Last Updated: April 13, 2009: 12:36 PM ET.
Should you attend Elite U or a flagship state university? Unfortunately, in many states, the flagship state university may not be too well thought of beyond the state's border (maybe not even that far).
DOES EDUCATION PAY?
Before selecting a college, one should determine whether one wants to go to college. Althouogh for many it may not be relevant, it still good to ask
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT COLLEGE LIFE from College Board.
FINDING A COLLEGE-SEARCH TOOL ON THE WEB isn't hard. Your first step should be to slightly narrow down your possible college choices. The best site for this and also one of the simpliesst to use is the COLLEGE NAVIGATOR.
"There are plenty [of websites] that will let you filter schools based on criteria including selectivity, diversity of the student body, and sports teams. The 'Counselor-O-Matic' at PrincetonReview.com, the 'College Matchmaker' at CollegeBoard.com and the college search at Petersons.com are just three examples." The problem is that the marketing departments' of these three sites "are hungry for your kid's personal information and will ask for it. And just as important, you don't necessarily want much narrowing down early in the game."
Based on the article in Money (January 2008) page 72.
DIPLOMA MILL. Wikipedia says that "A diploma mill ... is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. These degrees are often awarded based on life experience."
The state of Michigan has a LIST OF UNACCREDITED COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. Need the names of accreditited universities of dubious merit? Turn on your television and check out the advertisements.