Diploma Mills

In case you’re not aware, a Diploma mill is a place that will give you a Bachelor’s degree (or beyond) with only the barest pretense of a formal education process. Often it’s Cash & Carry for a degree.

Some diploma mills are online operations, but that doesn’t mean that all online degree programs are diploma mills. Still, online degrees often carry a bit of a stigma, fairly or not, of being degrees in name only.

There are also some brick & mortar schools which technically are not diploma mills, but which provide something less than the 4-year college experience. I’m thinking of places like DeVry, ITT, and the University of Phoenix. It may be unfair to lump these organizations in with diploma mills, but that’s a common perception, for better or for worse. I’m not addressing those institutions here, only the true diploma mills.

Fact is, the looser the standards at these institutions the more risk you’re taking by putting them on your resume. When I skim your resume I may not recognize the school name (e.g., “Central Intercontinental School of the American Pacific”), shrug, and move on. But the lack of a real education may come through in the interview. And even if you pass the interview, the true nature of the school will likely be revealed during the background check.

My advice? If you want to put a degree on your resume, you should make the commitment and sacrifices necessary to graduate from a well recognized school. If you can’t do that, you should not bother at all with the diploma mills. You’re ultimately only fooling yourself.