By Michael Ormsby
My best advice: If you are still in high school, stay and finish. You will make more money, get better jobs, and feel better about yourself with a high school diploma. No one has ever been sorry they finished high school.
500,000 People Will Pass the GED This Year.
You’re here because you want to be one of them. The one-of-a-kind best-selling GED Academy learning program can get you there, fast and easy.
But if it’s too late for that and you left high school without a diploma, what are your options?
Can I still get my high school diploma?
Some states have adult high schools, where you can take classes and earn a high school diploma, but most often, local adult high schools are a route to a GED® diploma. A few accredited schools offer high school diplomas, but they can be costly, and the programs take several years. Even then, some employers or colleges won’t take the diploma, if it’s based on online testing.
Many "Internet high schools" claim to offer high school diplomas or an “online GED diploma” in a few weeks (or even a few days!), based on a quick test or “life experience.” Be very wary of these. They are fakes; all you receive is phony diploma that means nothing. These online “chools” are diploma mills. They’re in the diploma printing business, not the education business.
Is the GED diploma the best choice?
The GED diploma was created in 1942 for people who were not able to finish high school. The GED diploma is considered equal to a high school diploma by 97% of colleges and universities, and virtually all businesses. A GED diploma essentially is a high school diploma. In some states, you are awarded a state high school diploma, and in other states, you get a GED test credential. In either case, the GED test credential is equivalent to a high school diploma, and gives you the opportunity for better jobs, more training, college study, vocational school, promotions, military enlistment, and government jobs.
The GED diploma is issued by your state when you complete the 7.5 hour set of five tests in person at one of the official GED test locations. The American Council on Education, the people who write the GED tests, authorize each state to administer the standardized GED exams. So wherever you live you take the same GED tests.
What are the advantages of a GED diploma?
- People with a GED diploma make $480,000 more in their lifetime than people without a high school or GED diploma. That averages out to $12,000 a year more income for you. Not a bad raise!
- A GED diploma will help you get a better job. Employers would rather hire someone who has the basic skills to pass the GED Test than someone who doesn’t. Completing the GED diploma means that the graduate has the fortitude to successfully finish a difficult exam. The GED diploma is not a small thing! (But it doesn’t have to be hard.)
- You can get a GED diploma quickly and inexpensively. Most comunity colleges offer a low-cost or free GED class, and there are excellent GED classes online and free online GED test resources.
- Passing the GED test will make you more valuable to your employer because you’ll have gained basic writing and math skills in addition to demonstrating critical thinking skills. You’ll find it’s easier to get a work promotion or advance through workplace job-training programs once you have your GED diploma.
- Making the effort to get a GED diploma opens doors for advanced training. Most specialized training programs require either a high school diploma or a GED diploma. And with a GED diploma, you can look at higher education opportunities.
- You’ll feel better about yourself with a GED diploma because you’ve accomplished something that only 60% of high school graduates can do.
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Finally, consider the impact of your educational achievement on
your family. That alone goes a long way; it’s priceless.
GED diploma or high school? Really there’s only one choice for most people. Passing the GED Test is the quickest, easiest and simplest way to improve the opportunities in your life.
