Earning a College Degree Essay

Earning a college degree has always been a very important goal of mine. My children are getting older and in a few short years will start looking into college themselves. It became more important for me now than ever to make my dream, my goal, a reality. There were many factors that came into play when I decided that this was the right time in my life to return to school. Being a non-traditional student, cost, flexibility, and accreditation were among the most important factors for me when choosing an online university. As my research into finding the right university continued, I found that Western Governors University had much more to offer their students than just an education. The financial aspect of returning to school was probably my biggest concern. I wanted to earn a degree, but didn’t want to be left with a hefty student loan payment at the end. Many of the online University’s that I looked into were â€Å"for profit† schools. Being inexperienced and new to this research I didn’t realize that there was such thing as a â€Å"non for profit† online University until I stumbled upon WGU. With affordable tuition, I knew that my dream could soon become reality. My children and husband are my number one priorities. They always have been, always will be. My time spent with them is precious and something that I would not give up for anything. The flexibility in classes and coursework that WGU offers has given me the perfect balance to be both a mother and a student. Since WGU is a competency based school, this allows me to spend less time on the material that I already know and concentrate more on the subjects that I am not as familiar with. Accreditation was another important factor for me. I didn’t want to spend the next 3 to 4 years going to school, spending countless hours reading and studying, only to find out that future employers would not take my degree seriously. Finding out that WGU is highly respected among businesses made my decision that much easier. There have been a few unexpected surprises along my journey thus far, with WellConnect being one of them. I never realized how much an online university could care about the health and wellbeing of their students. WGU also has some great mentors who not only offer encouragement, but push you to do the best and be the best that you can be. From my first inquiry of Western Governors University to now, I can say that, without a doubt, I made the right decision. I have finally found an online university who is just as committed to my success as I am. I would encourage anyone thinking about  returning to school as a non-traditional student to look no further than Western Governors University. With their low-cost tuition, flexibility, and accreditation to their amazing and caring mentors and their competency based program, WGU is definitely a perfect fit.