Ground Control To Major Tom

Well, it has been nearly a year since I published my last editorial so as my friend the "Crazyscotman" says, it might not be a bad time to post anew.
Since, I last posted, I have graduated from college and thanks to current economics I'm spending all my time back home doing nothin' but substitute teaching to try and make a few ends meet. However, while working maybe 10 to 15 days a month (if I'm lucky)may sound appealing too some, it does not pay the bills let alone the student loan payments that are quickly coming due next month.
I still plan on doing my masters work yet, I cannot see how I can afford to make the move and come up with the up-front costs of seminary. I pray and plan and even try to come up with some scheme that might aid me in my current financial crisis but, the only things I can come up with are either illegal or immoral. And that is just a line I refuse to cross. Taking 3 years out of my life to finish school not only drained any savings but, has also left me with many bills that have piled up upon themselves and me that seem to have the weight of the world.
The trouble is that of the 2 seminaries I've chosen to attend really want you to be free of most if not all financial obligations prior to attending. I'm finding this to be true of many others as well. Many also refuse any form of government aid such as grants and student loans out of a fear that forces them to have to conform to government regulations which is in my opinion ridiculous since the only requirement for federal funding is that the school must be accredited by one of the 4 accreditation institutions for religious and theological studies, namely the ATS (Association of Theological Schools). This is the main agency most schools use except for Catholic and other Orthodox religious schools. Both schools are accredited and must be otherwise the paper is not worth the paper it's printed on.
Let's be honest; who in their right mind would want to attend any school who is not accredited. If you attend a non-accredited private secondary (elementary/high school) it is next to impossible to get accepted at any accredited college or university. For those few who do, they usually must take a barrage of compentency tests to gain admintance (it is actually easier to get into college if you were home schooled rather than to have attended a private non'accredited school). Same goes for masters work. No accredited institution will accepted a degree from a non-accredited college or university and it is the same with PhD work as well. The only exceptions I have found is usually when the institutions are formed under one umbrella. That being a institution that offers all 5 levels of education within their own denomination. This still brings about a catch 22, as the only real jobs open to you is one within their corporation or religious denomination. Now I plan on a teaching career in higher education, does anyone really think they would have any opportunity of landing a job at a accredited college, university, or seminary without the proper creditials? It's like going to a Third World country to get a medical degree or degree to practice law in the U.S. Not to mention the chances of landing a good job in the world market. (do you really think you'll be hired for the vice-president position at a bank when your MBA came from the non-accredited University of Timbucktoo, over the guy with an MBA from an accredited small town college or major university?? And yes, they do look at the schools you attended).
Here's the next catch 22; if you attend school after the college level (i.e. masters, advanced study) your student loans will usually not be allowed to be deferred if you attend a non-accredited school. I know it now seems I've now seemed to go into the land of babbling with rhetorical nonsense and left to the subject, yet now one can see how it is has a domino effect when we make these choices.
I apologize for my ranting. I know my God has a plan for me and a place. And I should be content in whatever situation I'm in. Yet, I can put help feeling the need to educate whoever may read this blog and maybe help them to realize or at the least to see the need to do their research before making major life changing decisions effecting their education and future. And with that I'll sign off for now Feel free to post comments if you wish; whether good or bad, agree or disagree or indifferent. I know some will harshly defend an opposing point of view and that's ok. Just do the research.