in front of Welcome Panter sign" width="1920" height="1080" />in front of Welcome Panter sign" width="1920" height="1080" />
At Perimeter College, choose from more than 30 academic pathways and study at campuses convenient to your home or through our flexible online offerings.
This fall, Perimeter College will commemorate six decades of ‘access, community and impact’—and we’d like you to join us!
Panthers, start the semester with a full menu of signature events designed to jump start your success at Perimeter.
Panther Answer is available 24/7 to help Perimeter students with questions about registration, financial aid, student accounts and more.
Sign up for virtual appointments with an admissions counselor, information sessions or events.
The Perimeter College Native Plant Botanical Garden in Decatur will host the “Great Southeast Pollinator Count,” Saturday, Aug. 19 from 9:30 a.m.-noon.
RANKED AMONG THE TOP 20 TWO-YEAR COLLEGES IN THE NATION, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY’S PERIMETER COLLEGE IS ATLANTA’S GATEWAY TO HIGHER EDUCATION. STUDY AT ANY OF FIVE METRO ATLANTA LOCATIONS – OR ONLINE.
Erica McGuire is a 32-year-old single mother who is finding success as an online student. She’s studying criminal justice and believes Perimeter is the best place for her to be both a student and a dedicated mom. McGuire realizes online education isn’t for everyone, but she highly recommends it for those interested. “I met a girl who had four kids at home and has been in school full time,” she said. “I could not imagine four laptops,” she added, laughing.
Erica McGuire is succeeding in the classroom and on the home front. As a full-time, single mom to 8-year-old Keaton Rae, she admits it can be tough focusing on both studying and parenting. When the pandemic shut down her daughter’s school last year, she found it especially challenging.
“Homeschooling her and going full time online myself was probably one of the hardest things I’ve done,” the criminal justice student recalled. “We just took it day by day — and, yes, there were tears.”
Pre-pandemic, McGuire, an Honors College student, took most of her classes on Perimeter’s Dunwoody Campus and says she is grateful all of her courses shifted online due to early COVID-19 restrictions. She finished the fall semester with a 4.0 grade point average. She stays motivated by her goal, which is to work in criminal justice in areas involving accountability courts and treatment programs.
Her Path: Prior to enrolling at Perimeter two years ago, McGuire spent eight years managing a tanning salon where she made “good money.” But the work hours were long and took too much time away from her daughter.
“It just was no longer a life that I wanted,” she said. “I wanted to make a bigger impact on people and have more time with my daughter. I missed a lot of ‘firsts,’ and I didn’t want to miss any more,” she said.
McGuire’s interest in criminal justice grew from a desire to positively impact people’s lives. She says working through accountability programs offered by the correctional system will satisfy that desire. On campus at Perimeter, Erica enjoyed service-learning projects such as one that took her to a nearby retirement home where she assisted elderly residents with crafting jewelry. “We’re supposed to lead by a service heart; it was the perfect opportunity,” she said.
The Latest: In 2020, online learning gave Erica the flexibility to move father away from the Dunwoody Campus to be nearer to her boyfriend — one of her biggest supporters. She plans to graduate from Perimeter in the summer of 2021, noting that her mom and two sisters finished from Georgia State University, including Perimeter. Erica wants to transition to Georgia State’s Atlanta Campus and continue studying criminal justice.
