I’ve also been adjunct faculty at both for-profit and nonprofit institutions. Each has positives and negatives. I agree strongly with Mike when he says that prospective students and their families need to ask a lot of questions before choosing a (or any) educational institution.

Okay, but do your homework. My friends went to a dreaded for profit school, and they really did get screwed. They could have gotten literally the same degree at the local community college for a fraction of the cost. Not to mention, the “100%” placement rate was at some local IT company that paid the graduates $8/hr in a bad economy. All they had to do was work there for enough time for it to “count.” On the other hand, my cousin’s wife works at a for profit, and they do a good job in educating their students. Look at the for profits. But don’t forget to look at your local community college either, which I guarantee you is going to be cheaper, and in most locales, more respectable. I just graduated in nursing, and I can tell you employers will look with a jaundiced eye at grads from a for profit. Why? Because they are evaluating the quality of your program, the competitiveness of getting in, not just you being able to pass the test. If you’re a “customer” instead of a student, they’re going to want to get your money, regardless of what kind of nurse you make, and oh yeah, you’re probably also not going to be kicked out because why would you kick out a customer?

Dan, I am currently in the military and would like to attend one of these dreaded for-profit schools when I leave the military but there are so many negative reviews across the web warning prospective students to not attend. Any advice on finding no bull stats on job placement and information about the quality of education?