Capella MBA using Veterans Benefits

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by LBTRS, Apr 29, 2004.

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  1. LBTRS

    LBTRS Member

    Hello,

    In my quest for a school for my MBA I've developed a short list (I'm open to any opinions on the utility of degrees from these three schools):

    Capella
    City University
    Bellevue University

    Looking at the tuition at Capella it doesn't look like my Veterans Benefits (Montgomery GI Bill) will cover the entire amount of tuition that Capella charges. I receive a max of $985/month and with 12 week quarters at Capella at around $3000 for two classes each quarter (military rate) it appears I'll be about $300 short every quarter. Add this on top of the $300-$400 in books every quarter and it's becoming more then I'm willing to pay out of my pocket.

    Are there any Active Duty Military folks on this forum with experience using Veterans Benefits at Capella that can explain how it's working out for you?

    Thanks for any help,
     
  2. bizgrad

    bizgrad New Member

    Are you using military tuition assistance? I took a couple of MBA classes last year with Capella (which I hated-read my earlier post), and with my VA benefits, it covered everything.....
     
  3. LBTRS

    LBTRS Member

    bizgrad,

    I am using TA, however, I'm capped at $3000/year (Navy caps it lower then DOD). This will cover two classes a year and leave the other six each year to be covered by the MGIB. We're you using the MGIB at Capella or just TA? I'll only get around $2700 each 12 weeks from the MGIB which won't cover the $3000 tuition and $300-$400 in books for two classes each quarter. That would leave me with about $600-$700 out of my pocket/quarter.

    Also, could you be more specific on what you didn't like about Capella? I read your earlier post and it didn't give much detail.

    Thanks for your help,
     
  4. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    Ray - How committed are you towards Capella? There are many other MBA programs that will fit better with your TA. Just as an example, Amberton University (located near Dallas) has a DL MBA program which costs $600 per class. If you take five classes a year, you are at your $3,000 TA cap and have only paid for books.
     
  5. LBTRS

    LBTRS Member

    airtorn,

    I'm not committed to Capella at all, just shopping for the right MBA with a finance concentration. I hate to say it again but I'm concerned about the GMAT and looking for the best MBA I can get from a school that does not require the GMAT. Best meaning educational quality and how it's perceived by those that hire.

    I'm completely open to which school, I'm still looking for the perfect fit.

    My list includes:

    Capella
    City University
    Bellevue University

    I have not researched Amberton but I will.

    Thanks,
     
  6. bizgrad

    bizgrad New Member

    The main reaosn why I didn't like Capella was the delivery in which the classes were presented. In order to respond to any thread/discussions, you had to first put it in Word just to use spell check!

    The school's web-based program had so many glitches, that it was simply too tedious and time-consuming. If you used special characters like quotation marks or apostrophes, the characters all came out like question marks. So you had to re-do everything in Word.

    Also, it became quite difficult to find out which student said what. There were two ways to look at each threaded discussion. So in order to look at everything clearly, one would have to get out of one window, and get back into the main classroom. All the threads were quite jumbled up. I like to use bold letters or color fonts to quote someone, or to make a loud statement. You can't do that with Capella's web version.

    Another thing I did not like was the inaccuracy with some of the syllabuses. So many of us were so confused with the schools calendars and events, that a couple of the students came up with student academic calendars and shared among the classmates. As a matter of fact, the teacher apoligized and told us to add comments at the end of the class. I even asked her about the jacked up word-processing program and she said to just basically deal with it and add comments. Also, the teacher interaction sucked and we hardly ever received any additional newsworthy literature outside of the everyday readings.

    Try looking into Touro. They offer TA for active duty, retirees and military spouses. So you can use military tuition assistance and Touro tuition assitance! The classes are much cheaper and you may not have to use your MGIB. And besides, there are no books. My education counselor speaks quite highly of Touro!
     
  7. adireynolds

    adireynolds New Member

    Bizgrad,

    Sorry to hear you had such bad experiences at Capella. I, too, am less than enamored with the iGuide discussion board format, but Capella is in the process of changing to WebCT -- all the schools will be switched over to this by the end of this year. That will clear up a lot of what you didn't like (and I found it a pain, too) regarding postings.

    As to teacher interaction, I think that depends more on the luck of the draw of which instructor you get. I've had the complete range, from hardly a peep, to heavily involved. I imagine that would be the case at most schools.

    I've not had any problems with syllabi, so again, it might have been just luck of the draw on that.

    Anyway, not trying to convince you to come back or anything -- not every school is right for everyone. Just thought I'd let you know that Capella is working on improving several things, particularly the "classroom" format (which I'm thrilled about!).

    Regards,
    Adrienne
     
  8. bizgrad

    bizgrad New Member

    "To know yourself and seek self-improvement". To quote some principles of leadership in the Army. At least Capella is aware of their deficiencies and trying improve on some of the weaker areas. I commmend them on that. I guess that should be one of the things that a student should look for. There's nothing worst than being a a student of a school and being ripped off by those who wish to remain mediocre, not open to change, and not willing to deliver good services!
     

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