There’s more to a career in criminal justice than putting on a badge and wearing a gun on your hip. Criminal justice is a huge field, and it requires a deep knowledge of the law and of technical disciplines such as forensics. You can’t just pick up this knowledge from watching Law and Order reruns. If you want a career in criminal justice, you’ll need to go to one of the available criminal justice schools. Many universities and technical schools will train you in this discipline, but how do you decide which one to attend? Here are some issues to consider:
Cost: Look at the available criminal justices schools and decide which ones have tuitions that you can afford. Before you decide that one is out of reach, research the different ways in which you can fund your education. Many organizations, particularly the United States government, make grants, scholarships, and loans available to prospective students who can show financial need or who show high potential. Go to the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) Web site and fill out the FAFSA form. It gives you access to a large number of funding options. Though the interest is usually low, student loans do need to be paid back after graduation. Grants and scholarships are essentially free, so check out those opportunities first.
Location: Do you need to choose from criminal justice schools that are close to home? Perhaps you have a job that you can’t leave or someone needs you close by. In that case, you’ll need to find a criminal justice school within easy commuting distance. Less than an hour’s drive each way is recommended because you don’t want to use up all of your studying time driving to and from classes. If you can and want to move away from home, choose a school in a place where you’d like to live.
Prestige: Do the criminal justice schools that you are considering have strong reputations? Will they make employers take notice of you? The more prestigious a school is, the more expensive your education will be. On the other had, if that prestige opens some doors for you, that will more than pay off the extra expense. And, it may speed up the transition to your criminal justice career if the school is well known.
Staff: Are the teachers at the criminal justice schools well regarded? That’s an important point because these are the people who will help you find your first job and give recommendations to prospective employers.
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