Just a few weeks ago, a friend of over ten years came to me in despair. We went to middle and high school together, after which, I moved on to college, and he went into the workforce. Now at 25, here he was on my couch, lamenting about how his dream of being in IT or in the gaming world was highly less probable. Why? Because he didn’t have a four-year degree. He was ready to make a change, however, but he needed help with doing so. This is not an uncommon narrative.
“I don’t want to go to college right now,” is one of the phrases virtually no parent ever wants to hear from their child. Endless parents have lamented their young adult child’s higher education decisions in reference to the matter, fearing for the worst.
There is validity behind the concern, however, as higher education costs continue to skyrocket, with no evidence to suggest decreasing costs will be coming anytime soon.
Delaying College
There are a variety of reasons as to why someone may not immediately go on to college.
Some recent high school graduates feel it is their patriotic duty to join the armed forces for a period of time. For their service, they not only have the honor and incredible responsibility of defending the country, but also obtain special privileges and educational opportunities for themselves in the future.
Other would-be students simply want a break from education or can’t afford to go. Some individuals might want to travel the world to explore, volunteer, try offbeat jobs, and figure out who they are.
Others, while not wanting to travel abroad, simply might not feel ready and may job hop to attempt to figure out just where they might fit in and what they are passionate about.
One thing is for certain, there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that an individual may not feel ready for college. However, it is important to be supportive and assist in developing pathways and plans for those same individuals in the case where they determine they are ready to pursue higher education.
Non-College Options for Continuing Education
There are a variety of ways outside of classes to learn valuable, educational information. Such sites include Khan Academy, Coursera, ED X, iTunes U, and more.
Unfortunately, many of these educational resources do not offer college credit for those studying independently online. There are some resources that do, however, and one of those resources is Saylor Academy.
Get College Credit for Online Studies Through Saylor Academy
Saylor Academy offers over 300 self-paced online educational courses. Every course is designed by professors and other academic professionals. Students can go so far as to create their own online major, though not accredited and not counting as an official degree, to study university-style topics of interest. If individual courses are what a student might prefer, Saylor offers those options as well. All an interested person has to do is create a free account, register for their course of choice, and enjoy the material!
What Makes Saylor Academy Special
Saylor is special in one regard that some of the other educational resources in that some of their courses carry college credit through their partner colleges program. Saylor has partnered with the following universities:
Bellevue University
Bethel University
Charter Oak State College
Colorado Technical University
City University of New York
Excelsior College
Granite State College
Great Bay Community College
Paul Smith’s College
Thomas Edison State College
University of Maryland University College
Through their unique partnerships, students attending or planning to attend the universities outlined online or in person can earn credit for up to 11 classes or 33 credits. That is slightly over a year’s worth of credit, completely online, for $275.
All a student or student-to-be needs to do, is sign up for the appropriate credit-bearing course, complete the readings and coursework, take the final exam for the course, then pay a 25 dollar fee for an additional but separate credit-bearing final exam per class.
There are no book fees, no meal passes, no boring lectures, and no student loans.
The exam is scheduled by the test-taker and completed online through ProctorU via webcam, which monitors the test-taker and their screen throughout the exam. Test results are revealed swiftly, and a transcript of the test results can be sent to a partner school of choice. Not all schools listed as partner schools allow the same number of credit-bearing exams to count, so it’s important to check each individual partner school’s agreement and transfer equivalency policies on the Saylor website.
Currently, Saylor Offers the Following Classes for College Credit:
BIO101B: Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology
BUS203: Principles of Marketing
BUS204: Business Statistics
BUS205: Business Law & Ethics
BUS208 Principles of Management
BUS210: Corporate Communications
CHEM101: General Chemistry I
CS101: Introduction to Computer Science I
MA001: Beginning Algebra
MA005: Calculus I
POLSC201: Western Political Thought
Get Started
The friend I mentioned earlier just started his CS101: Introduction to Computer Science I course a short while ago, and he is loving the feeling of being able to learn again. He appreciates the value of an education more, and will be using these strategies to work through his first year of college for less than the cost of a semester’s books. He is well on his way toward a dream he thought would never come true.
You or someone you love can be too! All it takes is the will to succeed, a little cash, perseverance, and an internet connection!
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