Many of the elite colleges today are not in the top 50 in the U.S. in terms of things like placing undergraduates in top ten graduate schools or executive jobs in American corporations or eventually listing their undergraduates in Who's Who in America. (Some schools that are in the top fifty in all these categories are Oberlin, Colorado College, Wooster, Haverford, Davidson and a dozen or so others, none of which are Ivy League, Seven Sister or Baby Ivies.) How do you prepare to get the best education for your investment? What role does independent learning play in your decision? The college where I teach a seminal, required course in college writing and research, Charter Oak State College, is rated number two in the nation for serving non-traditional learners. We've been doing this since 1973 in Connecticut.
Forbes magazine:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2016/05/23/10-great-colleges-for-adults-returning-to-school/?goal=0_2adb99a0b8-448a117939-36292893#229d30314208
"There’s no doubt about it. Getting your degree – either a Master’s or bachelor’s – is a great way of upping your chances of scoring a better job or climbing the ladder faster within the organization at which you’re already working.
"But things are different for adults returning to college life: they have less time to pursue their studies, have different needs (like online courses) and financial constraints are more pressing. College and university information hub, College Factual, ranks places of higher learning into a handful of different categories. One of those is the Best Colleges for Returning Adults, in which the company rates which institutions offer a great education and best meet the needs of returning adults. (See our gallery below for College Factual’s Top 10.)
"Number one on College Factual’s list is Excelsior College. Located in Albany, New York, the private college is made up entirely of part-time students— over 38,000 of them. More than 2,600 of whom are Post-9/11 G.I. Bill recipients. The school ranks highly for its online courses in business, management and marketing but really shines in its online coursework in engineering, health, nursing and liberal arts. Students graduating in the 2013-2014 academic year reported going on to jobs with an average salary of $50,000.
"In the 2-spot on College Factual’s ranking is Charter Oak State College, based in New Britain, Connecticut. About 80% of the public school’s students are part-timers, and its online courses in liberal arts studies are among its most popular for returning adults. Graduates went on to starting positions that paid $37,000 a year. One drawback, it would seem, is that the only degree the school offers beyond a bachelor’s is a Master’s in Organizational Effectiveness and Leadership. Adults looking to advance their educations in areas other than that one would need to look elsewhere."
