Finding schools that don't require student loans

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by specialneeds, Aug 10, 2010.

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  1. specialneeds

    specialneeds New Member

    Hi

    I have posted a couple times about obtaining a CS degree. I am also considering adding an additional psychology minor, since I have taken psychology classes at the other colleges I have went to.

    I should tell you that I have been to several schools. I went to University of Nebraska back in 1983, but didn't finish my degree due to medical reasons. However, I did take quite a few courses there. Although I only ended up with a low C GPA due to medical reasons. I have since finished an AA and ASB degree at a community college a couple of years ago.

    I did will there and ended with about a 3.0 GPA. Later I tried to finish my Bachelor degree by driving to the college that was 90 miles away but this wasn't working out well due to family and my ongoing health programs. You see I have epilepsy which makes it difficult when I have seizures and I am unable to drive. This has been an ongoing problem finishing my education.

    So I am now taking classes at a different community college online, planning to transfer them to a BS Computer Science degree program. After reading the article and seeing some of the posts on the article on how employers regard distances of the school from where you live. I am now wondering if I need to find a program that is within 300 miles of where I live. Which is a about 30 minutes to Albert Lea, Minnesota.

    I was contacted by Mountain State University today. I was told that they didn't offer any scholarships, but I would most likely qualify for a full Pell Grant. The cost of the tuition would be more than a pell grant. However, I will have money from a Voc Rehab. program to offset some of the cost. Could you give me some more suggestions of schools that wouldn't require student loans.

    Thanks
    Diana
     
  2. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    Since you have significant life and perhaps work experience I suspect that earning a DL degree will not handicap you when looking for a job.

    I'm do not know much about CS degree but I'm sure other members can help you out.

    Possibly this one is an option for you:
    Computer Science Studies Concentration (Major) at Charter Oak State College
     
  3. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    90 miles away will not work for your or anyone else! Too dang far! Did we already tell you about studying on your own and then taking CLEP exams? I think we did. That's the absolute cheapest way to go. Excelsior will accept that and it will be fully accredited, just as though you had attended a class. You have to be pretty good a working on your own though.
     
  4. AUTiger00

    AUTiger00 New Member

    I don't know about CS degrees in your area, but if you're looking for something within 300 miles that would provide in-state tuition I would recommend this.

    Liberal Arts and Sciences Curriculum-Liberal Studies: Iowa State University Catalog 2007-2009

    The website link is from ISU, but apparently you can choose to earn the degree from ISU, the University of Iowa or UNI. The degree is in Liberal Studies, but I'm sure you could take a good number of CS courses. Take a look, maybe it will work for you.
     
  5. specialneeds

    specialneeds New Member

    Re

    I want to thank everyone for giving me so much information through their posts. It has helped me a lot.

    I actually do much better working on classes online, since they are much more flexible and I can work on them at home. It has been difficult at times to go to class due to my seizures. Generally, I do okay but at times when they flare up it has been a problem.

    I am generally very busy and the flexibility of the classes has been great. During the summer I am the director of a special needs camp. In addition to organizing camps for kids and teens with special needs I also am the president of an organization in which we plan family and teen events throughout the year.

    You can check out the website I created at specialneedsfamilyactivities.tripod.com

    or

    type special needs family activities into a search engine.

    I also create fliers and have had online businesses. I love to do computer information research on many different topics. So I do have skills in business area, public relations, computer, and taken courses in special ed. as well.

    However, I will need to take a lot of math courses. So far I took Liberal Arts Math and Elementary Statistics. I haven't taken intermediate or college algebra yet though. I am interested in finding out more about the university that you can transfer credits. I am just now starting to take classes like Java. So I don't have much that I could test out of in this case.

    Thanks
    Diana
     

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