Attending AIU

I was curious to see if anyone out there has just recently attended American Intercontinental University-Online? I am schedualed to start there in 2 weeks to attain my BS in Visual Communications. I am a little nervous because I am 28 years old and have not been to school in a while and even though I feel that I am making a good decision to get a degree to go with my five years of experience I am worried that spending 30 thousand dollars is crazy. I am putting my self and my husband deeper in debt in hopes that getting my degree will improve our lives and not ruin it with more debt ontop of the usual everyone has ontop of mortgage debt. I guess what I am curious to know is that those who have gone to that school, what did you think? Was it worth it? Are you seeing results? not just on a personal level but also on a career level. Is it truely that much more than other schools anymore or is it about average when you brake it down that it is a 2 year education achieved in 13 months in which case even though it is 30 thousand in a year of schooling it really is like a 15 thousand a year education? Is that about normal anymore? I know about 10 years ago a somewhat decent university was 10 thousand a year but with inflations and the usual cost of living increases does 15 thousand a year for a decent school sound normal? I don't expect AIU to be some incredible university that everyone knows about but I think it is right for my situation science I am married, work full time and don't live anywhere close to a regular college (and the community college out here is deffinitly not worth it ) So any advice anyone can give me (hopefully honest advice that makes me feel better, just kidding I will take just the honest advice even if it says I am making a horrible choice) about AIU would be great. So far I like what I have seen and heard and those I have talked to at AIU but its hard to say for sure since I am not officialy in the system yet with attending school there to be able to judge it fairly. Let me know what you all think of Distance Learning and how it is paying off for you and also about AIU. Thanks all and have a great day!!!

 

Hi Kevmel8

The advice I would give you and anyone else about to spend $30,000 on any venture is to research it thoroughly. I would start by doing a search here on AIU. There have been a number of threads discussing the pros and cons of AIU versus other schools.

You seem especially concerned about the cost. Have you investigated the cost of other online schools? There are state schools where you can graduate with a BA/BS for under $4,000 in less than 2 years.

Please realize the admissions counselors are salespeople who are paid to close as many leads as possible. Make sure you are making the right choice for you. Good luck in what ever dicesion you make.

 

As Dave mentioned, there are many much less expensive options available. Is Visual Communications the only field of study that interests you?

 

Yes a degree in visual communications is what I want. I have been working in the apparel industry for 5 years doing digital graphics so I feel visual communications would be a great rounded degree, giving me graphics knowledge for other areas. I love what I do but I want to branch out. I have looked at other schools such as art institute online (since I had been excepted to the chicago one 7 years ago) but I would have to do about 2.5 years there and it would cost about 40,000 dollars to get my degree in graphic design which I feel would be more limited than visual communications. I also have looked at westwood univeristy and I have looked at ther curiculume (spelled wrong?) and I think for the graphics design degree I would have to do about 2.5 to 3 years also costing around 40,000 dollars. So far it seems the only school that sounds right for money, time, degree, and being 100% online is AIU but I don't know if I have done enough research because god knows you could keep researching things on the internet from here to internity trying to weed out what is truth and not truth and what is or isn't usefull info.. plus some schools are hard to find info on. so, so far I think I am on the right track its just money issues (my husband says I worry toooo much about money) and the issue of am I getting my moneys worth. I think I will but I don't know because DL is a realativly new thing and also because I have personaly never gone to AIU or a real university in the last 10 years. sorry to ramble.. have to remind myself to stop talking sometimes

 

Again I would suggest caution. There are some real issues with AIU that have been discussed thoroughly in previous threads. Please see the link below.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11514&highlight=AIU

For all threads on AIU use this link.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=243245&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

Please be aware the Art Institute Online and its other incarnations has nothing to do with the real Chicago Art Institute. It is a trade school similiar to ITT. In any event good luck and take care.

 

Unfortunately, for the degree she seeks, there just are not many alternatives to those identified. That is, if distance learning is the required model. And it appears to be.

 

From what I've heard about AIU and my short experiences from when I was thiniking about going there in Visual Communication I would suggest being very careful. It doesn't sound like their courses are very rigorous or thorough.

I don't work for the Art Institute but although they're more expensive and has more classwork I think you'll get more out of it and from looking at the list of courses it sounds like a very well rounded program. I was very tempted to go there if I didn't have over 100 credits already.

What I mentioned in another thread is to try and see if you can transfer in some of the credits. There's about 7 or 8 classes IIRC in their graphic design program that are Gen Ed. Do them somewhere else or try to transfer Gen Eds you do have. This would certainly lessen the cost of going there.

Or do what I'm going to do, get a BA in something else and then take the courses you need in Graphic Design and maybe look into certification if that's available.

All the best,

Shoshana Ziskind

 

There's also Mt. Sierra college by the way but I know very little of their program. I think they might be more affordable than the Art Institute.

 

If fully taken at Mt. Sierra, it is just over $50k. Looks like a very good program, similar in costs to most others.

 

thanks you all

Thanks you all for your insight. I looked at Mt. Sierra and it looks too pricey for me (I live in the midwest so I have to factor in the cost of the degree with my potential earnings I will max out at here in the oh so lovely midwest) plus it has a lot of classes (great looking classes) but I have 5 years experience so I think alot of them really would just be a waste of money and then the final factor is that they are not ra. Looks like a nice school though. I think I am making the right decision, in fact I am pretty sure. I did my orientation yesterday and everything looks well thought out and to top it all off all my little worries I had with them, they were able to fix yesterday. I also went onto the schools chat forum and accidently ran into some dude how is graduating this saturday with the same degree I will be getting. He has been in the airforce for 20 years and said that he chose it because of the ra and it offered his field (also mine) and seemed really reasonable to him. He also told me that it is a hard school, you can't just skate by because it's an online school, he said you really have to keep up on your work and study a lot, which I think is a good sign for a school. They aren't just going to take my money and hand me a piece of paper, they are going to teach me. Plus he said all but 1 or 2 teachers were excelent which is great to hear (I don't expect all teachers to be great or all universitys to be flawless, thats impossible) so I think I have made the right decision and I am excited to continue on with them and as usual and as always (its just my personality) I will continue to worry about the money factor, its just the typical me as my husband would say. So thanks to all that took the time to read this thread and who have given me advice, I really appreciate it. So to you all take care and perhaps we shall all talk again some day. See Ya

 

Thanks you all for your insight. I looked at Mt. Sierra and it looks too pricey for me (I live in the midwest so I have to factor in the cost of the degree with my potential earnings I will max out at here in the oh so lovely midwest) plus it has a lot of classes (great looking classes) but I have 5 years experience so I think alot of them really would just be a waste of money and then the final factor is that they are not ra. Looks like a nice school though. I think I am making the right decision, in fact I am pretty sure. I did my orientation yesterday and everything looks well thought out and to top it all off all my little worries I had with them, they were able to fix yesterday. I also went onto the schools chat forum and accidently ran into some dude how is graduating this saturday with the same degree I will be getting. He has been in the airforce for 20 years and said that he chose it because of the ra and it offered his field (also mine) and seemed really reasonable to him. He also told me that it is a hard school, you can't just skate by because it's an online school, he said you really have to keep up on your work and study a lot, which I think is a good sign for a school. They aren't just going to take my money and hand me a piece of paper, they are going to teach me. Plus he said all but 1 or 2 teachers were excelent which is great to hear (I don't expect all teachers to be great or all universitys to be flawless, thats impossible) so I think I have made the right decision and I am excited to continue on with them and as usual and as always (its just my personality) I will continue to worry about the money factor, its just the typical me as my husband would say. So thanks to all that took the time to read this thread and who have given me advice, I really appreciate it. So to you all take care and perhaps we shall all talk again some day. See Ya

Kevmel,

I am glad that you realize that although AIU is a for-profit university, it is not a diploma mill. Although I was not a visual arts major, I can tell you from first hand experience as a business major that the curriculum is fast-paced and challenging. However, if you stay on top of your courseload and communicate with your instructors anytime you have a problem, you shouldn't have any problems. Also, if the visual arts faculty is anything like the business faculty, you will find that the vast majority of the instructors are very knowledgeable and helpful.

Other than that, all I can say is that I wish you the best in your educational adventure at AIU. Also, when you get a chance, keep us posted on how you are doing.

 

Well as a current student in the business program I have a different view than Rob L. I haven't had one class yet that I would call challenging and not on class that I felt that I learned as much as I would in a B&M school. It seems that as long as you turn your assingments in on time you will get an A no matter what. I personally have turned in some seriously flawed or lacking coursework and still recieved an attaboy. I have also seen where others make a habbit of plagerizing and giving minimal effort only to recieve straight A's. Basically I find that the school is more like buying a degree rather than earning one. For me this is fine, because I just need to get a RA bachelors for my purposes and not a real education. So take that for what its worth>

Also if you have any specific questions let me know

 

Hi KevMel8,

Another (very expensive) option is the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. You may have already checked it out, but I wanted to list it for future search purposes.

Maybe one of the Australian (or UK or SA) Universities offers a distance graphic arts or visual communications degree. Anyone out there know of one?

Tony

 

Another option might be Franklin University's Digital Communication Major.
Tuition is quite a bit less expensive (although by no means cheap) than the previous schools mentioned. Franklin University is Ra unlike a couple of the schools mentioned. Tuition could probably be kept under $12,000 using CLEPs and assuming (from previous posts) you have a goodly amount of credit already.
I hope this helps.

Tony

 

Another possible option is Saint Mary of the Woods College .
Tuition for the external program is quite a bit less expensive than that of the previously mentioned schools. They offer both a digital media communication degree and a graphic design degree. They do require a one day residency at the start of each semester. Also, only women are allowed admission into their undergraduate programs.

Good luck,
Tony

 

Well as a current student in the business program I have a different view than Rob L. I haven't had one class yet that I would call challenging and not on class that I felt that I learned as much as I would in a B&M school. It seems that as long as you turn your assingments in on time you will get an A no matter what. I personally have turned in some seriously flawed or lacking coursework and still recieved an attaboy. I have also seen where others make a habbit of plagerizing and giving minimal effort only to recieve straight A's. Basically I find that the school is more like buying a degree rather than earning one. For me this is fine, because I just need to get a RA bachelors for my purposes and not a real education. So take that for what its worth>

c130NAV,

Although my experience has been good at AIU Online, I do understand where you are coming from. Although I haven't seen rampant inflation to the point where everyone gets an "A", I remember wondering how some of the people in my class were passing. Case in point, there was this one guy who wrote all of his posts at a level I would expect from a 5th grader who somehow made it from one class to the next. Although he didn't graduate with honors, I was upset by the fact that he earned the same Bachelor's Degree I did.

I would like to see AIU implement some form of minimal admissions standards. For example, for the MBA program I would like to see the GMAT as an admissions requirement. Although I decided to continue at AIU, I was shopping around for other schools and took the GMAT. I scored a 565; although this score wouldn't get me into the Ivy league programs, it was enough to get into most MBA programs. The reason why I decided to stay with AIU was that I work for the government and wanted to earn my degree as fast as possible--the government does not really care where a degree comes from as long it is properly accredited.

Although I like AIU, I don't recommend it to everyone. In my opinion, I think AIU is a good choice for those who work for government/military agencies or employers who provide tuition reimbursement. Also, I want to add that a student learn a great deal about business while attending AIU; however, that student has to take the initative and go beyond the scope of the assignments.

 

like the feedback

Hey all, I like the feed back that all of you are providing. It's good to hear a mix of the bad and the good. I wish I could go to some of the other schools mentioned but they are so expensive and would take 2.25 times longer. I figure I don't have much to lose. Around St. Louis the top schools (B&M) are St. Louis Universtity, UMSL, and Webster if you want your degree name to be recognized, and all of those might be a hair cheaper but completly impossible to attained them since they are all an hour to an hour and a half away from me (with gas prices and working 40+ hours a week it would be impossible to get there and then I would be stuck taking 1 or 2 classes at a time which would lead to taking 3-4 years to get my degree). So I defintily feel that I am going in the right direction. I just want an RA Degree so that I don't top out on the pay scale so soon in life (which I am pretty close to doing since I don't have a degree) I don't expect the degree to get me a 9 figure salary by any means but a nice increase would be great. Plus w/o a degree right now I will always be stuck in just this paticular field of mine (and at this paticualr place ) and I won't be able to branch out. I hope the school will be somewhat challenging but since I have 5 years experience in some of the area of the visual communications classes I expect somethings to be easy (in which case I will have to push my self to learn extra things on my own) and somethings to be a little tougher. I could sit here all day and way the pros and cons but it seems like that could be done for every university.. So I am going to put aside money issues (I could worry about money 24/7 and not take a brake) and go with my gut instinct. Which feels that I will be happy and able to improve life if I get an RA degree. As my husband says it just little piece of green paper and that I should go for (which I could have the same mentality as him, then again).. If either of you have any more advice on AIU or personal experiences of that school let me know. It would be great to hear even if we are in different fields of study. Thanks again to all those who have responded. Take care and try to have a great Monday (I know its Monday but it's possible to have a good one, hay it's one day closer to Friday) See you all later, kevmel8