Listen to Everyone and Trust No one?
By Jon Cleary
My
father once told me to listen to everyone and to trust
no one. This is very good advice when making your
decisions. Listen to everyone and trust no one.
The
hardest decision you will probably make this year is; “Where
should I go to for my Masters Degree and CPT?”. There are a
number of people out there that you can turn to for advice
on this matter but be alert. Be alert to the motives behind
their recommendations.
Here I
will try to help you identify the Pros and Cons associated
with each of the different individuals that may be involved
in your decision making process.
AGENTS
Pros
Agents
will have a wealth of information for you to consider. They
will be able to provide you with information regarding the
programs available by different Colleges and Universities.
They will be able to provide you with information regarding
costs relating to tuition and living expenses for each of
the different schools. They should also be able to provide
you with the names and contact information of the school
representative and other students that have attended.
Cons
They stand
to profit from your acceptance by a school. The amount of
profit is often significantly different for them from one
school to another. Therefore their motivation and enthusiasm
from school to school can vary greatly.
SCHOOLS
Pros
They will
have the greatest amount of information with regards to
varying degrees and their individual course content.
Cons
The school
will benefits from your enrollment but this is minimized by
the fact that they are required to provide accurate
information by their accrediting bodies and are held legally
responsible for any information they distribute.
What is a
person to do then when making such an important decision?
Here is a list of things that I recommend.
1.
Gather as much information from everyone on the different
schools you are considering.
2.
Do you own personal research on such things are;
a.
School accreditation.
b.
Employment opportunities in the area.
c. Talk
with student’s current attending.
d.
Talk with employment counselors for the school.
e.
Check employment boards (Dice, CareerBuilder, Monster, etc…)
for jobs in the area you are considering.
f. Look
at both sides of the coin. (Example; 15% unemployment also
mean 85% employment. Which one is largest and will apply to
you?
Finally
and most importantly trust YOURSELF. You are an intelligent
individual capable of conducting research, processing
information and finally coming to a determination. Once you
have done all of this comes the hardest part of the entire
process. That is “Make your selection” and “Take Action”.
Good Luck
in 2010.
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