Building the Perfect Backup Plan

Hitching all of your horses to one wagon can be a risky proposition, especially when applying for college or university. We're brought up believing in certain myths, often reinforced by promotional literature: that life on a university campus is the only real high road to success and a fulfilled life. As a result, the feeling of rejection from one of these institutions can be crushing. Therefore, it's always a wise move to keep a backup plan on hand so you won't be caught off guard just in case the college of your dreams fails to take your application.

Your backup plan should always include several options, including the option to work. You can take this time to build up your savings – money you can put toward your education (conveniently reducing your student debt load later on). Even better, the skills, experience and connections you acquire on the job may help you a great deal once you're finally accepted into college.

Taking some time off to travel is also a sensible step, if you can possibly arrange it. By exposing yourself to new people and places, you're opening yourself up to a whole new world of possibilities you may otherwise have never considered. With a little time and perspective, you may be surprised to find yourself making entirely different study choices than those you would have chosen directly out of high school.

Some colleges and universities, like Homburg Academy, will let you take sample classes – even attend entire courses that you can put toward your eventual diploma or degree. This is a great way to build up academic credit, and to find out if certain colleges are right for you. You may find that the school you'd been longing to get into doesn't quite live up to your expectations. In cases like this, the try-before-you-buy scenario can save you a lot of money, and point you in the direction of new and exciting options for your education.

One of those options is, of course, online education. One of the best aspects of e-Learning is its flexibility, allowing you to take courses at your own pace and schedule, rather than somebody else's. Without buildings, maintenance staff or moving expenses, online courses are also generally far more affordable than their campus-based counterparts. Since you can study from anywhere with an internet connection, e-Learning also lets you save on travel expenses. The savings become abundantly clear when one thinks about the current costs of moving to a new town or city, fuel, rent, and even the cost of public transportation.

Take the time now, before you graduate, to build your perfect backup plan. Read about different schools online, talk with university students, graduates and professors and build up a list of colleges that offer the kinds of courses you'd like to take. Above all, consider your options for taking online courses as a way to continue your learning. You may be surprised to learn that the best possible option for your education is as near as your closest computer screen.