Bellevue University or Troy University

Ok, I am in the Air Force and I am having a hard time deciding on which school is best for me to complete my bachelor's degree. I like the fact that Bellevue University has an accelerated program and that I could be done in a year. The only thing about that is I would have to use Top Up with my tuition assistance and I wanted to save my G.I. Bill for my master's degree, since the Air Force will only pay so much. The reason I am considering Troy University is because they are well known and they do have a few degree programs I am interested in, plus my tuition assistance pretty much covers my classes. It will take me two years to graduate from Troy University and 12-15 months at Bellevue University. Anyone in the military or anyone who has attended either one of these schools, please give some feedback on these schools about how you handled your tuition with Bellevue every month after your Tuition Assistance ran out, assignment workload during a 4 week term, and the Kirkpatrick Series. Also with Troy on how many classes you took per term/year and assignment load.

I calculated that Bellevue University will cost me $12,060 ( $335 X 36 hrs), the AF will pay $9000 of this leaving me with $3060 out of pocket (GI Bill), not counting books. I am really leaning towards Bellevue because I will be able to be done quicker, but I am a bit worried about the recognition versus Troy University, which will take longer to complete. Maybe I just answered my own question here...but I just need student feedback from people who have attended Bellevue University.

P.S. I am looking for a degree in Management or Human Resource Management.

Bellevue University website: http://www.bellevue.edu/
Troy University website https://www.troy.edu

 

I can't speak for Bellevue University, but I had great experience with Troy University. I earned my degree while on active duty in 24 months with a little credits from the Military Training. Troy University offers 5 terms per year, you can take 3 courses if you think that you are not in the training and/or deployment. However, 2 course every 10 weeks would be about right.

Since you have several Associate degrees, plus the Military Training...I think you can complete your Bachelor degree at Troy within a year.

 

Tekman,

I have been following up on Troy University based off of your comments on other posts. It is really motivating to hear how you did it in 24 months. The only reason, I am considering Bellevue University is due to their accelerated program. I don't forsee any deployments with me being in a "special duty position", however, I believe my limit would be 2 classes per term. The first term started today and I will have to wait until the next one because of a delay on one of my transcripts. Maybe I can take some classes elsewhere until the next term rolls around. Did you take 2 classes per term? I plan on applying to OTS once I am done with my bachelor's. Thanks for your response.

P.S. I was in Dallas working as an Air Force recruiter for the last 4 years until Jan 09.

 

Are they? I had never heard of Troy (I live on the West Coast) until I joined this forum. In practice I do not believe it makes a lot of difference where you earn your degree from unless it is from a prestigious school such Princeton, CalTech, or Stanford. Your personal job related attributes count for more than where your degree came from. Just my opinion based on decades of experience in industry.

 

The reason I say well known is because you can actually watch their football games on ESPN, not really a big deal. I totally agree with you, my wife says the same thing about it not making a difference where you earn your degreee as long as it is accredited. I guess I am doubtful about Bellevue's accelerated program, meaning, would I be able to handle the workload doing 4 week sessions and working full time. I am used to doing 8 week terms.

 

Tekman,

Maybe I could do this in one year, it would be pushing it though. I considered Troy based on your comments from other posts in the past. I guess I have to sit down and really think which one would be my best option. I am at the point now where I need to finish my bachelor's and apply for OTS. Thanks for your comment.

P.S. I was stationed in Dallas, TX working as a recruiter for the last 4 years. I actually recruited a SMU football player for OTS 2 years ago.

 

I feel you pain. I wish I could help you, but I am having the same problem as you.

 

I guess the question is, will you need the BA within a year? If not, I would go with Troy. First of all, it may be kind of nice to watch your Alma Mater on TV from time to time - famous or not.

And more importantly, sometimes faster is not better. While it is true that many students perceive semester-long terms as too long and an invitation to slack out for the first few week, I think there is a minimum duration for a class to be effective. I personally think 4 weeks are too short to actually become acquainted with the course topic. Sure, you can cover the textbooks and contents (you could do that in two weeks), but in my experience retention is much better if you "live in the topic" for a while.

 

If you have a few associates degrees, I would assume you have a lot of credits. Have you considered Charter Oak, TESC, or Excelsior? CLEP's are free to the military and I was able to go from an AA to a BS in 4 months. Just something to consider if the degree is what you want.

 

I agree. I was looking at Bellevue because I could have it done quick and apply for OTS sooner. There really is no rush, I could do 30 credits a year depending on the major. Plus, my current enlistment doesn't expire until 3 years from now, 8 and a half years til retirement. The thing is Troy has been very slow with evaluating my credits. I believe I have all of my general ed. classes knocked out. The first term at Troy started today, so I will have to wait until the next term. Maybe I can take some cleps during this time.

 

I have a feeling I will find my way over to Troy before long.

 

Royalism,
It is nice to see someone posting with a degree from Coastline Community College.
I'm taking a few courses from there just for fun - Coastline has a great DL program - very student friendly (I only wish they offered more 200 level courses).

 

I remember hearing about Coastline back in my Navy days.

I am interested in taking a few general education classes with them. I would love to hear more information on Coastline.

 

Coastline's website is here:
http://dl.coastline.edu/


Costs just increased to $26 per semester unit for California residents and $190/unit for non-residents.

 

Thanks for the link, I just hate the non-residents rate is $190. But, I'm a big fan of the 8-week courses.

 

Actually, the cost is $169 per unit for non-residents http://military.coastline.edu/airforce.cfm. I loved this school. The 8 week terms went by so fast, but it was enough time to soak up all the info needed to get a good grade. They are very military friendly, as they have a program for each branch of the military. The online format they use is a breeze to learn. I have younger airman that I supervise going there to get their CCAF degree knocked out. I would recommend anyone needing to fill general education requirements to check out this school.

I think I am going to attend Troy University over Bellevue. I feel Troy University will be the better option for me in the long run after the military and for applying to OTS.

 

Roylism,

If you have lot of time and without field training or deployment, you can handle 3 courses. I took 3 courses every other terms, and back to 2 courses. Troy University offers minor in Military Science/Military Studies; where I used the Marine Corps Institute's credits for it. While working on those courses, I also tested out 2 exams per term. Also, Troy University offers transfer credits to up 90 credits.

For you evaluation, once you are accepted you'll get be in conditional status. Which you are allowed to take 2 terms before all transcripts evaluation are done. If that is the case you can knock out 18 credits. If I remember correctly, it took them 3 months to complete my evaluation.

Speaking of College Sports, Troy University football did way better than Southern Methodist University. I was pissed because I pay more money to SMU than Troy, and the football was not that good.

 

How many classes do you take at a time?

 

When I was going to Coastline I took 2 classes per 8 week term. I was working as a recruiter then, so I had some long days. I believe the limit for an 8 week term is no more than 7 hrs. I could be wrong on this.

 

Do you know exactly how the 90 credits Troy accepts is broken down? I can't seem to find it in their catalog.