[keela_z]

I recently got scammed by the "online school" called belford high school.
I was wondering how do you know if the school is not a scam? And if anyone knows of any schools that are actually telling the truth. I don't want to pay anymore money to scammers. Thank you

[Synnen]

Find out who they claim to be accredited by, and then check with the regional accrediting agencies to verify their accreditation. Only schools accredited by one of the regional accrediting agencies have credits that will transfer to other schools, as a general rule.

Make SURE the wording is exact on the accreditation. Some schools will switch around the wording to make it sound the same--as in, they'll say they're the Middle States Association of Technical Colleges rather than the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Regional Accreditation for Online Schools - The 6 Regional Accreditors

There is a list of the regional agencies.

Remember, a school can be accredited by a specific profession's accrediting agency, but you are not likely to get federal financial aid or be able to transfer credits if it is not a Regional Agency.

You can also check with the US Dept. of Eduction as to whether a not a school is valid.

As far as online schools go--there aren't that many I would recommend offhand. University of Phoenix is one. Devry is another.

Depending on what you are getting your degree in, though, you may find that distance learning is NOT going to work. For instance--a biology degree SHOULD require lab time, in an actual lab, with an actual professor. Any school that promises you differently is probably scamming you. Same for nursing--if you're not actually doing hands-on work to get a degree, you are probably being scammed.

Common sense should prevail---and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[keela_z]

Thank you!
Do you know if Excel high school online is a scam?
I'm looking into that school, but need to know if it is telling the truth.
It says it's a member of the BBB, and I checked the bbb website, and they're telling the truth.

[Synnen]

I'm so sorry... I misread your original question as if it were a college, not a high school.

If they are a member of the BBB, they are probably NOT a scam. You might also check with your state's requirements for high school graduation, and see if the online school you are looking at meets those requirements.

As far as the specific school you mentioned--do you have a link? I was unable to find them just typing that name into a search engine.

[OnlineDegreeExpert]

There are several easy ways to tell if an online college is real or fake.
First, determine if it is accredited by an agency recognized by the US Dept
Of Education; if it isn't it is likely a diploma mill. More than 300 online degree mills offer "college degrees online" these days but are either not accredited or are accredited by fake agencies. Consult the free online service, The Diploma Mill Police, at GetEducated.com. This free service chronicles more than 300 fake colleges and issues free reports and consumer warnings on online education scams. FYI: Belford University is listed in GetEducated.com's Diploma Mill Police database. Check their report and their URL and state of residence to see of this is the same school you speak of.

[Fr_Chuck]

Well as for as bedford, of course they show on tiher web site they are not accredited by any group reconised by the US board of education.

The other way if you get a degree or dipolma without any study merely by sending them money it is always fake.

Next the only excel I could find was the one that was not online, Often some online schools make similar names to real schools.
An being a BBB member does not make them a real school, it only means they pay the BBB fee and will normally refund money in a dispute