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Did you know that only 250 accredited paralegal schools & universities exist? Learn the top paralegal schools here & how to become an ABA certified paralegal
Of the more than 1,200 paralegal colleges and universities in the U.S., only 250 of them are considered accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).
It means that the ABA (American Bar Association) endorsed the curriculum of the program enough to give it their official seal of approval.
However, in order to get accreditation status, those schools must pay a fairly hefty price.This is why accredited paralegal schools account for less than a quarter of the total number of institutions.
If you are looking into accredited paralegal schools to get your education and training, bear this in mind: just because you got your degree or certificate from one, doesn't necessarily mean you have a better chance of getting a paralegal job over someone who hasn't.
Many schools recognize the importance of an ABA-approved curriculum, and tend to form theirs in a similar way, even if they can't afford to be one of the actual accredited paralegal schools.
Likewise, many employers understand the costs of a school becoming accredited (which is usually presented in the form of a higher tuition bill), and look more closely at the kind of training the student has received than the actual ABA seal of approval.
In other words, becoming an ABA certified paralegal is all well and good, but it isn't absolutely necessary.
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The ABA isn't the only organization that can provide a paralegal school with accreditation. There are other state, regional, and federal organizations and programs that can provide it.
And that's a good thing, too, because the ABA has decided not to give accreditation to online schools.
Whether you are working toward your certificate, associate's degree, or bachelor's degree in paralegal studies, you have many options of where you can go to school.
The traditional route is to go to a physical, campus-based college or university to get your education.
But tradition doesn't always have our best interests at heart.
If you're thinking about starting a career as a paralegal and are young then you have it easy. Just pick a school and go!
But if you need to go back to school to fulfill the requirements to become a paralegal, you might be unprepared to drop everything in your life to go to a campus school. Perhaps you have a family, a house, or are taking care of your kids as a stay at home mom.
The traditional route, while lovely in a lot of people's eyes, may look like an incredibly bump road. But you have another option...
Get your paralegal bachelor degree online.
By earning a degree from an online university, you can stay with your family in your house and keep your day job.
Online schools let you mostly create your own schedule, which allows you a much more graceful transition from one life focus to the next.
While there are no ABA accredited paralegal schools online, there are a number of otherwise accredited ones that you can choose from.
And as we've talked about before, an ABA stamp of approval isn't the goal here. The goal is to become educated.
If you are interested in learning more about getting your education online, here are a couple of accredited paralegal schools that you should check out:
If, however, you are bent on becoming an ABA certified paralegal, there are a great many opportunities for you to investigate.
You won't be benefitting from the many advantages of online schooling, but some people may not find them necessary.
If this is you, here's an offsite link that provides state-by-state, ABA accredited paralegal schools around the country.
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