New York Institute of Photography is one of the major correspondence school courses, heavily advertised and promoted not only in the US but even in British photo mags ads I've seen and I assume worldwide

see http://www.nyip.com/ to visit their website

If you do decide to enroll, you might want to wait them out for their best enrollment offer - saves you some major $$$, see the postings on these savings at my website on photography classes, workshops, seminars at:

http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/mf/classes.html

Personally, I have had great experiences with our local junior college courses in photography, for college credits, for about 10% of NYIP costs. We also had unlimited darkroom access and other resources (library) too. If you can find and schedule such a hands-on, instructor in the flesh course, I think you will find it hard to beat using even the best correspondence courses.

You can also buy a used NYIP or other correspondence course from a former student, often on EBAY, and see what lessons cover, level of teaching, and so on. Everybody says, however, that the real benefits are from the photo critiques and instructor interaction, so you won't be getting the full benefits with a used course, but the costs may only be $50 -75 -100 US. Could be a cheap way to see if it fits your needs and levels. Don't forget, you can sell it when you are thru, and probably end up with much of the book knowledge for virtually nothing out of pocket, just your time

I have a sample EBAY listing for a NYIP course, which may help give you some ideas about the topics and related materials. Personally, I might like audiotapes to play while walking around, but you might prefer a videotape course where you can see and hear rather than just hear - many are available from Nikon, Tiffen, etc. mfgers and other courses too...

On the other hand, no photocourse alone is going to turn you into a professional, and the odds are very high against completing such a course and becoming a full-time professional photographer, unless you have a whole lot of business/marketing talent For more details on these odds, see my page on turning semi-professional in photography at:

http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/mf/semipro.html

The odds are almost as bad against full time college grads from photography course/programs/degrees, so this isn't a specific criticism of NYIP or their programs, per se, but of the industry and competition as a whole. My semipro article suggests you would do better to try to work photography into a current job or develop a sideline to get experience first, rather than rolling the dice and burning up your own money with a full-time business while learning the business ropes...

It also takes a lot of self-discipline to carry thru a correspondence course schedule, esp. if there are lots of calls on your time like family and other job(s) etc.

If you have that discipline, you can also build up a reading list and do or learn something every day on photography. I have a library of 300+ books and more magazines, and suspect I know a lot more from this reading than I could find inside any correspondence course.

I am suggesting a similar process might be how I'd do it, if I wanted the maximum learning for a buck. Buy a used NYIP course to see what they cover, but spend the savings on buying other books, readings in library, and buying film and trying things out in the real world. Attend a local college or other course, or even a weekend seminar if time doesn't permit.

Consider volunteering for a pro photogr. as a helper, to learn the ropes, and get some of your photos or portfolio critiqued. Surf the web a lot, look, and learn. This approach is even harder than a structured course, but it probably would produce superior results.