Drive-Thru U: The New College Experience

          The college experience is a time that every student used to have to go through. Some loved it and others hated it. Today, the "college experience" has metamorphosed into something different. With unemployment at a very high rate, the search for a good job is a knife fight in the America of today. A college degree is always a good weapon to have when you make that resume. But college is expensive and sometimes not available to all students. Hence the birth of the para-university.

          A para-university is a new opportunity for those seeking a college degree. It is usually a school online that offers various degrees. Para-universities are booming today and with good reason. They are convenient, relatively cheap, and offer what the consumer desires. But are para-universities good for our public school system and traditional colleges. I would have to say that the para-university is good for both. Let's address its affect of the public school system. A young person can get average grades in high school but get no scholarship money for college. The quick response is to take out loans but is this smart for a young person to already have the burden of debt at the beginning of the adult life? No, it is not. The para-university offers this person an opportunity. It offers them an opportunity to receive a higher education which usually results in obtaining a better job. Knowing that there is a para-university to attend might raise the morale of current high school students who would otherwise have no hope of going to college.

Although technically in competition, I don't believe the para-university is a problem for the traditional university. The reasoning is that those who have the means and ability to attend a regular college, will always do so. I see the para-university not as something that would prevent students from attending the usual universities. I believe that attending a college in physical form gives you a sense of self-fulfillment and pride not found in a para-university. But for those who have children, work a job, or don't have the money, the para-university is a perfect fit.