Want A Degree But Not a Loan

I mean Want a Degree But Not a Loan. Hope you had a good laugh.

I have an AA and would like to pursue a BA but do not want to take on a loan of any kind. Does anyone know of a place online where I could pursue a BA which is not too expensive? I qualify for financial aid and am interested in marketing. My AA is in journalism so I would be very open to getting a BA in that.:suspect:

Thanks,
Sheila

 

If money is an issue then read this site VERY carefully

Lawrie Miller's BA in 4 Weeks. Online degrees by distance learning. BA degree and graduate degees - Accelerated Master Degrees by Distance Learning.

Then come back and read every thread that comes up when you search "big three." Then read all the posts in this forum

CLEP, DANTES, and Other Exams for Credit

then come back and ask questions

 

I was able to go from an AA to a BS in about four months and it cost about $3K or so.

 

I agree with Kizmet & Randell that you should check out the "big three" testing-out option.

However, here's one option to give you some idea of what it would look like & cost to do it the "normal" way through a recognized, regionally accredited, relatively low-priced school:

University of North Dakota
Bachelor of Arts in Communication | Online & Distance Education
Tuition is listed at $295.49/credit (125 credits total minus your total AA credits)

 

Good point - here is another "normal way" - $108.45 per credit x 60 credits is $6,507 at a normal school. This is for Flodida residents

eCampus: Tuition & Fees

 

Yes, I agree with the other sagacious members. The big three is good way to go. Why? You can take CLEP, DANTES and other tests and pay as you go. Avoiding debt as much as possible is wise in this economy.

I paid for my education all out of pocket, zero debt.

Abner

 

And here is another, at ~$140 per credit, regardless of residency:

University of Wyoming Outreach School

Good luck!

 

My daughter is taking a full load online at SUNY: Empire State College and it is costing about $3K a semester. That's not the cheapest option out there, but I'm convinced it's one of the best. At that low price she is able to work pretty much full-time and pay for most of her school as she goes. The guidance and the service at Empire State is some of the best I've seen, as well. I highly recommend the school.

 

I'll agree with this. I've taken a semester with them and have another semester coming up, and I've found the courses I've taken so far to be well structured and thought out, and even engaging. Contrary to some reviews I've seen online, I've found the professors to mostly be responsive to emails and course postings. Also, SUNY(imho) has pretty good name recognition, so that makes the deal sweeter.

 

I have two comments regarding diplox's post. The first is in regards to her statement "...some reviews I've seen online," There's an old saying, (variously) "A happy customer tells a friend, an unhappy customer tells the world." You need to be very careful in evaluating customer (student) complaints. There are lots of disgruntled students who will dis their former school. In reality it may be more of a condemnation of the student and a plus for the school that had good standards and kicked some slacker out. Also, I think that SUNY has a good brand name and I'm glad the poster is having a good experience.

 

Thanks but...

Thanks for all the good info but I still have not gotten an answer to my question so:

Has anyone had any personal experience or know anyone who has successfully completed an online BA with only federal financial aid?

 

Great. That still does not answer my question but some good info, thanks. I've heard that internet colleges are usually paid for by employers, like Pheonix University, which is why they are so expensive so I guess there's no way to do what I want to do. Oh well.

 

If I understand your question correctly, this may answer it. Like I said, you can go somewhere like Empire State, it's cheap enough that a decent grant or scholarship will cover it. That all depends on what you can qualify for. If you make a fair living and don't have 95 percentile GPA, then you may not qualify for scholarships or grants. If you can land a scholarship or grant, then you buy your books used on Amazon, sell them again on Amazon and you end up with textbooks almost free. Those two practices together will keep your costs down.

Then, as others have said, you CLEP and DANTES out of a lot of classes. You can do it without going into debt, if you act wisely.

Like I said before, at only $3K a semester, one of the Big 3 schools even cheaper, you could possibly pay as you go even if you can't get financial aid. I don't know your financial situation, however.

 

*One option is to find an employer who will subsidize your education.
*Another option is the military.
*Another not often thought of is to get a job with a university. University employees are often able to take classes with tuition waived.
*There are (at least were) government programs that paid education costs but one was obligated to take employment, with salary, at a location of the governments choosing for an agreed upon period of time. This was typically 2 to 4 years, doctors maybe a little longer. I understood this option was available mainly to teachers and medical professionals.

Any of these may be worth checking into.

 

The programs mentioned here are available online.

You are better off not going to an "internet college" anyway.

Furthermore, the reasons for the high prices at for-profit, online universities include the availability of federal financial aid and Wall Street's demand for greater profits. At University of Phoenix, for instance, the vast majority of revenue comes from federal financial aid.

 

Fort Hays State: BBA in Marketing ($170 /credit hour)
Virtual College - Fort Hays State University
Marketing - Fort Hays State University