High school diploma online

Number one, and the most obvious advantage to education is Money, but it could be getting that job you have always wanted. Our daughter wanted to be a teacher and recently she earned her Masters Degree, online in teaching. Not only did she get the job she wanted, her pay was a lot higher than if she had not pursued her Masters. The average increase in pay for a Masters Degree from a Bachelors Degree is $7,000 – $15,000 per year for teaching, multiple that by the number of years she will be teaching, and you can easily see the benefits of online schooling. Statistics show that a person with a Masters Degree earns $31,900 more per year on average than a high school graduate, that is a difference of about 105%!

Average Annual Earnings for College Graduates and Non-Graduates:

Professional Degree $109,600 per year

Doctoral Degree $89,400

Masters Degree $62,300

Bachelors Degree $52,200

Associate Degree $38,200

Some College $36,800

High School Graduate $30,400

Some High School $23,400

Average Annual Earnings-Different Levels of Education. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys, March 1998, 1999, and 2000.

As you can plainly see, a person with a Bachelors Degree will earn, just about twice as much as workers with a high school diploma over a lifetime ($2.1 million compared to $1.2 million).

Workers-Life Earnings for Full-Time Employees, Including College Graduates and Non-Grads: (In $ Millions)

Professional Degree $4.4 million

Doctoral Degree $3.4

Master Degree $2.5

Bachelor Degree $2.1

Associate Degree $1.6

Some College $1.5

High School Graduate $1.2

Some High School $1.0

Average Lifetime Earnings-Different Levels of Education. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys, March 1998, 1999, and 2000.

So, how do you get from here to Master? There are numerous ways, but the first step is that you need to get started.

You can go to any online schooling educational portal, or a college of your choice, and do a search for online classes in the career field you are interest you.

We suggest that you contact at least three schools, because, they will each have different criteria and programs. When the counselor calls you about enrolling, listen to what they have to say, and if they don’t answer these basic questions then ask, where classes are held, if they’re completely online or on campus and online? If you are not sure of the field of study you should be in, ask if the school offers career testing, this will narrow down what area of study you should concentrate in. Also, ask about financing, see what type of financial aid they have and scholarship programs that could apply to you. There is plenty of financing out there for you, it is just a matter of finding it, and ask your boss if they pay for any educational programs.

Other questions to ask a counselor:

How many online courses does the school offer?

How long has the school been offering courses online?

What is the student to instructor ratio?

What are the direct costs to take courses from the school?

What is the schools refund policy?

What type of financial aid is available to you? – Again, this is a very important question, you want to find out what types of aid is available (grants, scholarships, loans), their sources (federal, state, institutional), and whether you meet the eligibility criteria.

Does the school accept transfer credits?

Does the school accept test credits?

Does the school require you to spend time on campus?

What are the student services that will be available to you if you enroll? Many colleges offer tutorial services, career planning, and general counseling to students on-campus. Find out if these services are available to you as a distance learning student.

What are the job-placement rates for graduates of the programs you’ll be taking?

How will lectures be conducted?

How will you be expected to submit assignments and collaborate with other students?

What is the dropout rate for the programs you will be taking?

What is the graduation rate for the same programs?

Advantageous to online schooling:

Setting your own schedule – not having to be in class at a certain time.

No drive time – saving you time and money.

Studies – you can complete most of the coursework when it is convenient for you.

In conclusion: Remember schools make their profit by working with you, they need you, and we all know that everybody benefits from a higher education, but you’ll have the biggest benefit of all, the knowledge and a diploma.

By: David Eisenzimmer

In the NFL when a player displays behavior that can be described as excessive celebration they can be fined and the team levied a 15 yard penalty on the following play.

In Galesburg Illinois if the friends and relatives of a high school graduate cheer during the commencement ceremony the graduate can be denied their high school diploma.

Lou Holtz once said that he did not want to see his players celebrating after they scored a touchdown. It was his belief that he wanted them to act like they had been there before.

A player has several opportunities during a season to score a touchdown. A student has one opportunity to graduate from high school.

Graduating from high school is the culmination of more than 12 years of studies. This is not an every day event. It is a once in a lifetime event.

When I graduated from high school there was one particular student who despite a life long handicap received his diploma. The crowd and the students gave him a well deserved standing ovation. It was a special moment. Before that ceremony the school principal asked that everyone hold their applause until afterwards. No one did and no one was penalized.

I am fairly certain that the applause police that were monitoring the crowd do not know the stories of most of those students. They probably do not know what it took for those students to get to that stage. It very well may have been worthy of applause. Their graduating may have very well been a source of great joy and pride for their families.

When an athlete hits a home run or sinks a three pointer people cheer because they did something good. They do not wait until after the game. I consider completing 12 years of education something good. Something worthy of cheers.

One Indianapolis administrator, Clarke Campbell, referred to graduation as a “solemn occasion”. From m-w.com we find the definition of solemn to be “1 : marked by the invocation of a religious sanction 2 : marked by the observance of established form or ceremony; specifically : celebrated with full liturgical ceremony 3 a : awe-inspiring : SUBLIME b : marked by grave sedateness and earnest sobriety c : SOMBER, GLOOMY” Using these definitions the crowning of a king would be a solemn occasion, a funeral would be a solemn occasion, but certainly not a high school graduation.

A high school graduation is worthy of cheers, applause, and yes a certain level of decorum. But penalizing a student by denying them their diploma for excessive celebration by their family is ludicrous, insensitive and completely without compassion.

The school administrators involved in the Galesburg incident two of whom are Joel Estes, assistant superintendent and Tom Chiles, the principal can hold their ground on what they deem to be a matter of such great personal importance but in the end their efforts will be futile. No one will honor or respect them for standing up for what they think is right and just when their cause is excessive celebration at a high school graduation.

Respect is reserved for people who fight wars, fight cancer or fight hunger. Not for people who deny high school graduates their diplomas because their family expressed their joy.

Apparently the students can still obtain their diploma by completing 8 hours of public service work. I encourage them not to. They met the requirements for getting their diploma. Unfortunately their school administrators do not possess the dignity necessary to honor that fact.

The administrators did however leave them with some very important life lessons. Life is not fair, and not all people who will be in a position to make decisions that affect their life will be intelligent, sensible or compassionate.

By: Dan Bimrose

“You mean you never finished high school?” To the high school dropout those words bring embarrassment, dead-end jobs, and minimum wage income. Americans without a high school degree fall into the lowest income bracket almost 50% less than a high school graduate. And there are 39 million Americans in the same boat.

Without a high school education, you have three choices. Or, actually, four choices. The first choice is to do nothing and remain at the lowest income level, where just buying food and putting clothes on your children’s back is a struggle. A working parent may have two, three, or more jobs just to get by. Or, an adult can enroll in a legitimate online high school program and earn a high school diploma by taking the classes he or she missed in high school. Online high schools can be expensive, costing two to three thousand dollars for a one or two year program. If testing is done online, there are pitfalls. Some government agencies won’t recognize any diploma based on online testing.

But there are worse pitfalls. The Internet provides another option: fake high school diplomas. Online “diploma mills” are advertised all over the Internet. Instead of taking classes, these companies give an unsupervised online test and “life experience credit.” For a few hundred dollars, anyone can buy a “high school diploma,” plus fake transcripts for a few extra dollars…or higher grades for a few more bucks. Many people think they’re getting a real, legitimate diploma, not realizing that the “accreditation” of these websites is as false as the schools themselves. Even the best-intentioned person can face embarrassment and risk losing their job by presenting a fake diploma to an employer or college.

That’s three choices, and they don’t sound very encouraging. That’s why the fourth choice is so important: the General Educational Development tests, or GED. The GED is the official high-school equivalency exam, a test sanctioned by the government to certify that you have the most important high school skills. To get a GED, you simply brush up on the high school skills that you might have missed or forgotten, and take the test at an official testing center.

The GED has a lot of advantages over other options. It can be fast and easy. The test is legitimate and inexpensive, and the test-taker receives a credential from their state government. By passing the GED, you show a high level of mastery in mathematics, science, social studies, reading, and writing. Perhaps even more important, you show that you have the perseverance and commitment to prepare for and complete a challenging eight-hour battery of exams. And, although the GED is challenging, it’s also achievable. With focused study and personal dedication, the millions of Americans who missed out on high school can get a second chance. Many GED study programs are available to help.

Unfortunately, despite the benefits of the GED, adult learners are often taken advantage of because of their desire to pass “high school.” Many if not most online “high schools” aren’t real schools, and they don’t offer real degrees. A customer may pay $200 to $1,000 to get a degree just by taking an online exam, but the degree turns out to be worthless. Informed employers and colleges will reject it.

In dollars and cents, a GED means earning up to $350,000 more over your lifetime–and possibly much more, if you go on to trade school, community college, or a university. In less tangible terms, earning a GED translates into greater respect and more possibilities.

By: Michael W. Ormsby