that he or she teaches? Don’t feel afraid to contact the college / academy / university or the instructor directly and ask them for more information. You may also cross check this information accordingly. This should be able to help you in getting a better, more solid sense of what the institution and its instructors are like, whether you trust them anough to attach yourself to one of their courses or online degree programs.

Red alerts signs of diploma mills

Now let’s talk about red alerts. One of the best, and most obvious indications that an online university is a degree mill (or diploma mill) is the following: Their admission fees and policies are too easy, too good to be true. Okay, there are many excellent online colleges with relaxed admission procedures but diploma mills are more then often just plainly interested in taking money from potential students as tuition or fees. If the college or university is makes it too easy to grant you credits based upon past courses or life experience without any form (or little) careful consideration... when the tuition fees are at such low rates that it really doesn’t compare to other similar programs on offer at other online colleges or universities... than that is usually a very clear sign that the online learning institution is best to be avoided!

Conclusion

While aiming to earn your college diploma or university degree online can be a very rewarding life experience that is certainly worth all the effort, it’s also quite important that you know what to look for when you choose an online college or university. Thorough background checks are vital because there are a lot of crooks out there who simply want your money and don’t care about anything else. Be aware and vigilent.

How to maximize study time efficiency

Nowadays, the daily study schedule for many young college- and university students could easily compete with several top level executives and ministers work schedules. With on-campus activities and work study programs taking up much of the student’s time, when do they actually get to focus on their studies? Much too often students get overwhelmed with the huge amount of work that still waits for action at the end of the day, week and semester. College and university students often look at study time as being one big sum and get easily distracted and mentally exhausted before they even start to do their homework. In order to solve this problem, it may seem difficult to change daily schedules, so instead we should place a larger focus on study techniques that can actually enhance effectiveness and efficiency.

Below are three  proven effective study techniques that will help any student, whether in high school, college, university or online study course to maximize their available study time, to reap better results from the little time there is to focus on the actual studying work..

Start by separating and segmenting study time: Break it up!

Break the actual study time up into smaller bits and pieces. It doesn’t matter much how brilliant of a student you are... A concentrated attention span (the average mind focus timespan) lasts only about 20 to 30 minutes. So what you need to do is to break your two or four hours of total daily study time up into 20 minute sessions. Take a 10 minute break in between your sessions during which you stand up, walk around a bit, get something to to eat or drink (preferably “brain-power foods and drinks”!) and then get back to your desk for another 20 minutes of mind-focussed, quality study time. This method not only helps you to create “spaced repetition”, which is quite vital for retention, but as well helps  you to make study sessions less demanding, less stressful and less daunting. See it like this, if you want to climb the Mount Everest it may well seems like an impossible task, but if you could cut it in eight pieces, less high and less steep... Well, then it’s far more easy to accomplish!

Random practice

Another great and effective tool to help you maximize your available study time: To use random practice. When you review lists, data, ideas or concepts don’t go in exact order. Skip around and in effect force your mind to pull from an entire group of information. This helps you in understanding the purposes and meanings behind your study subject, instead of just its place in line. It also encourages your brain to think “out of the box” which is very useful in the process of actually understanding the subject thoroughly. The simplest way to implement random practice is by studying together with a classmate. Everyone interprets things in a different way, and by getting to know a slightly different interpretation you can enhance your own understanding about the study material in great ways. Which brings me to:

Sometimes it’s better to study together

When possible at all, it can be very beneficial to study with another student who shares the same classes and mental capabilities. A study partner like one of your class mates can be able to help you to identify areas of weakness and ensure at the same time that study topics don’t get skipped or underappreciated. It’s also quite beneficial to witness how another student takes in information, how he or she stores and processes the study material. For this reason and a few important other ones, it is better for the study partner to be another student from the samr class. You may even find it beneficial sometimes to ask a more senior level student to help you with subjects you find difficult to graspo. Parent don’t be afraid to fill this position as well. The progress gained from working with a partner in general is extremely worth it! But focus on the study material and don’t fool around... After all, study is a very serious thing and the little time you have for it should be dedicated fully to absorb and understand your subjects!

Conclusion

Efficient and proper study techniques, that make effective use of the little time available are very beneficial and will follow a student through all levels of education and learning. Even after college or university it will help you to be more productive in less amountt of time. Establishing effective and efficient study habits and skill sets, no matter how little or insignificant these may seem at the time, will prove to reap great rewards in the long run. When possible study together and focus your attention in groups of 20 minutes on the subject matter only. Don’t get distracted, try to breath in different viewpoints from your study partner and most of all, make it a little exciting for yourself... Being bored during study time doesn’t excite your brain to learn!

How to choose a college; 5 steps

Hi, so nice to meet you here! My name is Rebecca. The reason why I write this blog post is that the things I learned and experienced in my own journey to finding a suitable college for myself may also be able to help parents and students like myself who may find themselves lost in a jungle of choices, or maybe even the opposite of that, a lack of choices.

A few years ago I found myself at some kind of turning point of my personal life. High school raduation from was just around the corner and I had not a single clue which college I wanted to or had to attend after that. My parents had their list of preferred colleges ready, and most of my high school friends were already being accepted to the colleges and universities of their choice. And with deadlines for college application approaching very quickly, I knew that somehow I needed to start to find a suitable college for myself. And it’s not easy... choosing the right college is such a very important and crucial decision, affecting the rest of your life. So I came up with some sort of a game plan to find a college that matches me. The following steps are those I took in choosing a college.

Deciding on my future career

The first step I took was one of the most important ones: to determine what I liked and what I didn’t like. I quickly ruled out being a medical practitioner, a legal advisor or a graphic designer. I also knew there were a few career choices that were way out of my league, such as becoming an architect, engineer or something in performing arts. Besides my own self-knowledge, my high school grades clearly showed that as well and that’s why after a lengthy thought and rethink process, I narrowed down my choices to the fields of Communications, Journalism, Information Technology and Business Management.

My high school counselor helped me aswell by conducting a Career Assessment Test on me, which revealed many of my personal strengths, weaknesses and tendencies. From this test, I discovered I was best suited for a career in Business Management and thus related studies. I highly recommend you to do one of these Career Assessment Surveys. They are not really expensive and they can even be found through a Google search as well.

Matching courses with colleges

The next step I took in finding the right college was to list the available colleges and universities in my area that offered Business Management studies while having an acceptable track record (ask around, read online reviews, consult your school counselor or use The Fiske Guide to Colleges if you live in the US). Very shortly after I started making my list I came up with 20 colleges that I was able to feel confident with for the next four years in my life. All of those 20 colleges had more then one specialization within my study field of choice, all these 20 colleges were fully accredited, and had good to outstanding graduation rates and great reputations. Next, I narrowed down my list a bit further to 12 by selecting those universities which were located in or near a large city. That was one of my personal criteria. You should also think of your own criteria before selecting a college for yourself since you are spending a few years there and you must be able to do your study in an environment that suits you best.

Narrowing down the list of suitable colleges

My SAT scores were above average, although they would not have been able to take me to Yale, so I had a wider selection of options to choose from. Therefore, my final decision would mainly be determined by the available funds from my mum and dad, any avaiulable  scholarships or grants, and the extra cash I would be able to make through on-campus work. I thoroughly read the information provided on the websites of each college and took virtual tours of their facilities. Each college seemed to have its own individual strength from large libraries to state of the art student housing or a wide variety of extra curricular activities and sports.

Finally, by looking at what was most important to me, I was able to narrow down my colleges list from twelve to five based on the following criteria: going to college within six hours of hometown, the available budget for college, and a smaller student body that could offer me a more personal approach and attention to my education.

Involving parents & college applications

So it’s starting to get somewhere now! After completing the previous steps it was time to get my parents involved in my decision making proicess. They helped me all along the way already, but now I really needed their help in making that one final, important decision. I showed them my list of 5 colleges that I had shortlisted, including the most vital details, locations, and costs. Together, we narrowed the list down to 3 possible colleges that I was able to attend. They wanted a college or university which would be convenient for them to visit, but would also have excellent teaching and good student housing facilities. The next weekend I downloaded, printed and filled out all three application forms and mailed them to the colleges and universities. The waiting game has begun for the responses to come.

Making the final choice

Within a few weeks, I received acceptance letters from all the colleges and universities where I sent my application to. At the end, my mum and I decided the best way to make the final decision was to visit the various college campuses. We took three days to visit all three colleges together. Visiting the actual universities was really very different from the virtual tours I took before. My final choice was actually easy after these visits!

The most crucial and important steps along the way for me were to take the Career Assessment Test, researching my college / university choices on the respective websites through reading and taking virtual tours, and sitting down with my parents to discuss which colleges and universities to send actual applications to. All of this helped make my final decision on which college to attent and I truly hope that my guide on how to choose a college can help you as well in finding a college or university as you make career choices.

Financial aid for online college and university programs

When the moment is there that you've made the wise decision to go for your degree online and you've been accepted to an online college or university program, but what to do next? Well, the next step in realizing your college or university certification dream could be to secure the funds needed for your education from external sources.

Federal student aid

If you live in the US and if you haven't already done so already, now (before your online college application) is the right time to complete the free application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA if you want to cut it short. FASFA is a really straightforward application  which is published by the Department of Education and it gives lenders an insight in what kind of funding you are entitled to. The application process is quite simple and you are able to have it completed online in just a few minutes. Once you have filled out all of the required details you should receive a confirmation letter in just a matter of a few days time. This confirmation letter tells you exactly which programs you are eligible for to receive funding. The entire process is free and fairly simple to do, and it’s the real cornerstone for securing financial aid for your online college or university program.

Contacting the financial aid department of the online college

So now you got all of this information, you need to get in contact the financial aid department at the specific online college (or university) where you want to do your study. There are usually serveral different types of financial aid packages made available to you, often ranging from work / study programs to government study aid programs. The financial aid officer of the specific online college or university of your choice is be able to provide you with the required forms for the lending institutions applicable and may be willing to guide you through the whole decision making process. Forms may be found on the websites of the various online colleges and universities as well together with informtion on the different types of financial study aid.

Send in your financial study aid application

After you have completed your applications for financial study aid, you will need to send the forms to the online college or university of your choice to be verified and processed. Most banks nowadays will not release the study aid funds directly to the student, only to the college or university at the start of the term. This makes everything easier and safer for the college, the student and the financial institution.

Online college program application

Once your financial study aid has been approved and you’ve received a confirmation letter from the financial institution involved you can go ahead to send in your application for the online college or university program. Together with your application, you should refer to the approved financial study aid application and attach the letter of approval you received from the financial institution. Now the only thing you have to do for now is to wait until you receive the final letter of approval from the online college or university.

Conclusion

Securing financial study aid for onlinecollege and university courses / programs is quite an easy process that anyone should be able to do by themselves. Like the way you study, the key to the financial study aid application process for online university or college courses is to be well organized and to make certain that you meet the loan deadlines as specified by both the Department of Education (DoE) and your college's financial aid department.

Are mail order degrees really worth the risk

There are fair chances that you've come across some advertisements all around the internet for "fake college degrees" or "loopholes exploited; get a degree instantly" or even “buy one degree, get one more for free”.

 If you look at it very objectively, these companies are all advertising to sell mail order diplomas / degrees. Some of those are of higher quality than other degrees and diplomas on offer, but at the end of the line it all comes down to the same thing: a (smart?) and easy methods for those who didn't complete college or university to show an employer (or in most cases a prospective employer) a sheepskin graduation paper (or maybe we should call it a “snakeskin graduation paper”).

Varying quality in fake degrees / diplomas

When we talk about fake degrees / diplomas, actual quality varies greatly, from cheap photocopied pieces of paper to wxquisitly well crafted document sets inclusive of genuine looking seals, and in some cases even actual transcripts, some even containing phone numbers for the 'registrar' to verify the student’s attendance to the college or university.

Fake degrees / diplomas – The risks

If you're really inclined to take the fake diploma / fake degree route, then be 100% sure you're aware of the risks involved as much as the benefits they can give you. The obvious benefit is that you may well gain an enhanced level of prestige, higher pay, or skill related promotions by mere virtue of your newly acquired Bachelor's degree or Master's degree. On the other side of the coin, the not to be dismissed and significant risk of losing not only your own credibility but your job and high prized benefits as well. IF you get caught ofcourse. You may well end up being  blacklisted within your specific industry if your transgression is severe enough.

For the sake of individual freedom of thinking I will not talk about the moral implications in this blog article, you can perfectly make up your own mind I would guess. At the end of the line everyone really is accountable to their own self conscience in grey area matters like this. You don’t live with your mommy and daddy anymore (at least I hope so) and you may well feel it’s worth the risk, in an effort to move a few steps closer to your desired career goal or lifestyle.

How and where to buy fake college degrees

Fake college degrees

It's a well known fact that many people didn't finish their college life, yet they managed to obtain a college diploma or college degree. How do they get that? And where to buy a fake college diploma? In this blog post we will answer those questions for you. First off, we should warn you that buying fake college diplomas, fake college degrees, fake bachelors degrees and fake masters degree is illegal in most countries and if you're employed by a company that offered you a job partly because of you accreditations, you should know there is a big risk of loosing that job if they ever found out.

How to obtain a fake college diploma

There are a lot of "companies" active in the fake college degree market. Most are small scale degree forging businesses, some are larger and very professional, dealing with actual existing colleges. You would want to choose one that is affiliated with one or more actual existing colleges, since they make sure you name is actually registered in the college's system. Whenever an employer, or potential employer conducts a check with that particular college, you will be confirmed as having studied there.

Where to buy a fake college diploma

Most of the business offering fake college degrees and fake college diplomas for sale can be found on the internet. A simple search for "fake college diploma" or "fake degrees" will return a long list of website offering those for sale. But how do you get to know ehich are scams, not trustworthy or bas in quality? That's where you turn to forums. A few online forums have excellent reviews on many different "online college degree" programs including fake college diplomas. You should conduct a thorough research and choose the one program that gets the best and most thumbs up from the community.

Good luck!

The traditional way of schooling...

More money...