1. What is the difference between a diploma and a certificate?

Traditionally, diplomas were given to high school students who completed their high school studies. Certificates are generally different than diplomas because they are given out to students who have passed a specific course of study not necessarily related to high school graduation requirements. Certificates serve as proofs that students have mastered a particular skill typically associated with a job requirement. Some employers do not require a bachelor or associated degree in a certain field of study as long as they know an applicant has received training in a particular skill. This training is often represented by a certificate.

2. Is distance education the same as traditional education?

Many of the overall processes in a distance education and traditional education are the same. Students receive instructions and are evaluated based on work completed in the form of tests, papers and others. However, in distance education, there appears to be fewer opportunities for face-to-face interaction with professors or peers. Some distance education programmes offer little structure thus requiring students to practice self-discipline in order to complete the requirements. In some cases, both have the same timeframe and requirements except that physical classroom attendance is not required in distance education.

3. What technology requirements will I need to take a distance learning course?

While technology requirements vary from school to school, most distance learning programmes use the Internet, e-mail and online discussion technologies to deliver course content and promote student-instructor interaction. The minimum requirements would be access to the Internet and a computer with the necessary software to complete the course work.

4. What is an Ivy League school?

Ivy League is a specific group of eight academic institutions named for the ivy plants that adorn their older buildings. The term “Ivy League” was coined in 1937 by a newspaper columnist to describe football competition at these universities located in the Northeastern United States. Today, it is most commonly associated with the institutions’ academic excellence. These universities admit less than 20% of their applicants and require an academically rigorous curriculum. The eight universities that make up the Ivy League are: Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; Columbia University in New York, New York; Cornel University in Ithaca, New York; Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Princeton University in the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, New Jersey; University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.