Hi, I have been looking at getting my Associates in Paralegal Studies and feel as though someone is trying to sell me a car!! I opted out of 3 that I have looked into so far. Does anyone know what online schools are recognized in Washington State? I am so confused on the difference between regionally accredited and nationally accredited. Does anyone know anything about Hodges University? It seems that is the only one I have read good reviews about. I do not want to waste between 30k and 40k only to not be able to get a job because employers do not recognize online degrees. Help!! Thanks.
Does Washington require a state license for paralegals? If not you may just look for a good school that is cheap. DETC- Penn Foster is less than $4,000- http://www.pennfostercollege.edu/paralegalstudies/Tuition.html RA-CLovis is only going to cost you around $2,000 http://www.clovis.edu/type3.asp?pageid=lest There are a lot of DETC schools out there but some of them cost from $8,000-$10,000 If you want to go NA I would say Ashworth or Penn Foster, if you want RA I would say for the price, Clovis. Most pereleagals have no degrees at all. My step-mother has worked in the field for 30+ years, no degree. I called and asked her and out of the 15-20 females in her office not one has a degree. So this is something that might be better served with a certificate or on the job training.
Hodges U is almost $500 an Hour. The University is also geared towards Hispanics, which is not a problem. So at $500 an hour for 60 hours your looking at $30,000 for Hodges or $2,000 for Clovis.
This is just my opinion but you should not pay 30-40k for an Associates degree no matter what it is in. By the time I am all said and done with my Bachelors and Masters I will be looking at 30k. With that said I recommend Clovis as well because of the reviews on here, my current experience with them, and the price. You cannot beat the price of Clovis anywhere! You should no issues with employers not recognizing your degree because you get it online the only place where that seems to be a problem is teaching on a tenure track. So I would not worry about that at all. I would say find an Associates program that cost less than 5k at the most. Good luck!
This was true 30 years ago. Anymore to work as a paralegal even to break into the field (unless you live somewhere with only a thousand ppl) you need to have at minimum a certificate or associates degree and especially with this economy you need to have something that will set you apart from the other 100 people applying for the same job (not that there will be 100 im just giving an example )
<<This is just my opinion but you should not pay 30-40k for an Associates degree no matter what it is in. ... I would say find an Associates program that cost less than 5k at the most. Good luck!>> +1
Excellent advice. Have you talked to your local community college(s) to saee what they have to offer?
