A lot of colleges no longer require a high school diploma or GED (General Educational Development Certificate) for admission. You can now enrol into a university even without a high school diploma and still qualify for financial aid. These colleges provide GED training while you earn your credits for an associate degree; the eligibility varies depending on where you enrol. The best places to gain this qualification in New York are at the City of New York College or Bronx Community College. Another good place to get a GED and associate degree simultaneously is Rockland Community College (RCC) but as explained on their website, RCC want their students to earn their GED and college degree once they are admitted through a special admission procedure. If accepted, students will begin their 24 credits to earning their GED. There are some stipulations to applying, students must attend a GED workshop and have to be 19 years of age or older and current residents of New York. It is believed that these combination programs cut costs and times required to graduate by a significant amount. A lot of people chose to get their GED and Associates degree at the same time nowadays. To get the GED you need to pass 5 separate tests that include writing, reading, science, social studies and maths. You can take them at different times and there is a lot of information about this on the American Council for Education's website. One common form of this combined programme are training courses which do GED and nursing at the same time. These trade classes lead to industry recognised diplomas and are certainly great value for money. GED and associate degree combined courses those who didn’t succeed in high school a second chance to get the qualifications they need to better their future.