BEST ONLINE EVENT PLANNING SCHOOL

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1 HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST ONLINE EVENT PLANNING SCHOOL FOR YOU!

2 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alex Myers is the Director of QC Event School, a division of QC Career School. Alex has been in the education field for over 30 years and has been a pioneer at QC since it launched in 1984! She has advised on the creation of multiple online courses and has helped QC Career School transition from a correspondence-learning school to the fully-integrated online experience it is today. 2

3 INTRODUCTION Okay, so you ve done it. You ve decided you want to become an event or wedding planner. Good for you! It s a rewarding career, helping clients plan some of the most important days of their lives! growing in popularity, both for convenience and price. But that s also the problem! There are a lot of bad apples out there who just want your money and don t care about your future. So where do you begin? You re a busy person, after all, and you don t have time to sit in a classroom day-in, day-out, but who is going to hire you without industry training? That s the trick, isn t it? And that s why online schools are How do you weed out the good from the bad? How can you know for sure that the school you choose has your best interests at heart? Well, read on and I ll give you some tips and tricks to live by! 3

4 ONLINE LEARNING PROs CONs Conveniently learn at your own pace. No classroom: learn from your office, couch, bed -- wherever you have Internet access. One-on-one feedback from a tutor who s an expert in your field of study.* You need to be self-motivated. No one will make you work. You never meet your tutor in person, so you need to rely on their reputation. You don t get to interact face to face with other students in the same program. 4 *only applies to certain online schools.

5 ONLINE LEARNING PROs Dedicated in-house support staff on call to answer your questions and help you with assignments.* CONs You don t really know what the course will entail until you register and receive the materials. Core business training on top of industry training.* 5 *only applies to certain online schools.

6 DO YOUR RESEARCH! The best way to ensure you make the correct decision is to sit down and do your research. Write down which schools you want to investigate, and make a list of all of their features. Here s what you ll want to look into: Program descriptions. Cost and exactly what you get for that price. Time to complete (most programs will give you a one, two, or three year limit). Extra features, costs, member ship fees, etc. Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn accounts. Reviews from current or past students. 6

7 SHADY SCHOOLS: What to Look For: The problem with shady online schools is that they re becoming better at pretending to be legitimate. Here are a few red flags to look for 7

8 1: VERY LOW COST Or Subscription-Based Fees. Most good schools try to keep costs low while still maintaining a high quality learning experience. If there s a school on your list that charges less than half of what any of the others are charging, you should definitely ask yourself why. Also, it is common for a school to charge a set tuition, whether you pay this in one bulk payment or by installments. Schools that charge monthly subscription fees should be researched further. 8

9 2: NO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Any good school will be proud of the programs they offer and won t hesitate to show you a course outline. If a school has no course outline available on their website, BEWARE! You should at least contact them for more information before moving forward. 9

10 3: WE GUARANTEE YOU A JOB! Yeah Sure you do. No one can ever live up to that promise ever! 10

11 4: NO SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE All good schools will be on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn at the very least. They should have a fair number of followers, and should actively lead discussions and interact with their followers. Before enrolling, try asking the school a question via one of these channels and see what type of response you receive. 11

12 5: NO PHONE Some shady online schools won t even have a contact number, or will hide it on their website! You should always be able to get in touch with the school, at the very least during regular business hours. If you are on the fence about an online school, call them and ask them a few questions! 12

13 6: SUSPICIOUS REVIEWS This seems counterintuitive, but watch out for schools who receive nothing but overwhelmingly good reviews. It s impossible to please everyone! A seemingly perfect online presence could be the result of the company paying online spammers to blast the web with nothing but positive feedback. Instead, try to find an honest blogger who has reviewed the school, or ask your own questions on online forums to see if you can get some honest opinions. 13

14 QUESTIONS TO ASK How long have you been in business? Are you accredited by the Better Business Bureau? What is your refund policy? How many students have successfully completed your program? What support would I receive as a student? Where can I find reviews of your courses or services? 14

15 CONCLUSION This is a difficult choice to make! The school you choose can ultimately help or hinder your success. I m confident you ll make the right decision in the end. Just remember to do your homework and be thorough. If something smells fishy, be sure to check it out and ask a lot of questions. 15

16 CONTACT US TODAY! If you re ready to speak with someone here at QC Event School, we re always available and we d love to hear from you! Simply give us a call or send us an and we ll be happy to help you make an informed decision. Whether you choose QC or another school, we re happy to guide and help you choose the school that will help secure your future! 16

17 CONTACT US TODAY By By phone US & Canada: UK: Visit us online Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook Check us out on LinkedIn AU: NZ: