Newbie

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Ryan1984, Mar 15, 2006.

Loading...
  1. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    Hi, I've been reading these forums all day. Lots of good information here. Very happy I found it.

    Unfortunetly for me, I have a bunch of questions.

    I know I want a degree. I know eventually I want a B.S. What I'm not positive on is what. I think I'd be interested in engineering. Anyway, I've been deeply looking into Excelsior college. Although, what gets me is the cost. I was in college (New England Tech.) about 2 years ago, but only completed about 18 credits. Am I correct in assuming that for me to enroll in Excelsior, is would cost me over $30,000 to get a B.S.? That's with the 9xx fee up front, and $250 per credit. I began looking at DL schools because I believed they would be affordable. I can go to a community college for $1,000 a semester.

    I'm looking for a DL school that is 100% DL. I can do proctored exams, etc. But I need to work to pay my bills. My main question is, is it possible to get a B.S. from an accredited DL school for around 10-15k? I was looking at Excelsior because it is the only one to my knowledge that is ABET accredited. I never thought it would cost that much. $30,000 is a lot of money for someone who doesn't even make that in a year.
     
  2. Haggai12

    Haggai12 Member

    Check out..

    Hi Ryan,

    Might try the "Find a school" feature on this website....

    very good informational / guidance tool.

    There are lot's and lot's of programs, perhaps you need to explore options a bit further.
     
  3. JoAnnP38

    JoAnnP38 Member

    Hi Ryan,

    Welcome aboard! One tack that students use when approaching a BS degree at Excelsior is to complete much of the degree by passing various exams such as CLEP before being officially admitted. Also, you can look to local community colleges, where tuition is traditionally very cheap, to complete general education courses if you would rather attend classes. Of course you can mix and match delivery modes as you see fit.

    If you are interested in Excelsior, you may want to look at the site http://bain4weeks.com/. This site has very good information about testing out of courses.

    Did you mention where you are currently located? If you live in Florida you can complete a degree in Engineering Technology at the University of Central Florida for about $100/credit hour. Otherwise, its too expensive for non-Florida residents.

    http://online.ucf.edu/programs/engtech_bs.html

    Also, the University of North Dakota offers several BS degrees in Engineering (not Engineering Technology like Excelsior and UCF) such as Chemical, Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineering. These degrees are offered mostly by distance learning; however, there are certain lab courses where you have to spend some short time on campus to complete. If I understand correctly, they compress the lab courses down to 1 week. Many people can take off from work to go complete those courses.

    http://www.conted.und.edu/ddp/programs.html
     
  4. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Good advice JoAnn. Ryan, you can save a lot of dinero (money) by checking out bain4weeks.com There are a lot of CLEP, Dantes, exams you can take for a low cost! And the beauty of it is you can do them as you can afford them. The bain4weeks.com website will give you an idea of test/exams you could begin taking prior to enrollment at one of the big three (COSC, TESC or Excelsior).

    Heed JoAnn's advice.


    Abner :)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 16, 2006
  5. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    The big three are the-big-three because they allow so many options for accepting so much credit for their degrees. They are not necessarily the cheapest source for individual classes. Community college classes, at least in many areas, is probably about as low a cost as you're likely ever going to find. I recommend that highly to those living in those areas where community college is available and very affordable.
     
  6. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    Thanks for all the help everyone.

    By the way, I live in Maine.

    What I'm thinking of doing is going with Penn Foster for their Civil engineering program. Then with the Associate's degree, land a job in the field and hopefully I'd be able to transfer the credits to The University of Maine to get a B.S. but I have to look into whether they'll take the credits. It is the only school in the state of Maine that I can find that offers a degree in civil engineering (which is the type of engineering I'm MOST interesterested in)

    Are there any DL schools that offer a B.S. in Civil Engineering? Regardless of price? I'd prefer to find one that is ABET certified, but it is not a requirement, as Maine does not require it to be to get licensed.

    Thanks again for all the help.
     
  7. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    Forgot to ad,

    Another strong possibility I've been considering is going with Penn Foster for their Electrical Engineering Technology program, and then transfer those credits to Excelsior for my B.S.


    It's probably been mentioned before, but does anyone know if Excelsior will accept credits from Penn Foster? I assume they would as they are ACE certified.
     
  8. philosophicalme

    philosophicalme New Member

    It is my understanding that Penn Foster is DETC accredited, so Excelsior and most other RA (Regionally Accredited) colleges will not accept the credit in transfer. Good luck!

    Rhonda
     
  9. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Ryan,

    Yes, there is. As JoAnn mentioned in an earlier post, you may complete a B.S. in Civil Engineering via DL through the University of North Dakota. Here is a link to the requirements for the B.S. in Civil Engineering:
    http://www.conted.und.edu/ddp/dedp/doc/CiEn_StatusSheet_2005.pdf

    Good luck!

    - Tom
     
  10. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    Thanks, I missed that. So it is possible. Unfortunetly, at over $40,000 for two years, its a bit out of reach more me. I think now what I'm going to do is go with Penn Foster for the Electrical Engineering Degree then either try to get an entry level job in the field and find a DL school that I can do the B.S. with (maybe Excelsior, I did read somewhere on here that someone transfered their credits from Penn Foster, but Rhonda discouraged me from that)

    Or maybe look into transfering them to UMaine. I'd prefer to do DL though. No real reason why I can't go to a traditional B&M school, I'd just prefer not to. I hated high school (although got good grades) and hated the 10 months I was in college. I just hate the setting. I prefer to learn things on my own. I'm very good at teaching myself things. I can learn more from reading an hours worth of a book than I can in a week of classes. It's just the way I've always been. There's that, and the fact that I have bills to pay and need to work full time, and I would really not like to have to spend all day everyday working and going to school.
     
  11. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    So everyone knows, I was just reading Excelsior's catalog, and it says:
    "In General, Excelsior College accepts credit from the following sources"

    ....blah blah blah...

    "college-level credit from any degree granting institution accredited by the Distance Education and Traint Council (DETC) that has also been approved and recommended by the American Council on Education's (ACE) college credit recommendation service will be applicable"

    So I guess that means that they would accept credit from Penn Foster. Another bullit also mentioned they accepted credit from any RA college OR any college that is accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) which Penn Foster is also accredited by. With that said, I believe Excelsior would have no problem accepting credits from Penn Foster. Am I correct?
     
  12. Xarick

    Xarick New Member

    Okay.. im gonna step in for a sec and make the recommendation that you don't want to hear.

    Since you make less than 30k now. I suggest you find a way to get rid of as many expenses as possible. Quit your full time job, take a part time job and get some loans, go to college onsite for civil engineering. I think you will be far better served in the long run.

    Yes I realize what I am saying is incredibly tough to do, but in the end it will be more than worth it.

    edit: I wanted to add that pennfoster offers a degree in civil engineering technology. This is not going to be the same as civil engineering and will not likely transfer into a four year civil engineering program well.

    Secondly even at a state school your going to likely spend more than 10k for a civil engineering degree. Maybe even 20k or more. Yet in the end senior civil engineers make very good money and are in demand. So it more than pays for itself.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 16, 2006
  13. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    Xarick,

    Believe me, I am deeply considering the fact that any form of engineering may be best to just go the traditional route. It may be too complicated for DL. This is why I am also deeply considering Business Mangament with the same thought in mind :Start at Penn and transfer to Excelsior. What do you think about that?
     
  14. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Ryan,

    Just ask yourself what you really want to do. If you feel that a career in Civil Engineering is your calling then pursue it with dogged determination. If not, then go for something else (like Business Mgmt or whatever tickles your fancy). Just don't settle for something else because you think Engineering can't be done via DL. Of course it can. The University of North Dakota (and many other schools) certainly wouldn't offer this type of program if it weren't feasible (and ABET surely wouldn't give their blessings to such a program either).

    You may decide that it is in fact easier to pursue Engineering at a B&M institution. Whatever you decide to do, don't give up!

    Finally, I will end this post with one of my favorite quotes:

    “ Nothing in the World can take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. “
    - Calvin Coolidge


    Anyway, good luck!

    - Tom
     
  15. Xarick

    Xarick New Member

    My opinions on Business degrees are somewhat negative and it goes like this. If you work in a company and are looking to move up then a buisness degree is fine. If you have a Bachelors and are looking for a masters in business to round out your skill set then great.
    Otherwise business majors are a dime a dozen and will likely not give you an edge.

    Civil engineering however is a field full of retirees and few to fill their spots.
     
  16. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    The problem for me with Civil Eng. and DL is the fact that as far as I know, The University of ND is the only school that offers it. At 600 and some odd dollars a credit, this is beyond my reach, especially after paying the money for an Associate's degree before that. I know it would be worth it in the end, but I just cannot afford it. And after doing some extensive researh in my area, there really isn't anything that an Associate's would do for me in terms of creating a good income to be able to pay to further my education. If Excelsior offered a degree in Civil Engineering, that would help greatly, but they don't. They have Nuclear Engineering and Electrical Engineering. Electrical Engineering sounds interesting to me, because I could work as a civilian for the armed forces. (That's another goal I have, I'd like a government job in one fashion or another) And because both Penn and Excelsior offer degrees for that field, it seems feesible.

    One other question I have is this: Although I haven't read anything about anyone on here going for these programs, does anyone know about Engineering enough to know what Electrical Engineering Technology is compared to just Electrical Engineering? Reason is, Penn Foster offeres it as Electrical Engineering Technology> Is there a difference, and if there is, would it be harder for me to transfer credits to a school that offers an Engineering B.S.?

    As far as finding something I really like doing: That's been my whole problem for me. I never had that idea of "what I wanted to be when I grow up" and I still really don't. To put it honestly, I just want to do something where I can make at least 50K w/ a B.S. after a few years experience. As far as work, it really doesn't matter much to me, which is why I'm just looking at programs that sound interesting to me. The two things I most enjoy: Cars and Computers. I do not want to go to school for anything strictly computer related. Meaning programming, IT, etc. I just don't believe it's a stable enough field to devote that much time to. I mean, it could all change dramatically at the blink of an eye, and everything you learned is obsolete...That or, everything can be outsourced ;) It's just my personal opinion. Please don't try to change it, because you won't. It's just one of those things I prefer doing in my spare time.

    As far as cars, I love them. I think I would love to do something in terms of the design of something for them. Not the actual design of the car, but something related to it (Electrical Engineering would ive me that option) I don't see becomming a mechanic in my future. I like working on cars in my free time, but I couldn't see myself doing it as a full time job. Same thing with autobody.

    Other than that, I'm young (21) so I haven't really experienced enough in life yet (at least I feel) to have a solid understanding of what I want to do with my life. I do know that I graduated high school and started college right away. While I was attending I got a good part time job (30 hours a week) and got my first real taste of decent money. When I was in high school I had a really nice car....really nice. Anyway, to help finance my school, I gave that up and was driving a '89 three colored grand am I payed $50 for. It was just seeing the money I could be making, along with wanting better things obviously, that led me to take fewer classes to work more, etc. Then eventually drop out all together and work full time. Anyway, it was obviously a mistake and I see that now and realize I can't live a decent life on the money I make now in a no skills job. I need to get back into school, but at the same time, having a little bit of money has led me to buy things that require bills to be paid, so they need to be paid and I need to work full time to do that.

    Is there a specialized form of business that is in high demand? That's another thing I think would be worth considering. What is in demand.

    Anyway, I'll stop there for now. Thankyou everyone.
     
  17. Xarick

    Xarick New Member

    become an accountant.

    Oh.. and to add my dad is 60. He spent 35 years in telecom and every once in a while he will say... I still haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

    As for do what you love.. that's crap. Doesn't happen. We work to make money, to make a living. You may somewhat enjoy what you do but only a few LOVE what they do and often at the expense of all else.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 16, 2006
  18. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    I was actually thinking of accounting too (I know, i know...I'm thinking about everything)

    I was always actually quite good at math and just with number in general, especially in my head. Thing is, I don't really know any accountants. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever even talked to one. Is what they do all day just crunch numbers, or are there variations (sorry, I'm nieve.)

    I've taken accounting in high school, but it was just an introductory 1/2 year course. We basically just went over general ledgers.

    It is something I will look in to.
     
  19. Ryan1984

    Ryan1984 New Member

    Xarick,

    Now you've got me reading into accounting and it actually seems like something I'd be very interested in. Well, while reading, I noticed a lot of posts by you. I'm just wondering, did you decide to go for your degree?

    If so, which school are you using? Why'd you choose it?

    Thanks

    I'm kind of up in the air right now between using Penn Foster, Or my local community college offers an On-line Accounting degree program (Assosciate's)
     
  20. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    In the engineering world, engineering technology programs most always play second fiddle to the engineer. If you were applying for a job at an engieering firm, you would most likely be last on the list behind all the other engineers, unless it is for a grunt work position. This is mostly because engineering technology degree holders are not allowed to sit for the PE exam.

    In my area the highest paid BS students are:

    Surveying
    Geography (GIS)
    Geology
    Accounting
    Electrical Engineers
     

Share This Page