The GED high school diploma, officially known as the General Equivalency Diploma or the General Education Diploma, is not actually a high school diploma. It’s an alternative to earning a regular high school diploma from an institution. The program was initially started to help war veterans to continue their education and assimilate into society. When applying for a job, most employers require at least high school education level, and in addition to the high school diploma they accept the GED, which makes work available to individuals who didn’t graduate from high school. Sometimes the GED is colloquially and technically, inaccurately referred to as the GED high school diploma because it’s the equivalent of high school education level. Getting a GED sometimes has a stigma attached to it, being viewed as inferior to a “real” high school diploma, and while the experience of earning either diploma is different, in the real world they hold equal weight and take you the same distance. Having a GED doesn’t put you at a disadvantage compared to someone who graduated from an official high school.

There are various reasons why a person would go for a GED high school diploma—they might have dropped out of high school, taken homeschooling, immigrated, or been unable to graduate from high school due to not passing or because of personal reasons. The GED is often associated with celebrities who perhaps skip high school because of their busy schedules or because of harassment from peers, an unfortunate but common problem for famous students trying to fit into a normal school. Famous celebrities who earned a GED high school diploma are pop singers like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, actors like Bill Cosby and Christian Slater, and others.

To register for the GED test, you have to be at least 16, a resident, and you can’t have a high school diploma or be enrolled in a high school. Then you have to show proof of identity, take a pre test to qualify, and pay a fee for the test. The actual test is administered in a public area like a community college. The GED consists of 5 topics: writing, social studies, math, reading, and science. It’s a standardized test, kind of like the SAT. There’s essay writing and multiple choice for math problems, science concepts, reading comprehension and history. After you pass the approximately 7 hour long test, you earn a GED high school diploma that says that your knowledge is at the high school education level standard.

Everyone knows that acquiring a college education is crucial in this day and age. When you factor in the rise in population, along with the bad economy, attaining a real college degree is pretty much mandatory if you plan on getting a job that does not pay minimum wage. Having said that, most people tend to need some sort of loan or financial aid for college. This means federal or state grants, scholarships, and student loans. Since not everyone is eligible for a scholarship or grant money, a student loan is all that is left. However, once the college days are over and it’s time to join the real world, all that student loan money has to be paid back. This is why student loan consolidation is an option that most college graduates take full advantage of.

If you are not there yet, you should realize that college loans are to be paid back in installments starting six months after graduation. The lenders essentially give you a six-month break in order to find your new job. At this point you are sent monthly bills with your monthly amount due. If you by chance took out loans from more than one lender, this can get a tad pricey. Suddenly you owe three different lenders $200 each month. That may not be a feasible sum to handle on top of your other bills. Therefore you look into student loan consolidation options. Some of these can be addressed through major banks like Wells Fargo, or through companies like debtconsolidationcare.com. It just depends on which banks will assist you and who offers the lowest rate on your payments.

Okay, so you get the idea of student loans and consolidation, which basically means to have one bank pay off your entire student debt, and then proceed to charge you one monthly fee that is paid toward your whole student debt. Typically this fee is low and has a decent percentage rate. It is taken into account that it is a student loan and not a business or home loan. Regardless, there is also the issue of subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Just to be clear, as a student you want unsubsidized loans for school funding because this means they do not accrue interest while you are in school. Interest only applies to the loan once you start paying it back six months down the road. However, subsidized loans accrue interest from day one. No matter which type of loans or loans you went after in college, you will likely still need to examine student loan consolidation options in order to limit your monthly payback to only one bill. In all likelihood, this monthly bill will not be very high if you didn’t borrow a great deal of money. In the end, the student loan consolidation business determines the monthly payment by choosing an APR, which is an annual percentage rate.

All states in the Union have city and community colleges that are supported by local, state, and federal funding. Most community colleges are two year colleges, or junior colleges. These provide the first two years of course study for a four year degree, either a bachelor’s of science or a bachelor’s of art. For those who would have gone to a four year, or senior, college, but did not have the grades or did not take all required subjects to enter a senior college, the junior college is an excellent second chance. There you can take the subjects your failed to take in high school and make the grade point average that will convince a four year college that you can handle their coursework. This implies rightly that the admission requirements for a two year college are generally lower than a four year institution.

Although the requirements may be lower, perhaps accepting a high school diploma irrespective of grade point, or accepting a student based on age, junior colleges do not necessarily provide an education lower in quality than a four year institution. Many fine professors staff these community colleges, and most of them are equipped with labs and facilities equivalent to what a four year college would provide their freshmen and sophomores. They generally do not have the extensive libraries of a four year college, but many four year colleges do not make books relevant to higher studies available to freshmen and sophomores, especially senior colleges that are also research colleges. More than likely, your community college library will have all that you need to supplement your studies and complete your research assignments.

Junior colleges award associates degrees in arts and sciences. The course work parallels a senior college, so an associates degree, with good grades, should easily get you into a senior college. In addition to associates degrees and senior college level preparation, community colleges also offer certificate programs in several fields, such as automotive repair, technical vocations, firefighting, law enforcement, and other vocationally oriented studies. Nursing certificates, dental assisting, court recording, landscaping, even retail sales training and certificates can be obtained from a community college.

Community colleges are also less expensive than senior college. In some states, such as California, community college tuition is free. You just have to buy the books and supplies you’ll need. Going to community college reduces the time you have available to work, so financial aid is often available through both the state and the Federal government. You can also obtain college loans that you can start paying after you’ve graduated. The Veterans administration will pay college attendance benefits to a veteran attending a junior college.

The community college fulfills an important and needed function in the community, not only as a means of continuing your education, but as a means of providing community culture, as with sports activities. Many professional football and basketball players got their start in junior colleges. A hub for political and social activity in the community, the community college can be your city’s forum for all kinds of local issues.

A second chance to some, a beginning for others, community colleges play an important part in your city and may play an important part in your life and careers. Check out your local junior colleges and see how they may enrich your life.