I started my post secondary studies at a small relatively unknown private college called RCC Institute of Technology (formerly known as Radio College of Canada or RCC) in Concord, Ontario. RCC's heavy recruitment campaigns and constant presence at my high school gave them a high profile with most of the high school students, which in turn gave me an inaccurate perception as to where their institute sat in the industry - RCC came to our remote high schools, as students we thought they were a major educational powerhouse in the technology world. In addition to this, their enticing selling point was the ability to finish the equivalent of 3 year College Diploma in a single year - as high school students, we all saw this as a great opportunity as none of us really liked school at the time.

"You mean I can go to school for a single year, save time and money by skipping the extra 2 years, pop out as a professional, start my career, and start making money?"

Needless to say it was a hard lesson of "if it's too good to be true, it probably is".  In my last year of high school I inquired about RCC, a recruiter promptly replied, and even came to my house where he discussed all the positive benefits RCC had to offer. My parents were sold, I was sold, I wanted to go - I was 18 years old, I was naive, like taking candy from a child, I was easily sold. I didn't tour the facilities; I didn't question the financial implications. Instead I signed on the dotted lines (signed a contract), filled out an application for a government loan, and eagerly anticipated disembarking into post secondary studies.

My first week at RCC was a rude awakening. When I attended, the facilities were substandard, the equipment outdated, the computers were yellowed with age, the keyboards missing keys, the CRTs monitors flickering with monochromatic colors, and the carpet peeling away from the walls. The cafeteria was a retrofitted truck garage complete with an overhead crane for removing truck engines or something. I distinctly remember their lobby near the entrance adorned with leather sofas and leather chairs, but all the new students quickly learned that these props were strictly for visiting guests - no students allowed.  This wasn't what I expected; this wasn't what I signed up for.

Every day on my way to RCC I would ride past the local Community College (Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology) - my bicycle was my main form of transportation. I would stare through the windows of Seneca. I remember being impressed by the sheer size of the school, the architecture, the cutting edge equipment, state of the art computers, a library, a fitness facility, a large cafeteria with a diverse selection of food, a couple thousand students - all of which RCC lacked. I assumed the cost for attending this school would be astronomical, but decided to ask anyway.

My conversation with the registration clerk went something like this:
    "I'm interested in attending Seneca College, how much does it cost?"
The clerk replied:
    "$1200 per semester"
I nearly choked, I was paying nearly $4000 per semester - a semester at RCC was about 3 months.
I asked:
    "I'm attending RCC will I be able to transfer any of my credits?"
The clerk replied:
    "Where is RCC?"
I scratched my head thinking:
    "How could anyone not know about RCC? It's the pinnacle of technological education, right? "
I replied:
    "It's a block North and a block East from here."
The clerk said:
    "Sorry I've never heard of RCC, but here's some information on Seneca's transfer policies, and a course catalog."
I replied:
    "Thanks"
I then climbed back on my bike and continued to RCC.

Later that week I began doing some calculations where I realized the following:

A year at RCC would cost me about $16,000 dollars, this didn't include cost of living, or housing expenses, and certainly did not include any part-time jobs since RCC's rigorous schedule required that you catch up on your studies over the weekend. In total, a year at RCC would cost me about $23,000 dollars. Conversely a year at Seneca would cost me about $9,000 dollars (including living expenses), I figured that 3 years at Seneca would cost me somewhere around $27,000, but I'd have the ability to work part-time throughout each of those years, which would bring the overall total well below RCC's single year program. So a single year at RCC (a private College) was roughly equivalent to 3 years at Seneca College (or any publicly funded Community College for that mater). This really got me thinking, and made me wish I had done more research before signing up for RCC - financially Community College was a much better deal.

I continued to compare RCC and Seneca, and to my horror I discovered that the RCC program only awarded a Certificate whereas Seneca awarded an Ontario College Diploma - now professionally and financially Community College was a far better deal. At this point I was convinced that RCC was probably not in my best interest, and decided to make the switch.

Back at RCC I notified the Registrar of my intentions to quit, attended a counseling session (where I was strongly advised not to quit and given the opportunity to switch programs), and was then informed that I would be have to pay 10% ($1,600) of the full years tuition ($16,000) for quitting. My jaw dropped, I was furious (and still evidently am, since I'm spending the time to write this entry), for a brief moment I considered staying with RCC to avoid paying this fee - I was only 18, money was tight, I was a poor student. I then asked for some confirmation for this fee. The Clerk then produced the document I had signed upon enrolling, and there it was under the dotted lines - the contract I had signed when the recruiter came to my house. I paid the fee and left.

Words of advice: "if it's too good to be true, it probably is" Publicly funded post secondary studies are the way to go whether it be College or University. Private education is almost always more expensive, and probably not as valuable for a professional career (although some private polytechnic schools are pretty good too). In my opinion, fast track programs should be avoided, because you can't really compress education. Most of the learning experience is developing your own ideas, opinions, honing your learning skills, maturing, and gaining life experiences. In addition compressed Diplomas or Certificates are not received as well in the real world some employers will interpret it as a sign that you aren't really dedicated to your profession - they may conclude that you like taking the easy route.

Many of my RCC friends that completed the single year certificate at RCC have fought for jobs related to their education since graduation. A couple friends have pursued additional certification, many have settled for jobs completely out of their field of study, and almost all are still paying their RCC student loans.

Before you sign on the dotted line, know what you're signing for - a lesson learned the hard way.