Different types of colleges and degree options

[0:09]Hi friends, Kelsey here. I wanted to give you some information about colleges and degrees. While you're considering your collegiate options, you might run across a private or selective college. But what does that even mean? Well, a private college is one that is privately funded and makes its own policies and rules. A few of the private colleges in our state are Mississippi College, Tulu, and William Carey. Our public colleges include all of our community colleges and our universities such as Jackson State or USM. And while all colleges are selective in the sense that they all have admission criteria, there are some colleges that are known for being extremely selective, meaning only a small percentage of those who apply are admitted. Think Juliard or MIT. During your college search, you may also come across a few HBCUs. The acronym HBCU stands for Historically Black College or University. There are 107 HBCUs in the United States with six of them being right here in Mississippi. HBCUs are open to any person of any racial or ethnic background and offer unique cultural experiences. Now, once you land on some colleges that you may be interested in, you'll need to know what credentials they offer. Some programs offer a certificate. A certificate is not the same as a degree, and sometimes they are only recognized within a specific company, state, or region. Certificates are proof that you've gone through formal training in a particular area of study. You may see certificates offered in technical programs like code boot camps andtomy or in trade programs like welding and electricity. The amount of time it takes to earn a certificate varies and depends on the type of certificate that you hope to obtain. An associate's degree is a degree that either focuses on specialized vocational and technical coursework or general studies that may be used to pursue degrees at higher levels. An associate's degree might be in your future if you're planning to become an emergency response worker, dental hygienist, or air traffic controller, which I think is pretty cool. Associate's degrees typically take about two years to complete. A bachelor's degree is one that can be obtained in a wide range of areas. Anything from accounting to zoology can be found at this degree level. Bachelor's degrees take a little more time to acquire with the average program being four years long.