Atlanta first came into its own in the mid 1800s as the final stop on the Western & Atlantic Railroad. A century later it was a key location for Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights pioneers. Today the city and surrounding metropolitan area, which are home to 4.5 million people, are still known for transportation services and for promoting opportunities for African Americans and other minorities.

Atlanta also has a diverse cultural and entertainment base. The city's latest jewel is the Georgia Aquarium, the largest in the world. Four professional sports teams and dozens of semi-pro and college groups keep fans cheering. Underground Atlanta is a six-block area in historic downtown Atlanta that boasts some of the city's most popular shops, restaurants and nightclubs. Other attractions include Atlanta Motor Speedway, Stone Mountain Park, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, and Centennial Olympic Park, where the 1996 Olympics were held.

The city is also home to the global headquarters for CNN, Coca-Cola, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc, a U.S. Disease Control Center, Bell South Communications, and several large hospitals.

The wide variety of schools in Atlanta allows students to choose the type of educational environment that is best for them. Factors that figure into choosing a school include cost, location, size of school, degrees available, campus layout and housing, and other services available. For example, Georgia State University is a public four-year school with a large campus and over 23,000 students. It offers on-campus housing, extensive services, and the most comprehensive selection of degree choices in the state. Emory University, a private four-year school, also has a larger student body with over 11,000 students.

On the other end of the spectrum of four-year colleges are the smaller private universities such as Clark Atlanta University, a four-year, not-for-profit school with just over 5,000 students. Clark is one of several colleges in the Atlanta area that was originally founded to serve African American students, and the school still maintains that focus today.

Students can also choose to attend a two-year school. Atlanta Technical College is a public two-year school with nearly 3,000 students. Bauder College is a small private, for profit, two-year school with just under 600 students. Atlanta's two-year schools offer AA degrees and certificates in a variety of program areas.

And for students who want to attend a specialty or professional school, Atlanta has many including the Atlanta College Of Art and Georgia Institute of Technology. Professional schools can be an ideal choice for students who are certain about their career path and want to focus on one main area of study.

There are many more colleges and universities in the Atlanta metropolitan area and in the surrounding suburbs. Some, such as Oglethorpe University and Morris Brown College, were established over 150 years ago and are important historical institutions with longstanding traditions. Others are ultra-modern training facilities, created to address the need for a workforce with hands-on experience in key industries such as technology and healthcare. Additional schools in the Atlanta area include:

Private Colleges & Universities

• Agnus Scott
• American Intercontinental University
• Mercer University
• Morehouse College
• Spelman College
• Argosy University

Public Colleges & Universities

• Clayton State University

Professional Schools

• Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts
• New Horizons Computer Learning Center

Students at Atlanta's educational facilities can pursue nearly every degree or program imaginable. In addition to staple programs such as Professional Accounting, Business Administration, Computer Technology, Nursing, Theology, Social Work, Engineering, and Psychology, Atlanta's colleges and universities offer training in unique areas that are not as readily available. For example, students can earn degrees in Africana Women's Studies, Computational Media, Human-Computer Interaction, Airline Management, Disaster Management, and Heritage Preservation.

Another unique feature of Atlanta's educational system is an organization known as ARCHE, which stands for Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education. ARCHE was created to help focus on expanding educational opportunities, promoting academic excellence, and fostering cultural diversity for students, faculty and staff involved in the Consortium. Over 20 of Atlanta's higher educational institutions are represented by the organization.

One important function of ARCHE is to provide students with access to numerous colleges and universities through a shared registration program, which allows students enrolled in a Consortium school to take classes at other Atlanta colleges. According to ARCHE, "This program makes the Atlanta region a powerful destination of choice for college students - providing a mix of choices for a home institution while offering the opportunity to expand their horizons in other fields of study at a neighboring college or university."

However, those with limited resources should not rule out the more expensive schools. Like most states, Georgia has several grant programs available, and typically, the more expensive the tuition, the more financial aid a student will be awarded. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a comprehensive application that is used to determine a student's financial aid eligibility. It can be completed online or in hardcopy form.

The Georgia Student Finance Commission" (GSFC) is the agency responsible for administering student grant and scholarship programs provided by the State of Georgia. Their website offers a wealth of information about different financial aid opportunities available to students attending school in Atlanta.

Other scholarships on the GSFC site include:

• Governor's Scholarship Program
• Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Grant
• Law Enforcement Personnel Dependents Grant
• Charles McDaniel Teacher Scholarship
• Georgia HERO (Helping Educate Reservists and their Offspring) Scholarship

In addition, the Atlanta Housing Authority offers the Atlanta Community Scholars scholarship, which is open to students who live in one of the Atlanta Housing Authority's buildings. The scholarship is open to full-time students entering either a two-year school or four-year degree program.

Each Atlanta school also has numerous in-house grants that are available through contributions from alumni, businesses, and other private sources. And students at most colleges and universities in Atlanta qualify for federal grants and loans. Because specific financial aid options vary from school to school, it is important to check with each institution for detailed information.

Other organizations that offer internship opportunities include:

• Turner Broadcasting
• the Atlanta Botanical Garden
• Fernbank Museum
• INROADS Atlanta
• Atlanta Motor Speedway
• the Atlanta Journal and Constitution

When it comes to employment in Atlanta, research shows that it pays to have a college degree. ARCHE gathered information on actual earning levels for Atlanta residents to assess the ways in which higher education benefits the local and state communities. They found that the average annual income of Atlanta residents is directly impacted by their level of education. Those with high school diplomas earned an average of $27,590, while those with Associate of Arts degrees earned $36,260. A four-year degree dramatically increased the average annual income to $58,460.

Some of the highest paying careers in Georgia are in the medical field and include doctors and anesthesiologists. Medical scientists, natural sciences managers, computer and information systems managers and engineers also rank near the top, with average annual salaries of over $80,000.

There are several career areas that are particularly hot in Atlanta and the surrounding communities right now. Like many communities, the city has a shortage of registered nurses, and America's Career Info Net estimates there will be over 3,000 openings in this field statewide in the next several years.

According to Ralph Mobley, Director of Career Services at Georgia Institute of Technology, "…majors in demand include most of our Engineering majors, particularly Civil Engineering. Also Building Construction majors are in demand and Computer Science has recovered significantly from the down market of a few years ago."

Like Georgia Tech, most colleges have a career services department or similar resources to help students research careers, prepare job search materials, hone application and interview skills, and find jobs. Atlanta students can also use the services of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency (AWDA), which offers job search assistance, labor market information and statistics and training programs. AWDA also holds job fairs every Tuesday featuring various employers from the Atlanta area.