Why would anyone attend a for-profit college?

[OldManOfTheSea]

Why would anyone attend a for-profit college? It's right there in their designation. For profit. They're doing it for the money, not for the students. And not for the sake of education. Maybe I'm missing something..

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/forprofit...18176.html

OldManOfTheSea

[rachel83az]

For-profit schools have better PR departments.

[anewmanx]

They have a vested interests in you graduating.

[Ideas]

Some people don't realize there is a difference.

Some of the for-profits have good prices and payment plans.

Some of them accept more transfer credits, so it makes the degree sound quicker and easier.

[dfrecore]

If you think non-profits don't make money, you're dreaming! The only difference is, they have to spend all of their money, and they can do it on salaries for their people or whatever they want. They can't show a profit, but they don't have to do anything altruistic with the money at all. Hillary Clinton has a non-profit, check it out and see if you think she's not making money from it.

BTW - if a non-profit loses money, it goes out of business too.

[Sparklette]

Program structure-might be a better fit in someone's schedule or aptitudes, ease of admissions, ability to start more quickly-some folk either need to start a program soon or find the concept appealing. For the competency based programs, it might be the most cost effective option. If work is only giving you $5200 a year for tuition, that can go a lot further in subscription periods than in per credit programs. I never envisioned doing a for profit program, but the confluence of these factors made it the most practical option. From the group I interact with that are enrolled in my program, most seem to be funded through their employer.

[eriehiker]

I have taken three one-credit classes at Capella through this program:

https://www.capella.edu/online-degrees/e...velopment/

This is just a nice little program. The quarter hours are $50 a pop. The PD can actually be done free without the credit hours. Nice subject areas for teachers.

In terms of difficulty, I found these courses to be on the higher level of difficulty for one-credit PD graduate classes, especially for the amount of credit earned. This was a good thing in terms of rigor. I had several paper submissions rejected and one of my professors for these classes was the following gentleman:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shollinger

Seemed like a really nice guy. Ohio State master's graduate - I'm Michigan, maybe that's why he rejected my paper. Haha! - and past president of the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association.

So the only thing that I can say is that I had a great experience with Capella and just shop for college like you would shop for anything else. There is value out there, but it is sometimes going to be in the back of the store on the bottom shelf.

[PrettyFlyforaChiGuy]

I attended Walden knowing it was for-profit, simply to have an easy way to keep myself productive. The low admissions requirements worked in my favor, since I was employed around Southeast Asia at the time and couldn't easily arrange a GRE sit. Walden was the polar opposite of my undergrad background, but due to the affordability, the flexibility, and the fact that it wasn't really a make-or-break degree for me, I treated it as the stepping stone that it was.

I'd love it if the university shifted to a nonprofit model, both since it would neatly align with their focus on doing good in communities, but also due to the negative outcomes and social stigma attached to for-profit models. This stigma of being somewhat predatory is actually borne out by some data: https://capseecenter.org/research/by-the...fographic/

There's also the matter of debt held by students attending for-profit universities vs. non-profits: https://blogs-images.forbes.com/maggiemc...-going.jpg This image is six years old now, but along with all the for-profit colleges topping the rankings, I was really surprised to see all those state universities. I can even understand (but not necessarily accept) NYU or USC, but look at how UofPhoenix ballooned. There's Walden right there, too. I'd be curious if that debt is divvied up more to the relatively expensive undergrad programs than their graduate-level degrees.

Even though I personally have no debt from my degrees and they met my goals for earning them, I can see that this just isn't the case at all with most students who enroll in for-profit institutions. The data above indicates that most students who enroll come from non-traditional backgrounds, may not see many other opportunities available to them, and may be more prone to fall short. Students who are considering a for-profit option should pay attention to student outcomes to help decide if their own needs are likely to be met.

[harrypotter]

Well the people who evaluate their options thoroughly usually do it for the price. Going the for-profit route can save tens of thousands of dollars.

[Merlin]

As long as two universities both grant RA degrees (and both include the same professional programmatic accreditations--if that is required), it doesn't really matter that much if one is for-profit and the other is non-profit as long as the price you're paying is reasonable. There are overpriced schools (and bargains) on both sides of the profit/non-profit fence. Several for-profit universities have poor reputations as well, but not all.

To me, the bigger difference comes down to whether a college is a research-focused school or not. From what I've seen, you won't find too many (any?) for-profit research-based schools out there. That will also tie into the reputation of a school's degrees and whether they will add much value when applying to postgraduate degree programs. If you don't plan to continue your education then this probably isn't that important to you. Unless you are in (or plan to move into) a research-focused career.

Finding a degree program that meets your academic and professional goals while satisfying within your budget requirements is probably the most important qualifier when looking at schools. Unless you're looking at elite colleges, in which case you probably won't be reading the posts on this forum.