Colleges Site
	Susan D. Bates BellaOnline's Colleges Editor

Associate Degrees
In the United States, there are two main categories of associate degrees: associate degrees designed to help students prepare for a bachelor's degree program and associate degrees designed to help students train for a particular occupation.

Certificate vs. Certified
The terms certificate and certified are often confused because of their similarities in sound. However, it is important to understand the differences in these terms to help you when you are researching degree programs and professional certifications.

College Degrees
There are many types of college degrees. Some programs are entry-level programs, while others are advanced programs that require students to have college degrees to prior to enrollment.

College Majors
Selecting a major is an important decision that will affect students during college and in the future. To select a major, students must understand their options. Narrowing down a list of majors eases the decision-making process.

General Education
General education courses are designed to give students a broad foundation of knowledge. Because many colleges require these courses, it is important to understand the nature and purpose of this requirement.

Massage Therapy School
An interview with Claire Bunney, site manager for MassageSchool.org, about massage therapy school for readers who may be interested in a career in massage therapy.

No Major Drama : Major Selection Tool
Interview with Paul Hansen, PhD, about No Major Drama (NMD), an Internet-based tool designed to help prospective college students select a college major (field of study). Dr. Hansen is the head of research for and a co-founder of Graduate Factory, Ltd., the company that developed NMD.

Placement Tests
Placement tests are academic-subject tests that allow colleges to determine what level a student is ready to enter in each of those subjects.

Understanding FERPA
FERPA (Sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment) is a federal law regulating the privacy of students' education records. It is important to understand your rights related to your education records to protect your privacy.