Everything You Need to Know About Financial Aid: For Profit Schools

(Lindsey is back for more information on Financial Aid)

What exactly is a for-profit school and are they indeed a good place to get your education? With the recent and continuous information coming about for-profit education schemes and government laws being passed to regulate these institutions, it is very easy to be skeptical and wonder if everything we are reading is actually true.

Having some firsthand experience in working with for-profit institutions, and again, thanks to some great reader suggestions, as part of our ‘financial aid topics’ we felt for-profit education should be a topic we tackle. 

For starters, for-profit schools are everywhere. From the University of Phoenix to The Art Institutes, marketing clearly is not a problem. We have all seen the ads, television commercials, even banners when we fill out job applications. 

The first thing to remember about a for-profit school is that they are there to do just that, make a profit. The Art Institutes, for example, are owned by Goldman and Sachs. Due to this, many of these schools are run as corporate companies, working hard to make money and unfortunately, the well being, honesty, and quality of the education and services you would be receiving at such a place can, and have, fallen by the way side in a quest to make money. 

While this is not true of some, I sadly have found the majority of for-profit schools have money, rather than quality, be their goal. Because of this, any for-profit school you are considering should be carefully researched. Find out whom their accreditation is through and if it is a reputable accrediting source. What are some of the things people are saying or has there been a lot of negative press on the school or owning company. Look at the curriculum, does it line up with comparable curricula at other schools. What are their retention, graduation and employment rates and most importantly, look at the cost! Some people feel because it is online it is going to be cheaper and that is not always the case! 

In closing, as online education becomes increasingly popular, many state and private intuitions are putting some of their programs online. I would suggest checking out some of the local state and private university online or combination programs before looking into what a for-profit school can offer. Not all for profit schools are bad. However, just like with any school, they all require careful research and at every institution you will find staff, advisors and employees who genuinely care about your success and education. This type of education is right for some people, but do not sign up for the first school that calls you without looking at all the factors!