And then, there is another kind of students who would literally pay for their diplomas by seeking out “diploma mills” or “degree mills”. According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, diploma mill is “an institution of higher education operating without supervision of a state or professional agency and granting diplomas which are either fraudulent or because of the lack of proper standards worthless.” Easily put, you pay the diploma or degree mills, and you get your degree. They are not accredited, and are substandard or fraudulent “colleges” that offer different graduate level degrees with little or no work. They are illegal in most states. Some of these are just a mailbox: you mail the money, we mail the diploma. Some asks for a bit of distance learning work (learn at home via mail or computer) but it’s nothing to the college standard. Some claimed to award your diploma based on your “education history and life experience”.
But with all the people with good intentions to get higher education, some might be lured into the mills because they don’t know about the mills. Some students or parents might think that they could save money by getting the degree through the mill and head home. Keep in mind that not all distance learning or unaccredited colleges are diploma mills. Some of them do offer legitimate non-accredited courses, something for your own good but not for a degree.
There are some ways to spot the mills. Diploma mills often use a name similar to a well-known college or university. They usually show little to no selectivity when admitting students. Degrees can be earned in far less time than usual, and the requirements are few and often unspecific. Tuition and fees are often on a per-degree basis, or a student may be offered a special deal for two degrees.
Why is diploma mill a problem? First, you are paying for an illegal document. That’s right. A diploma from unaccredited college that is not recognized by your State means nothing. If an employer hired you when you applied for a job with that diploma, you are committing fraud because you are using false document. Since the diploma from the mills really means nothing, you have just been scammed out of your money and some of your time.
A sample of fake diploma printing service.
Speaking of wasting money and time, I hate to have to break this to you, but there are students who treat their real accredited institutions as if they were diploma mills. Some people particularly choose the schools known to be “easy to get in” and/or “don’t grade too hard”. Some gets to the prestigious schools but doesn’t care about their academic life, and barely make the passing grades to graduate. They are just at the school to do something and get a degree with recognizable name.
Now we’re getting to the question of what you could do to get the most out of your money from studying abroad. Some people go through their college not knowing or realizing that they could get so much more for their money. Here is something I’ve learned from my experiences to help you get your money’s worth.
Take daring classes. Some colleges are more famous for some programs over another. Like at USC, we’re well known for cinema-television program, so some people just take some cinema classes as their elective courses. Or you could take classes for something you’ve always wanted to do or learn. Take some classes you’d enjoy and remember to round out your college experience abroad.
Go beyond the syllabus. So you’ll have all sorts of material to read for class, but don’t just stop there. Take what you are studying beyond the textbooks. Search the Internet for more information about the subject. Follow the news in your industry. Read magazines of your trades. Talk about the subject with your professor or TA (teaching assistant) before or after class.
Go after the professor. Take advantages of professors’ office hours and go talk to them. Ask questions about the class, the field of study, how they get to where they are now. Ask anything. Office hours are the perfect chance for you to know your professors and pick their brain, and at the same time they get to know you personally. This relationship will help with your academic, letters of recommendation, or job connection.
Go outside the classroom. Apply for an internship, a TA position, or on-campus job that fits your interest. Some of the non-paid internship offer school credits. Check with your academic advisor about that. With the internship or job, you’d get to use your knowledge and/or get a glimpse of the real working world.
Not everyone could do all that I have mentioned. Then again, how much you get out of your tuition has a lot to do with perspective. If grades are all that matter to you, then magna cum laude on your diploma with no experience would be worth it. I have to admit that I opted for Bs in some undergraduate classes because experiences matter to me more than grades. I made up for less than stellar grades with work experience, personal and professional connections, and the joy of American college traditions. As long as you put effort into what you love and learn a lot in the process, it’s all worth it. (Just make sure your parents are happy too.)
