Questions on enrolling?
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Questions on enrolling?
We're here 9am-9pm ET Mon-Fri
Questions on enrolling? We're here 9am-9pm ET Mon-Fri
Questions on enrolling?
Questions on enrolling?
Questions on enrolling?
College is a great next step after high school, but it’s not the only choice, nor is it the right choice for everyone. Society can sometimes make it feel like you’re a failure if you decide not to go to college, but this could not be further from the truth. Options like career school, certifications, and training programs exist and are just as respectable and valid as college.
As an added bonus, you may come out of these alternatives with less debt.
In this article, you can explore ten alternatives to college that can help you decide what’s right for you.
Career diplomas are educational programs geared toward specific careers. Unlike a full degree program, the courses are all focused on a specific field and don’t have many general education courses. A career diploma could be great for someone who knows exactly what they want to do and is a great option for those interested in opening up their own business or going into the healthcare field.
Medical Billing and Coding graduate Rachel Delgado decided to go to work after high school in a medical office, and that’s what led her to an online medical billing and coding program. "Nobody expects an 18-year-old right out of high school to go straight to college to know what they want to do in life,” she says. “It's okay to work for a bit and then find something and fall in love with it and then go to school for it."
Certification programs can be incredibly beneficial for a number of fields you may want to break into. Two big examples are when looking for jobs in the medical field or trades fields. Some jobs require certification while others may just prefer it, and requirements can vary state to state. To put into perspective how important a certification can be, 83% of employers in healthcare would hire a candidate with nationally recognized certification over a candidate without certification.
Bob Shafer, Skilled Trades instructor at Penn Foster Group, highlights how important certification can be. “More and more in the trades industry, you're going to see some kind of certification being needed for employment, whether it's ASE-type certifications or electrical ones.”
Dana Perea, an online paralegal studies graduate, shares her first-hand experience of how a certificate program helped her: "Without my studies and what I learned in the paralegal studies certificate program, I never would have been able to get all of that as well as learning the new job."
Read more: Upskilling: What it is, and How to Use it to Earn More
Getting an associate degree is a great option for those who don’t want to take on the big undertaking of a four-year undergraduate degree but still want a degree to put on their resume. An associate degree is a college degree, but it’s a much smaller commitment than a bachelor’s degree since it usually only takes two years to complete in comparison to the four years a bachelor’s usually takes. It can also be kinder to your wallet than a four-year degree.
Early childhood education graduate Sarah Sand found her associate degree program incredibly beneficial. “I am an education, childcare, and library services director... I use every course I’ve ever taken, whether it was psychology, English, or public speaking.”
An undergraduate certificate program is not a degree program, but it is a focused education program that shows you gained the knowledge and skills for a specific area. An undergraduate certificate program can be more affordable and time efficient than a degree program if you know exactly what you want to do. Completing an undergraduate certificate program can look great on a resume and help you stand out when applying for jobs. In fact, the number of certificates awarded has grown since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read more: What’s the Difference Between an Undergraduate & Associates?
Training programs are a great way to gain or enhance specific skills and knowledge! They can be a single course or a series of courses and are often industry-focused. Many prepare you for certification once completed as well, and some programs may cover the cost of your certification exam. You’ll develop practical skills if you opt for a professional training program, especially since many are hands-on.
Read more: Where Are James Madison High School Diplomas Accepted?
Trade schools are an excellent alternative to college! You may think trades are just plumbing and construction, which are both great careers, but you may be surprised at the variety trade school has to offer. From vet tech to locksmith to even jewelry design, there are a lot of possibilities! Young adults may opt for a trade school over traditional college as it’s a quicker route to a career and may be less expensive than seeking a degree. Vocational programs have actually seen a spike in recent years, making trades a popular alternative to college.
David Pennington, a small engine repair graduate, shares how a trades program benefitted him: "I've always been highly interested in engines and taking stuff apart, putting it together. This just gave me the detail of it, per se, like how it works on the inside."
Read more: High School College Prep Diploma vs. Technical Diploma
Community college is a great option for those who don’t know what they want to do after high school. Higher education isn’t going anywhere so you don’t have to jump into a four-year degree three months after graduation just because it feels like that’s what people do. Everyone’s path is different, and there are benefits to going an alternative route.
Community college is a great way to get your general education credits out of the way and can even allow you to take courses you’re interested in to potentially point you in the direction of what you want to do. If you decide to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program, you can transfer your credits over so you don’t have to start from scratch!
Since the pandemic, online schools have been on the rise. Many students went back to brick-and-mortar school after lockdown ended, but so many students found that the online model worked better for them and decided to stick with it. Enrolling in an online career, degree, or training program after high school can be beneficial in a number of ways, including flexibility, convenience, self-paced curriculum, and ability to study anywhere.
Rachel Delgado shares her experience with online school: "Even though I was skeptical of going to school online because I was homeschooled, I went to an online high school and it worked and I loved it. And so going to an online college was even better."
Read more: Parents, Here’s Why a Nontraditional Education May Be Right for Your Child
An apprenticeship is a structured, work-based learning program that combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Apprenticeships are often recommended and even sometimes required for a lot of careers in the skilled trade industry. They help ensure you know how to do the job with hands-on training. One of the biggest benefits of an apprenticeship is that you often get paid for the duration of your apprenticeships, so you can learn and pay your bills at the same time.
You can gain exposure and experience through volunteering and interning. Internships can often lead to full time positions and even sometimes are paid positions. Volunteering of course does not come with a paycheck, but can be incredibly beneficial to help you learn the ropes of a certain field and can also be incredibly rewarding.
There are a number of ways you can find internships or volunteer opportunities. Networking can be huge, so attending industry events and joining groups on sites like LinkedIn can potentially lead to internships. You can also tailor your resume for the specific internship you’re looking for. Reaching out directly is, of course, a great option to obtain volunteering gigs and potentially an internship. These can be great alternatives to college because they can lead to real world jobs.
As you can see, there are a plethora of college alternatives if you feel like a four-year degree isn’t for you. You can hear more stories from real students who opted for different kinds of online programs instead of traditional college. If you think a four-year degree isn’t for you, consider any one (or more) of these alternatives and find what you love for less.
Laura Amendola started her Penn Foster Group career in 2015 in the Education department, where she worked closely with instructors to help students achieve their goals. She has a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature with a minor in Writing from Marywood University. Laura enjoys reading, snuggling with her cat, and recently has formed a love-hate relationship with cooking.
