Local Cat Gets GED
Posted By: Carly Morgan
According to the US Census, in 2000, 3 million American adults lacked a high school diploma. In 2008, more than 700,000 people took tests for General Equivalency Diplomas or GEDs, more than ever before. With so many people striving to further their education with GEDs, the Better Business Bureau wants to make sure those degrees are legit.
Oreo the cat spends her days doing typical cat things and some not so typical. She enjoys sitting with her owner Kelvin Collins and reading the newspaper.
"Oreo's a really smart cat... She keeps up with current events," said Collins.
Oreo's so smart, she has something many people don't: a GED. She got her diploma from Jefferson High School Online. Collins took the test for her, but found out it doesn't take a genius to pass.
"I realized if you miss a question, it's going to come back and give you a hint that tells you exactly what the answer is," he said.
With the extra help, Oreo got mostly A's. Some of her credits came from a life experience essay where Collins wrote about Oreo's adoption into the family.
"She always lands on her feet and that's one of the things that I put."
He says he hardly lied on the application.
"I did lie about one thing. You have to be 18 to take the test and Oreo is only two, but that could 18 in cat years who knows," he said.
Janet Kelly with Middle Georgia Technical College in Warner Robins says true GED programs don't give clues to the test answers and don't give credits for life experience.
"Obviously the value of a GED from a place like this has no worth whatsoever," she said about Jefferson High.
Collins actually works for the Better Business Bureau and did the experiment to expose diploma mills. He says Jefferson High School Online is based in St. Kitts, a small country in the Caribbean.
"You can have a diploma in just a few weeks if you're willing to spend the money... The problem is it's not going to be a diploma you're going to be able to take to a job or take to another college... So you just end up wasting your money."
Oreo's diploma cost $200, although she hasn't found a job yet.
"Even a cat can get a high school diploma if they just go to the right places."
Collins says a school that gives a GED to a cat is the wrong place for a human to get theirs.
We contacted Jefferson High School Online and asked them about Oreo's diploma. They did not respond. The web site is not connected to any real Jefferson High Schools
Collins says some red flags that identify a diploma mill include degrees or diplomas awarded based on life experience, a guarantee you will receive a degree or diploma within a few days or weeks and an address for administration buildings including P.O. boxes or suite numbers. |
