Information Gathering

Posted by Jennifer Buchholz on December 26th, 2008

Thank goodness for the web! I know many of you have always been able to use the internet to do research, but for those of us back in the old days, there were HUGE catalogs of books in the reference section of the library that a prospective student would have to page through to determine what schools to consider and ultimately choose. The internet has made this research very simple - but now there’s almost too much information.

My search was conducted several years ago, but I know I looked closely at at least 5 schools. I contacted them via email and phone and started interviewing them to find out the basic information I needed to know. I had a hit list of questions:

• What was the program like?
• What are the classes like (self-paced, workload, etc)?
• Is the school accredited?
• What were the faculty like?
• How many classes at a time?
• How long to complete?
• How much money?
• What were the residency requirements?
• Would my credits transfer?
• And many more.

I felt that most sent literature that answered my questions. I had to make a few additional phone calls to follow up.

I thought that a phone call to a school was a good idea. They offered information I didn’t think to ask. The counselors were very helpful and professional.

I felt that I had all the information I needed to make an informed decision. As times have changed, and schools have come and gone, I am pleased with the approach I took.

I have some students who didn’t take the time to fully research the school they chose. They find that the school format doesn’t work for them and they go to another school. This trial-and-error approach might not be 100% avoidable, but if you learn about the different approaches each school takes, you can make an informed choice as well. Finding the program that works best for your learning style and discipline is essential to success.

Read more of Jennifer Buchholz's blog.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under Receiving Information from Online Schools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.