Getting a fast high school diploma online. Is this as good as or even better than a GED?
The GED is awarded by
your state when you successfully pass
a set of five exams in math, science, reading, social studies and
writing. The
GED tests cannot be taken online, only at official test centers.
It can take some preparation to be able to pass the GED, so it is
understandable that people look for alternatives, such as getting a
high school diploma online. The question is, is this a good
approach?
In theory, it's great. You get some credit for life experience, you
take a pretty easy test- much easier than the GED- and a few days later
you get a beautiful, official looking Highschool diploma in the mail,
from a prestigious sunding high school. What could be wrong with
that? Well, it really depends on what your needs are. If you just
want to finally get that high school diploma on your wall, and feel
like you have graduated, this could be the right move for you. The cost
is usually $200 or so, and it usually takes less than a week start to
finish, and very little time. However, the truth is that the
vast majority of colleges and universities do not consider these online
high school diplomas to be valid, and won't honor them. Neither will
many employees. So if your goal is to open doors either through
further education or employment, it is likely that this isn't the way
to go. So be sure to read all the fine print on these sites, and
understand your own motivations. It may be there is no easy way
around studying for a few months to prepare for taking the GED. And
then, when you do pass, even if it takes a few tries (you have three
years to complete all five sections from the time you pass your first
section), you will know you EARNED your high school diploma, and you
can rest assured that colleges, universities and future employers will
honor that.
So, the choice is yours, and in the end you must pursue the course of
action the seems best to you, given your own personal and career goals.
However, for the majority of situations, completing high school
online, and getting a diploma- it creates an impressive looking diploma
that has little real "meat" or power in terms of moving foward, while
completing a GED means that colleges, universities and employers
throughout the country, and in many parts of the world, will recongize
and honor that accomplishment, which could open more doors.
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