By Roy Gasquet:When considering where to attend college after graduating from high school, many students often opt for the large university setting. The wide range of class options and the larger number of amenities and services make the larger campuses the most attractive choices in most people’s eyes. But before you cement plans and mail off that rather hefty tuition check, there is another alternative: smaller campuses.

Regional campuses tend to be similar in nature to larger colleges just smaller in setting. Regional colleges usually make it quite easy to transfer credits to a larger college. This allows you to attend a smaller campus setting to earn your required credits and then move on to the large University if you wish to. You can take your required courses at a regional college in order to set you up for success at a University.

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By Emma Fernton:

The path ahead, as many studies and surveys have brought out, is taking some online courses or getting an online degree. This opportunity that has rapidly evolved in the recent years allows many of us who do not have access to university or college campus to get ahead and obtain an education. Today, more and more institutions are offering a variety of classes online and you can choose between a certificate, a diploma or a degree.

Online education opens vistas that were unavailable. It allows people to take courses in their own time while continuing with their jobs, it allows people to upgrade their existing skills, or perhaps change careers completely. Those who are unable to go back to school full time can still pursue their dreams while working and continuing to pay the bills of everyday life. Not everyone can quit a job for school as student loans are not easy to obtain and they do not cover enough of the costs associated with a quality education.

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This article is exceprted from 8 Steps to Help Black Families Pay For College by Thomas LaVeist, Ph.D. and Will LaVeist.

A school’s atmosphere is very important.It determines whether you’ll feel comfortable there, whether you’ll find your niche. We once heard it put like this: “Going to college ain’t about getting in, it’s about fitting in.” This issue has raised for many African American students the question of whether to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) or a predominantly white institution. African American students can be successful at either; it’s up to the student.

The Scoop on HBCUs
First of all, by definition, an HBCU is a school that was established before 1964 with the intention of serving the African American community. Often people talk about HBCUs as if they were all the same, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are more than 100 HBCUs in the United States, and they come in all types and sizes. HBCUs can be public or private, and come in both the two-year and four-year variety. Some are large, and some are small. HBCUs are located in 20 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands, in both urban and rural areas. Some have competitive admissions standards, whereas others offer quality educational opportunities to students who have less than stellar high school grades. Some, such as Lincoln University of Missouri, actually have large white populations. And few, if any of them, are really all black.

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