How Useless Are Diploma Mills? This Cat Got One

If you’re looking for a cheap and fast way to get a diploma, try Jefferson High School Online, where for $200 you can be taken as seriously as Oreo the cat. Oreo the cat with a GED, we mean.

Oreo lives in Macon, Georgia, and belongs to a Better Business Bureau employee who intentionally tried to get his cat a GED to expose the uselessness of online diploma mills like 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.

[…]

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.

Here are some warning signs that you’re dealing with a diploma mill instead of a real school, according to Collins:

  • credit for “life experience”;
  • a promise you’ll get a degree within a few days to weeks;
  • and addresses that include P.O. boxes or suite numbers.

Of course, some people intentionally seek out diploma mills as an easy solution, not realizing that what they’re buying is worthless. Now on top of that, they’ll have to compete for jobs with Oreo, who can also speak another language (feline) and has better night vision than they probably do.


“Georgia cat gets GED” [10Connects Tampa Bay] (Thanks to Allison!)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.