Be Prepared: A Comprehensive Guide to College Planning

By Dr. Robert McClerren

College planning is more than just choosing a major and which school to attend. It enables the direction and distance of your career path. It is the key that opens the doors of opportunity. Be Prepared goes beyond the basics and provides you vital information not provided in other guides. You have access to resources such as personality profiles, interests inventories, and aptitudes that correlate with fields of study and career paths. You are armed with information concerning the different types of accreditation, transferability of credits, and financial aid. You are empowered with alternative ways to earn college credits, such as advanced placement, prior learning assessment, proficiency exams, and credit recommendations for military training experience. You learn about nondegree credentialing opportunities, such as certificates of completion and vocational certifications. A glossary of terms is provided to familiarize you with the jargon of higher education. You can readily build your vocabulary to a college level by reviewing the listed words and their synonyms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jul 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781504381789

Dr. Robert McClerren

Dr. McClerren’s undergraduate studies began in Education, his graduate studies in Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, culminating with an RsD in 1016. Dr. McClerren is a committed life long learner: a 21st century Renaissance man. Among his accomplishments are those of private pilot, missile technician and award winning vocal musician. Dr. McClerren has been a certified teacher in Illinois since 1977. He has taught for San Diego City College, ITT Technical Institute and the University of Oklahoma. Dr. McClerren's experience in academic advisement includes both high school students and military personnel. His work in the field began in 2003 as an Education Advisor for the Navy College Program. Dr. McClerren is also Licensed Local Pastor of the United Methodist Church in Chicago. He is married; and lives with his wife and daughter in Lake County Illinois.

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Copyright © 2017 Dr. Robert McClerren.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8177-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8178-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909081

Balboa Press rev. date: 07/26/2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 1

Earning A College Degree

Finding The Best College

Deciding Factors

Do Your Own Homework

Choosing Your Field Of Study

Goals

Eleven Key Attributes Employers Evaluate

Pathways

Military

Educational Acronyms

Majors

Curriculum By Domain

Undergraduate Admissions

Teacher Certification

Graduate Admissions

Accreditation

Financial Aid

Section 2

Non-Degree Options

Alternatives To A College Educaton

Credentials Without A College Degree

College Certificates

Certifications

Appendix A

Five Philosophies Of Education

Appendix B

Colleges With The Great Books Program

Appendix C

Prior Learning Assessment Colleges

Appendix D

Glossary Of Educational Terms

Appendix E

Vocabulary

FOREWORD

The purpose of this book is all about forward, as in thinking forward. Planning, questioning, organizing, researching, goal-setting, and in general looking forward are not skills or tools made obsolete by technology, no matter what my college students claim. As an adjunct English instructor since 1974 I have seen many improvements in technology’s assistance for adults who seek to grow into a variety of careers and enhance or retrain themselves to keep pace with the evolution of their fields of study. Regardless of technology, however, preparedness is necessary for the human factor. It does not hinder creativity; instead, it releases time to enhance creativity.

Competition is key in searching for a job, scholarship, college entrance, pay raise, promotion within a career, training for a specialty within a field. What separates one from other applicants? Preparedness.

Kay Allard

Adjunct Faculty

English Composition

College of DuPage

Glen Ellyn, IL

Section 1

EARNING A COLLEGE DEGREE

FINDING THE BEST COLLEGE

Which college is the best college? Occasional through the years I have been asked what is the best college. That’s a question that cannot be properly answered until you find what the individuals idea of best is.

• Proximity (the closest commute is the best for me) (The closest to family is best for me)

• Lowest tuition (The least I have to spend the better)

• Highest tuition (Things that are best cost the most)

• Majors offered (The best has unusual or hard to find majors)

• Small (The best is small, intimate school, where I can become known by faculty and staff)

• Mega School (The bigger the better means I will identify with a well known school)

• A State school (Identifies me with my home state) (Identifies me with their athletic teams)

• A private school (Known for it’s exclusivity and selective acceptance)

• A school of notoriety (Known to be the alma matter of famous accomplished people)

• Academics (Known for exceptional scholarship)

If you were eligible, and cost was not an issue, it might be your choice to attend a prestigious Ivy League school for your college education. Since that may not be an option, how do you decide which college is best? After notoriety, what’s next?

Choose The Right Type Of School For Your Educational Goals

• Community College

• Private School

• State University

• Trade School

Level of study

Certificates – Associates – Bachelors – Masters – Doctorate

Many colleges will offer a degree you are looking for. The suitability of a school can depend on many important factors.

DECIDING FACTORS

• Academic Program

• Location

• Tuition

• Admissions

• Testing

• Accreditation

• Semesters Vs. Quarters

• Credit By Exam

• Transferability

• Credit For Military Training

• GI Bill

• Tuition Assistance

• Prior Learning Assessment

If all other factors being equal when it comes to employment opportunities, who would most likely have the advantage over being hired or promoted; a College graduate or someone with no additional training past High School?

Who needs College?

• Those whose career path requires a college degree

• Those whose career path will benefit from a certificate completion program

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Genius without education is like silver in the mine.

Benjamin Franklin

DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK

After careful review, you should be able to easily find schools with programs that match your educational & career goals.

GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

Using the information contained in these pages, will enable your to select the school and program that is right for you.

Don’t rely on web sites that can give you the run around leaving important questions unanswered.Beware. Many sites are primarily a sales pitch to attend a pre-determined school. They redirect you to a college that is sponsoring the search: luring students into programs with Featured Universities. 
Other sites are design to funnel the masses into a one size fits all training program. 
Forget about time consuming searches on websites that only provide general information. They limit their recommendations to a few select schools. 
You can take a more comprehensive approach. VetsGuide maintains a database on over 1800 SOC member Colleges. Go to http://www.vetsguide.com/servicemembers-opportunity-colleges.html and click the school name to see its profile.

After researching information within these pages, you will be more prepared to make the best possible choice for schools and your future. You will then enjoy the benefit of a customized &