What colleges will accept a high school diploma from PennFord High School?

Answer 1

Answer 1: Penn-Foster High School is "regionally" accredited. Therefore, any and all colleges and universities in the US will happily accept its high school diploma, just exactly the same as if you had obtained the diploma from your local regionally-accredited neighborhood high school.

"Regional" accreditation, by an agency approved by the US Department of Education (USDE) (which is the kind of accreditation which both Penn-Foster High School, and your local neighborhood high school, have) ensures that alll colleges will view both high school diplomas exactly the same... and will accept either, equally.

Answer 2

There are 80 diploma programs at Penn Foster. You can even get your High School diploma. You have specific programs like Gunsmith but there are also your average Bookkeeping and Dental Assistant. It all depends on your career goal.

Answer 3

Answer 1: Absolutely! Let me explain why...

Every single normal, traditional, in-classroom K thru 12 public school in every single local city/county school district in America is accredited by one of the six big "regional" accreditors that are approved by the US Department of Education (USDE). And so, then, every single high school diploma issued by such schools is universally acceptable to absolutely anyone or anything which requires a high school diploma, be it an employer, a college/university, the military, etc.

Any "online" programs operated by any of said K-12 schools are also accredited in exactly the same manner. So, then, any either in-classroom or online high school diploma from the kinds of schools described in the preceding paragraph will positively be acceptable to any community college... and pretty much any and all other kinds of post-secondary colleges, universities, seminaries, trade/career schools, too.

Sometimes, though, people can't finish normal, traditional, in-classroom high school, for whatever reason. It matters not what is the reason. Some people get kicked-out. Some people quit. Some people... well... again, it matters not the reason. For whatever reason, some people find themselves in life without a high school diploma, and so they want to see if they can get one online.

Penn Foster College created its online high school program precisely for such people. However, Penn Foster College is "nationally" (and not "regionally") accredited. Oh, don't worry, "national" accreditation is also approved by USDE; and it's a very, very good kind of accreditation...

...however, sadly, there is an insensible but decided bias against "national" accreditation in the minds of at least some employers, colleges/universities and even some government agencies. For that reason, even at the college level, it's usually smarter to go with a school that's "regionally" and not "nationally" accredited. I, personally, am not afraid to get a "nationally" accredited college credential, but I'm a higher education consultant and expert, and so I know how to make any employer, college/university or government agency see that "national" accreditation is just as credible and good as "regional" accreditation. But not everyone has my kind of expertise and ability to convince people of things. And so, again, it's really just smarter, even at the college level, to stick with "regionally" accredited schools.

However, at the high school level, there is no question that "regional" accreditation is the only choice. A nationally-accredited high school will, of course, be of very high quality... easily on-par with a regionally-accredited one. However, nearly no employer, college/university or government agency will accept a "nationally" accredited high school diploma. That, sadly, is just a fact.

Penn Foster understood this, and so even though its college is "nationally" accredited, it made sure that its high school was "regionally" accredited. Oh, it's "nationally" accredited, too, as it turns out; but because it's also "regionally" accredited, one may just ignore its "national" accreditation because its "regional" accreditation trumps its "national" one.

And so, then, Penn Foster High School has exactly the same kind of "regional" accreditation as every single normal, traditional, in-classroom public high school in every single local city/county school district in America! And when I say "exactly the same," I mean EXACTLY the same! No difference. At all. Period.

And so, then, anyone who gets a Penn Foster High School diploma may turn around and take it to any local community (or any other kind of, for that matter) college, and it will positively be accepted, exactly the same as if its holder had graduated from his/her local, normal, in-classroom, public high school.

Penn Foster, though, is not the only school of its type. Penn Foster College's most direct competitor -- Ashworth College -- is also "nationally" accredited, but it, too, understood that it's high school needed to be "regionally" accredited. And so, just like Penn Foster, Ashworth made sure that its "James Madison High School" (JMHS) was "regionally" accredited. Just like Penn Foster High School, James Madison is also "nationally" accredited, but, again, its "regional" accreditation trumps that, and so its "national" accreditation may just be ignored.

But, you know, those two are far from the only ones! There are many excellent online high school programs out there... some of them even free. Yes, you read that right! Free! It is not unusual, for example, for a state department of education, or even a local school district, to establish a free online high school for kids who maybe get kicked-out of regular high school; or who maybe drop out, because of work, or maybe even bullying or something. Or maybe the kid's parents homeschooled him/her for most of his/her life, and they want to continue doing that, but they want his/her high school diploma to be from a "regionally" accredited program. Whatever the reason, many either states or local school districts offer online programs; and many of them are free for at least those students who live in said states and/or school districts! So, by all means, check with your local school district, or your state's department of education, and find out if it offers such a program.

Usually, though, only kids who are the right age may avail themselves of such programs. What I mean is that many of those programs, described in the preceding paragraph, will only accept a high school student while s/he is still of high school age. Once s/he gets past 18 or so years old (in some systems, it's 21), s/he may usually not enroll in such online alternative systems sponsored by his/her local school district or state department of education.

That's where online schools like Penn Foster and/or James Madison come in, though. One may enroll in either them, no matter how old one is! And those two are not the only ones.

There's a very nice and smart fellow out there named TOM NIXON who has written two of the most authoritative books about getting a high school diploma by other than the traditional, in-classroom, local, public high school means. And he has a companion website which lists all the online high school programs of which he's aware, and which are legitimate and credible... and he provides that information for free!

Notice that I wrote, though, "legitimate and credible," but not "accredited." I wrote that because, yes, most of the online high schools listed on Tom's site are, indeed, accredited; however, a few of them, while very high quality, legitimate and credible, are, nevertheless not accredited. Or maybe they're accredited, but only "nationally" accredited, rather than the much preferred "regionally" accredited. Tom includes all of those on his site.

And so, then, when you're looking at Tom's really excellent "Best Online High Schools" website (the link to which I've provided in the "sources and related links" section of this web page, below) make sure that any high school you consider is not only accredited, but that it's "regionally" (and not merely "nationally") accredited. Period. Accept nothing less!

Any online high school program that's "regionally" accredited will be acceptable to any community (or any other kind of, for that matter) college. And I mean, in all three cases in that sentence,any!

See the "sourses and related links" section, below.

Answer 4

PennFord High School is accredited through NABAE, so most colleges and universities should accept a high school diploma from them. However, if you aren't sure, I would suggest looking at your top three to five colleges and ask their admissions personnel if a high school diploma from PennFord would be acceptable.