Find out what percentage of the students complete the school s program. A high dropout rate could be a sign that many students that enrolled in the school were disappointed in the training that they received. Ask recent graduates what they thought of the school s training, and whether the school s training assisted them in getting a job or improving their position in an existing job. Contact the personnel offices of companies that hire employees in the vocation covered by the school and ask if they have hired graduates of the schools that you are considering. Ask employers if there are other vocational schools that these employers believe provide good training.
Many vocational schools encourage students to use educational loans to finance their training.
But if the school does not provide sound training, or if the cost of the training is too high, many students will be unable to repay the loans and will default. When students are unable to make the payments on an educational loan, the consequences are much more severe than defaulting on an ordinary loan because the government has imposed special penalties for educational loan defaults. When evaluating a vocational school, be sure to check its loan default rate. The U.S. Department of Education and schools keep statistics on how many students who used federally insured educational loans to attend a school defaulted on their loans. The average default rate for borrowers who attend proprietary schools is about 15 percent.