With Rainier Beach High School and two years at Louisiana's Grambling State University behind her, Gardner needed a break from classes. An active volunteer and accomplished dancer, she discovered City Year — an AmeriCorps-affiliated youth-service program in 15 U.S. cities, including Seattle. Unlike the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, which prefers college grads or those with several years of work experience, City Year attracts 17- to 24-year-olds who need only a high-school diploma or GED.

An alternative path

Many graduating seniors picture their post-high-school years on a tree-lined campus, living in a dorm and attending lectures.

But some prefer vocational studies to focus on special interests. Alternatives to traditional colleges include art schools, online schools, military academics, career schools and vocational programs offered by community colleges. Some offer four-year bachelor's degrees, others award associate's degrees or certificates that take fewer than four years to complete.

NOTE: Not all vocational schools are equal. For tips on checking out a school's credentials, see our 2005 story and www.hecb.wa.gov/autheval/daa/
diplomamillsFAQ.asp

Art schools

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS OF ART AND DESIGN
nasad.arts-accredit.org
From Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts to the crème de la crème Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, this site links users to Web sites for 248 arts and design schools. Most are collegiate level, but this site also includes precollegiate and community schools for visual-arts disciplines.

WWW.ALLARTCOLLEGES.COM
Link to Seattle Art Institute and dozens of other arts schools, arranged by city and state. Includes online programs and those specializing in digital design.

WWW.ARTSCHOOLS.COM
Takes users to schools, colleges, programs and workshops in everything from animation to shoe design. Another favorite feature: lists of art scholarships and tips on attending art grad school.

Career schools

The WASHINGTON HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
www.hecb.wa.gov/links/colleges/
collegesindex.asp

Megalist of Washington schools, including community, technical and business colleges, including schools that offer online programs.

WASHINGTON STATE WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
www.wtb.wa.gov or 360-753-5673.

Lists private vocational schools, offers tips on how to choose one. This board also publishes "Where Are You Going?" — a recently updated booklet (and electronic PDF file) to scan occupations and find out where to get training for each in Washington state, and projects that occupation's hiring outlook in the state. To order, call 360-753-0892 or download from www.wtb.wa.gov/publications.html

THE VOCATIONAL INFORMATION CENTER: http://www.khake.com

Electronic clearinghouse that sorts vocations alphabetically — from agriculture to welding — or by state. Check to see if programs are accredited and meet professional standards, or if they qualify for federal grant and loan programs.

Long-distance

"PETERSON'S GUIDE TO DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS 2005," (Petersons Guides, $29.95). More than 4,600 profiles of more than 1,100 accredited degree-granting U.S. and Canadian schools with distance-learning programs.

AMERICAN DISTANCE EDUCATION CONSORTIUM
www.adec.edu
A list of about 65 state universities and colleges with real degrees from their virtual programs.

ONLINE DEGREES AND PROGRAM INFORMATION
www.program-online-degree.com
Solid answers to common questions about online programs, also links to some programs (again, check with the state higher-education or workforce training boards about any program you're interested in).

Military and Maritime Schools

The service academies:

WEST POINT (Army), www.usma.edu

ANNAPOLIS (Navy), www.usna.edu

AIR FORCE, www.usafa.edu

COAST GUARD, www.cga.edu

THE ASSOCIATION OF MILITARY COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS, www.amcsus.org
Run by a nonprofit organization for schools with military programs approved by the Department of Defense, this site links to the home pages of 42 military schools.

THE MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY, www.usmma.edu/
For folks hankering to traverse the trade routes of the seven seas, this site supplies details of the four-year program located in Kings Point, N.Y.

SEATTLE MARITME ACADEMY, seattlecentral.org/maritime/
Located in Ballard; trains students to work in commercial fishing, with the Merchant Marines and on work boats; offers certificates in marine-deck technology and marine-engineering technology.

Successful as a City Year "corps member" volunteer tutor and after-school dance instructor, Gardner enters her second and final year as a corps leader — still connected with kids, but now recruiting and encouraging youth to volunteer, too. She earns a $165 weekly allowance; each 10-month commitment brings $4,725 for school costs or to repay college loans.

"This gives you the background to do anything," says Gardner, who is taking online classes at Houston's Texas Southern University and plans to study medicine. "It's good for anybody, but I would push it for foster-care youth, because like me, they could make it in college but there's nobody there helping them."

Details: www.cityyear.org/sites/seattle and 206-219-4994

Jennifer Chinn, 20, advanced-level cosmetology student, Gene Juarez Academy

After dropping out of Seattle's Franklin High School, life got rough. Within a year, Chinn lost her grandfather and dad and discovered she was pregnant. She disliked both alternative high schools she tried — until one offered her a job shadow at Gene Juarez Academy.

Within months of her first school visit, Chinn earned her GED and gave birth to a daughter. By late last year, she started her one-year program at the North Seattle school.

"When I walked in, I knew this was my home. I've always loved hair. I love coloring. I love cutting. I love everything about it. This is artistic. This is different. Some people will say it's always (a professional skill) to fall back on."

Now she wants to become a cosmetology instructor and school recruiter.

"It's going to take me something to get there, but I can definitely do that. I know how it feels for people to look down on me because I was in an alternative school, but I can tell people that I was able to turn it around ... "

Details: www.genejuarezacademy.com and 800-230-3636

Patrick "Ryan" Murphy, 26, construction management online student, University of Washington Extension program

He didn't want to go to classes on his honeymoon. That was only one reason Murphy, an electrical field engineer already working 45-hour weeks in the Tri-Cities — went looking for an online degree.

"Originally, I tried the classroom while I was working full time, but it wasn't working for me. I was always getting off work later than classes were starting."

Now a master's candidate taking one class per quarter requiring about eight hours per week, Murphy is on track to earn his degree in four years.

An advanced degree improves his chances for career advancement with a stepped-up salary. Accomplishing this online, he believes, is the "only way to balance my personal life, my career and my education."

His employer could relocate him at any time, but "with the online program, I could uproot my whole life and my program wouldn't change. Even when I went on my honeymoon to Mexico, I didn't have to be tied to a classroom.

"Many people make the assumption that because it's online it's not as practical, but take into account you're working with other people — students and professors — who are experienced in their field. It's so great I've already recruited three other friends from work to take this program."

Details: www.outreach.washington.edu and 206-543-2320 or 800-543-2320

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