Archive for January, 2009
Posted by Jen Zeman on January 20th, 2009
The entire enrollment process for the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) was approximately 6-8 weeks in length and was easy to complete. The application was completed and submitted online, which only consumed about 15 minutes of my time. The longest part in the enrollment process was requesting my official transcript from Harford Community College be mailed to UMUC and for that transcript to be evaluated. Before I received my transcript evaluation I had already downloaded my program requirements (Legal Studies with a minor in Humanities); therefore, I knew the core courses that had to be completed regardless of what my transcript evaluation contained. In doing this, I was able to register for the upcoming fall semester before receiving my evaluation. I was fortunate with my evaluation because UMUC transferred nearly all my credits from Harford Community College, so I only had two electives to complete that were not within the core requirements of my program. I also had an advisor at UMUC that helped me with my transcript evaluation and selecting the right courses for electives in my program. An advisor can prove to be an invaluable asset!
A perspective online student should plan well ahead of their anticipated start of their online program. If you have already decided upon an online school and if you want to start classes in the fall, get the application process underway in the spring. Give yourself enough time to apply, have a transcript evaluation, and then have plenty of time to select your desired classes. If you still haven’t decided upon the school and/or program you want to attend, I would allow an additional three months to conduct this search. By allowing yourself enough time (i.e. “wiggle room”) to enroll will alleviate the stress of doing everything at once and then jumping head first into an intense new schedule of school work.
Once the application process was complete, the enrollment process seemed quite straightforward and streamlined. Capella has enrollment periods, so all applications needed to be in by a certain date in order to enroll for the next term.
From a scheduling standpoint, there was not a lot to consider. Scheduling the course was easy - I worked with my counselor over the phone to get scheduled for the first course. There was a course that all incoming students take, so that was the course I was enrolled in. For this course, there were no books to purchase, so it didn’t take much time to get up and running.
Every school will have a different process for getting students into classes, but generall these steps need to be complted: application, financial aid, enrollment. It’s important to find out how long the school expects that process to last and use that timeframe as a guide to ensure you’re applying in time to start classes when you plan to.
Once all the application and financial aid is in place, the enrollment for courses should follow pretty easily. Most schools will have counselors that work with you to ensure that you’re getting the courses that you need in the proper timeframes to complete the degree within the anticipated timeframe.
Before enrolling in a college program (online or onsite), there’s a lot of planning, thinking and reflecting that must go on. This process varies in time, depending on the person. Matching someone’s interests and talents with a college major and lucrative career is often a time consuming task.
Me? I knew my future career when I graduated from high school. I was a product of the fthe fifties and sixties culture, and the only consistent female role models were teachers and nurses. My mom wanted a nurse in the family, but I wanted to teach. In hindsight, the job culture of my time made the choice easier, far more so than it is with today’s young people. But obviously, not all women are cut out to be caregivers, teachers and nurses.
I have two children both majoring in political science. My oldest son knew he wanted to be a politician since eighth grade, when he participated in a mock campaign and convention. He joined the marines for four years and afterwards connected with many political veteran’s organizations while he worked on his degree.
Now he’s interning as a legislative aide in Nevada for one semester, and is using the online environment to take two more classes, as his internship is a great distance from the university he attends. His use of the online environment kept the plan to graduate in 3 ½ years on track. He plans on running for office and entering law school.
My daughter floundered for a year declaring her major as Spanish, and then by process of elimination chose political science, a topic she finds interesting. Her floundering cost the family an extra semester of tuition, two semesters if you count summer school. The good news, she discovered that her university offered some of her classes online, so she could work full time in the summer and still take classes via the computer. She does not want to run for office and doesn’t know where she is going to work after college. Of course, her mother’s fantasy is that she can someday be paid to work on her brother’s campaign.
The most time-consuming part of the enrollment process is deciding what you want to study. If you have a clear vision of your college and career goals, finding an online program and enrolling is no big deal. This web site achieveyourcareer.com is a great example of how large amounts of college information can be gathered for a individual. The information can then be easily accessed from the comfort of one’s own home. When a student’s career goals are not defined, which I suspect is common, I advise students to find universities where general studies classes transfer easily to other colleges.
The most time consuming part of the enrollment process is the decision. The decision could be made in 8th grade or at the age of 19 or older. The actual enrollment with all the online tools available, is actually quite fast. Instead of snail mailing in requests for the documents colleges require, you can usually do this by email. The ease of the internet can speed up the process when trying to get into a program or class just before the semester starts. There have been times when I have enrolled in an online class a few days before the semester starts. It is the easiest part of the process, as compared to the decision of what to study.
Posted by Jeff Davis on January 13th, 2009
Typically, the enrollment process for an online college program includes online registration, transcript processing, placement testing, program placement, and advisement. However, this can vary depending on which school is chosen. In my case, the enrollment process was a simpler process than this. There was really nothing difficult about it at all. Any questions that I had at that time were answered by the school Enrollment Counselor via telephone. In fact, this counselor actually walked me through the whole process as I did it online. So, I hope this demonstrates the difficulty level of one of the enrollment processes to others who are considering enrolling online. Quite simple indeed!
Once you have decided on the degree that you would like to earn, you should start by requesting information from online universities that offer that particular type of degree. Most online university websites have an application that allows you to request detailed information on enrolling in the college and on the requirements for the degree that you are seeking.
Most online universities will also assign you to an Enrollment Counselor, who will guide you through the process of enrolling in the college, filling out the necessary forms, and paying tuition. This counselor will also help to transfer in any credits from previous college courses that might apply to your degree. It might also be necessary to speak to a Financial Aid Counselor who can also help in finding scholarships, grants, and loans to pay for tuition.
Based on my experience, I believe that a prospective online student should begin their search for the right program at least a month or two before they are ready to start the program. This should provide ample time to complete the entire enrollment process. In some cases, the school may have an open admission policy in which case no ACT or SAT tests will be necessary for admittance and many schools will also waive the standard application fees. I know that with the University of Phoenix Online, the program allowed me plenty of flexibility in order to balance work, my family, and an education.
Posted by Sharon Cece on January 12th, 2009
Enrollment to an online course of study, in my case, involved four specific steps: Desire, Action, Reaction, and Finalization. Desire was the part of the enrollment process where I asked myself, “Do I want to return to college to get my degree”? Most of the time, my answer was “I’m not sure” and so, this part of the process took the longest and was the most challenging stage. Without desire, my commitment simply wasn’t going to stick and the effort wasn’t going to be expended in a worthwhile fashion.
Once my desire question phased into “Yes, now is the time”, however, the rest of the enrollment process went quite smoothly. It took just a few minutes to inquire about a program, and a few minutes more to fill out an application. At this point, the Action step was engaged. Once I was ready, it was just a matter of gathering my information and submitting forms. I realize that for some people, filling out forms falls somewhere between the seventh and eighth circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno; yet for myself it was not too difficult and the forms were submitted fairly quickly. Which led me to the third step of the process, Reaction, or Response. This was the step whereby, once I was accepted, I had to submit additional information for the program in order to officially enroll. This included my prior test scores, SAT results, transcripts from all other colleges, etc, to my advisor. Let me point out, that locating all the other transcripts turned out to be an unexpected speed bump in this process since I had attended three other colleges by the time I enrolled to FSU’s online program. Yet, by taking one school at a time everything was submitted in a timely fashion.
Finalization was the last part of the enrollment process where I tied up any loose ends and worked on payment plans and logistics. At this point I knew where I was going, what program I would enroll in, and where everything was that I needed to turn in. Now, I had to find a way to pay for it. Next to Desire, financing was the more difficult part of the process since now I needed to fill out financial aid forms, both federal and local. I also had to decide how many classes I would take per semester and the costs associated accordingly. Give yourself a bit of time to get this part finished.
Which leads to time. A prospective student should give him or herself plenty of time from program search to program login, ideally one full year. This would allow for all of the steps above to be carried out without too much Sturm und Drang, with a moment left over to breathe between stages. Enrollment can be completed in less time of course, perhaps even a semesters breath, but there is certain to be rush and hassle on the part of the student which could lead to errors in processing and even placement in programs that might not be the student’s primary choice. A college education is important and getting the program you want is essential. So give yourself about a year if possible to work out all the details of online study, to turn in the all the required forms, to know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there (and how to pay for it). Inevitably, unexpected issues will arise but you can address them in a fairly relaxed fashion and with time on your side to begin your online program exactly when you planned.
My online classes were easy to apply for because I already had a bachelor and masters degrees and usually enroll as a special student. If I enrolled for a specific degree the process involved a lot more.
My best advice for prospective college students is to be prepared. I keep all the information I need to enroll in classes or apply for jobs in a Microsoft Word doc in my computer. Much of the information asked on college enrollment forms and job applications is the same. This list helps me quickly retrieve information I need to fill out the forms. My Word file also includes names and addresses, including ZIP codes of all the Universities I attended. I have been out of high school nearly 37 years and I am still asked for that information!
On the same file, I also keep links to university web sites that help me to order transcripts. My “vitals file” also includes names, addresses and email of people who may be personal and professional references. Finally, it lists employers and their addresses. I recently updated my vitals file to include skills (usually technology related) I have learned.
Occasionally, colleges ask for an essay or a statement of philosophy. I always write these in Microsoft Word and save them. Writing is the most cumbersome part of the process and it helps to catalog similar statements. Cut and paste comes in mighty handy!
My computer helps me to organize application materials. All the documents I referred to previously are stored in a sub folder in My Documents. The folder is appropriately named Application Materials and I keep several versions of my resume in this folder.
The key to efficiently filling out application forms is your ability to quickly access the information requested. When this information is in one easily accessible location, the process becomes SO much easier. Oh yes, one more important note. Don’t forget to load a copy of your vitals file on your thumb drive. You can never be too careful, right? Good luck!
Posted by Jeff Davis on January 8th, 2009
Trying to choose the best online school for you? Since geographic location is not really taken into consideration, you literally have thousands of programs and online universities to choose from. It is evident that online degree options and schools vary in what they offer and how they deliver education and while there many good programs available, choosing the right one and completing the application process can seem overwhelming.
When choosing an online college, there are many factors which you should take into consideration. Among the most important of these is the availability of financial aid. Is financial aid available? Typically this type of question and others pertaining to the application process can be better addressed on the school’s website or by contacting one of their qualified personnel.
We all know that earning a college degree can require a substantial investment of money. Fortunately, there are many financing options available and the application process is relatively simple. Based on my personal experience, help was easily accessible and readily available by the university that I chose and was able to walk me through the complete application process in a very short period of time. My advice for future students is to take the necessary time to carefully research the online programs and schools that they are interested in and gather tuition estimates before you apply. Then, see which ones offer financial aid and if you qualify for these loans. If you have questions, be sure to contact the school directly. As for the university’s enrollment application, that was a simple process as well which literally took just minutes in filling out an online form on the school website.
Overall, pursuing a degree online can be a rewarding and memorable experience. Choosing an online degree program is really just knowing what you are looking for and finding the best option that will help you reach your goals. I think that all potential students need to evaluate the various programs in order to maximize the potential for getting a quality education.
Posted by Jen Zeman on January 7th, 2009
The application process for the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) was simple. The three steps involved included:
- Completing and submitting the application online.
- Payment for the application fee was online as well.
- After submission of the application, I requested official transcripts to be mailed directly to UMUC from previous schools.
Then, it was a matter of waiting for a letter indicating my acceptance. I received an additional letter detailing my transcript evaluation (i.e. what credits UMUC would accept). For me, the process from start to finish was approximately six weeks.
My recommendations to prospective students:
- Know where you really want to attend! Nearly all, if not ALL, colleges and universities charge an application fee (UMUC’s fee is currently $50), so unless you have an unlimited budget, it can be quite expensive to submit multiple applications. Most online colleges and universities have a lenient admissions process and acceptance procedures which means if you apply, you will be accepted (the one exception would be for graduate programs).
- Plan ahead. If you want to start classes in the fall, get the application process underway in the spring. Give yourself enough time to apply, have a transcript evaluation, and have plenty of time to select your desired classes.
- For submission of official transcripts, do not hoard a stash of official transcripts sent to your home address only to send them on to prospective schools. Many institutions will not accept these types of submissions as official (i.e. the official transcripts need to be mailed directly from the home institution). The reason is transcripts mailed to a student first renders the possibility the transcript could be altered.
Once you complete the application process, you will find it is most likely the easiest part of your online college experience!
The application process was so intimidating! It was one of those times when I started to second-guess myself. Do I have the right background? Will they take me? Who will be my references? What will they say? So many questions ran through my head as I started the application process.
For the PhD program, filling out an application for the school was more complex than many job applications I’ve done. There were a number of requirements I needed to meet, including age, work experience, and academic experience. I was very young when I started the program - 27. Many schools had requirements that a student had to be at least 30, so I needed to get an exception, and my application and supplemental materials had to speak to my experience.
The application itself was long (thank goodness it was electronic). I continued to fine tune the application while gathering the other information. I needed to get 3 letters of recommendation - I asked my boss, a peer, and an instructor from my master’s degree program. I also needed to write an essay about why I was a worthy candidate for the program.
I think the essay was the most intimidating. Not only were they looking for post-grad quality writing, but they were evaluating the worthiness of the candidate - me. While the essay was personal in nature, I had a lot riding on it.
When you go to start your application process, here are a few tips.
1) Make sure you know everything you need to do to apply and when the deadlines are.
- Many schools will require transcripts, references, applications and essays.
- Some will have an application fee as well.
2) Contact everyone early and let them know the deadlines (allow a few days before the final due date).
3) Follow up with folks to make sure they’ve completed what you’ve asked.
4) Follow up with the school to make sure they have everything they need. Find out when they expect a decision to be made so you don’t go crazy waiting.
When filling out the application or writing the essay, just be yourself and be honest. Then get some proofreading/editing help to make sure your writing is clear - you want this to be the best work you’ve done so far.
Remember, a good application is the first step to getting in to the school you’re choosing. Don’t rush through this process.
Posted by Sharon Cece on January 5th, 2009
I got some great advice not long ago and it was this: “The hardest part about cutting your lawn is not actually cutting your lawn. The hardest part is deciding to put your hands on the handle of the mower”. It sounds simplistic, but I realized that’s true about most things in life; deciding to do something is the most difficult part of any process. Once you make a decision, either way it’s pretty much a done deal.
My college application process was a breeze compared to my back-and-forth justifications for not returning to school at this time or that time. Excuses are easy to formulate and I’m as good at making them as anyone else. That’s not to say they weren’t valid. But I was more surprised than anyone, when finally deciding okay this is it I’m going back to school, how seamlessly and effortlessly everything fell into place. I dropped off my application at Florida State while we happened to be driving in the region on vacation. I mailed in my transcripts, provided the additional necessary paperwork, got the acceptance, filled out my financial aid forms and the next thing you know I was a college student again.
As you’re reading this you’re probably thinking nothing is ever that easy, but it’s astounding to me how much can get done when you, excuse the banality and oft-used Nike reference, just do it. Just put your hands on the handle. Just start climbing the mountain. Just fill out the first form, then the next form. From a distance it seems overwhelming but up close and in parts it’s wholly doable. Almost anything in this world, especially those copious application demands, can and will get done when achieved in small parts.
My advice for college applicants is this: once you decide, despite the wide expanse of overgrown lawn, to put your hands on that handle, once you decide to confront the formidable crag, once you decide to tackle the application process step by intricate step–after you take a deep breath–then plunge in with all your heart. That means whatever roadblocks come your way, whether it be rocky patches or jagged edges or a multitude of paperwork, transcripts, emails and financial aid forms, just get ‘er done. Don’t look too far ahead and don’t be dissuaded by the effort needed to start you on the road to graduation. The decision is the hardest part. The rest is just a walk on the lawn.
