How did you pick your program/college ?

Just wanna hear how everyone eventually picked their college of choice.
Was rankings very important to you? Or cost ?
How do you rank them in your own personal college selection ?

:wiggle::wiggle::wiggle:

For myself, I was with ASU, but at $500/credit, it was expensive for me. I eventually went into HES because it was cheap, like $275/credit. But besides Harvard, I also shortlisted other schools in that price range, like IU, Minot State, and UMass. I eventually picked HES cause of the brand.

I was also prepared to move back to ASU if the learning/teaching style of HES was not something I could handle. But thankfully their system of teaching was about the same as ASU, with the extra exams which I need to get a proctor.

 

I bounced around quite a bit in the selection of my program. My first stop was the South African schools simply because of the low cost. Because I was making the leap from Engineering into the Humanities I was unsure about whether I would be better off taking a step sideways and earning another Bachelors degree or jumping in with both feet and going for a grad degree. UNISA is low cost but I'd have to travel to take exams and it significantly extended the number of years of study I'd have to undertake in order to get where I wanted to go. At the same time I wasn't sure that I had the background to confidently take on a research Masters. So I began looking for a taught Masters program. First stop was the University of London, again because of the low cost. However, I didn't like the year long courses with grades based primarily on one final exam. I had gone that route once before (see page 1 of the "Washout" thread) and was worried about my ability to stay on track based solely on my own self-discipline (or, in my case, lack of it). So I knew I wanted a semester based program with a hefty dose of communication between student and instructor and between the students themselves. Of course, with all that, I was still concerned about cost. I was just about to pull the trigger on a program offered by Fort Hayes State when I stumbled onto a program at a very well known (some would even say prestigious) British school that we rarely discuss. The cost was a bit higher than I wanted but I believe it has the right combination of other factors for me. Here's the link:

Degree finder | Postgraduate study.

 

TCC – it was local, cheap, and I was needing to get involved in anything to get my mind off some of the craziness I was dealing with at the time. Luckily, school was the choice I made.

TESC – it was a public, NFP that offered me the quickest, easiest route to a BS with the major I wanted (CIS), after my on-campus aspirations flamed out due to being… wait for it… a fully employed adult.

UIS – B&M, public, NFP that offered the major I wanted (MIS). Reasonable tuition, AACSB accreditation, and the U of I name also helped seal the deal.

UND - B&M, public, NFP that offered the major I wanted (this time accounting). Reasonable tuition, AACSB accreditation, and being a tier-1 university (per USN&WR anyway) also helped seal the deal.

At this point I have acquired the academic credentials to make myself very competitive within my career field for the foreseeable future. I do enjoy learning, however, so I have applications in for a couple of other programs. I may choose one over the other, or take them at the same time, 1 class at a time or here and there. They are:

M.Ed., Educational Technology, Texas A&M University – Already accepted here. I find the curriculum interesting, and the school is top notch, a top 100 national university with a strong local alumni network (being in Houston). Their tuition is also very reasonable in-state. 7 years to complete it.

D.B.A., Information Systems, Liberty University – Applied. This program really has me intrigued. It could be great, or not. It's a B&M, NFP with reasonable tuition. Per the admissions person I spoke with there is not a lot of on-line interaction (discussion boards, etc.) The program does include several week long residencies and the classes run concurrently, so if you miss one you cannot continue until that class is offered again. The school is also very controversial in some circles. It's hard to find people who have experience with this specific program. I was thinking of adding a “My Experience” thread to the community if it’s something I start to give others a reference source.

 

I would love to do the 2 year LLB there. Too bad they rejected me.

Their rivals accepted me though.

:X

 

The University of Scranton (A.A) - I was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA (about a half hour away). There are about 12 different degree granting institutions in that area (if you count junior colleges and seminaries). UofS is operated by the Jesuits so, in the local mix, it has the closest thing to "prestige" you can find. I was originally planning to attend Kings College but I had a girlfriend who was going to Scranton. I earned a bunch of credits by loading my schedule since they charged the same tuition for 12 credits as they did for 18. I was originally a Psych major (minor in counseling). This was a pretty stupid move on my part, to be honest. My nearest family was almost an hour away making a commute impractical. So, I rented a sketchy apartment in an even sketchier part of Scranton (which, on the whole, is a pretty sketchy city). I was working as a substance abuse counselor at night to pay for school. I was always tired. And I was starting to get pretty depressed about the whole mental health scene. I was busting my butt to graduate so I could go on to bigger and better things. Problem was, there were people with B.A.s and M.A.'s (and one M.S.W.) working the same crappy job in the same crappy substance abuse center.

So, I joined the Navy (which, unsurprisingly, had very little use for a substance abuse counselor). I let some recruiter convince me that being a Personnelman would be "pretty close" to being an actual counselor so I gave it a shot. I applied to the A.A. program at UofS and had enough credits banked to graduate immediately. They put me in as an E-3 (instead of an E-1) because I had an associates degree.

While on active duty I went with Colorado Technical University (B.S.) because I had been impressed by the learning platform at American InterContinental University (which I saw during a demo) but I was not impressed with the high pressure sales tactics they were laying on me. CTU had the same platform but they were much more relaxed about trying to sign me up. I had also considered Liberty University and the University of Phoenix. I wanted my program to be entirely online. I didn't want any physical classes because I really didn't want to buy a car while I was in Norfolk (another stupid decision, in retrospect). I majored in BA because I wasn't sure if I would actually stick with H.R. as a career path. My reasoning was that I needed a bachelors degree and I didn't really care what it was in. I figured I could always apply to counseling, social work or psych graduate programs even if my B.S. was business (especially since I had some many psych credits). What I needed was the degree.

By year three I earned my B.S. and I felt pretty good about personnel/HR and I decided to get my PHR.

Out at the end of year 4, I got a job in H.R. with minimal effort and haven't really looked back since.

I futzed around with Masters programs at Chadron State College, Colorado Technical University and Taft but I never really cared enough to put forth the same effort as I did with my B.S. I didn't need it to find work so it was largely an inconvenience.

I kept glancing at University of Management and Technology because I wanted something 1) self-paced 2) with a not horrendous reputation and 3) relatively cheap. I was OK with the NA because my employer is willing to pay for NA degrees and had no problem "recognizing" it. Their website was (is) simple. That was kind of a turn-off at first. But I kept finding happy veterans and federal employees who studied there. I also liked how J. Davidson Frame is kind of a PMP guru. I applied. They gave me a crazy number of transfer credits. I gave it a shot.

UMT was an OK program. There was quite a bit of writing. It was self-paced and most of my professors were pretty responsive. I didn't feel like the program revolutionized the way I think. Their platform was OK but it didn't blow my socks off. Still, I feel like I did learn some good things and, overall, it was worth the time I spent on it. I specifically did not go into their MBA program because I figured I could write off an MSM if I needed to. I feel like the MBA is (should be) a prestigious degree. I want to "save myself" for the most prestige I can afford if/when I decide to earn the big "M."

For my next degree, I will probably futz around on the internet hemming and hawing for a while before I take the plunge again.

 

I've attended so many colleges, it's sort of embarrassing.

Western International University - I filled out some online form for University of Phoenix. Because UoP didn't admit students with no college credits at the time, they enrolled me at WIU. Their pushy salesperson was quite effective, and I was 19. Never again. That school was terrible when I attended.

Central Texas College - Their tuition rate was pretty low for Texas residents, and they offered several self-paced courses. I really hated studying computer science and dropped out.

Colorado Technical University - I just wanted to get my degree finished, and CTU had 5.5-week courses. The very short terms were a bad idea for me, I felt like I was doing a lot of busy work, I discovered that I hate the quarter hour system, and I also discovered that I could complete my degree much more cheaply elsewhere.

Thomas Edison State College - I learned about the Big 3 having no residency requirements and their liberal policies on transfer credits. I applied to all three and received the most favorable evaluation at TESC. I was going to attend COSC, but the GRE subject test I was going to take was cancelled. After comparing the program requirements between TESC and COSC, I determined that it would be much faster to finish at TESC.

San Antonio College - I took courses here and the other Alamo Community Colleges because they were super cheap for me as a San Antonio resident, and I could transfer the credits to TESC. At the time, TESC would give upper level credit to community college courses if they were similar to their own upper level courses. They don't do that anymore. Also, the Alamo Community Colleges offer a lot of 8-week courses.

Angelo State University - I liked that it was a public school in Texas, they had a graduate program that covered my interests, and they are reasonably-priced for Texas residents. I was able to finish my master's degree in 14 months. Woohoo!

Texas State University - They are a public school in my state of residence allowing me to qualify for state grants, their in-state tuition is reasonable, I was able to commute when I still lived and worked in San Antonio, and they offer the highest stipend of any criminal justice/criminology program in the country. Of course, the extra $6,000 that they pay over most other PhD programs in this field is balanced by not being able to offer a tuition waiver under Texas law. However, at the time, Prairie View A&M offered a stipend that was $8,000 less and also without a tuition waiver.

Edmonds Community College - I'm only attending here because I found out about their tuition-free, competency-based, IT certificate programs.

 

Well, this looks like a fun thread (that doesn’t involve a mill shill making an ass of himself) for a change so, since I have a few minutes to spare, I’ll make my valuable-as-usual contribution (note tongue in cheek). :tounge-in-cheek:


Bachelor’s degree

I scoped out both public and private institutions (but only non-profits). I physically visited Mary Baldwin College in Virginia and rejected them because they required only male students in the ADP to take a women’s studies course, which I felt was reverse discrimination. (The residential undergrad program had not yet gone coed.) I visited Skidmore College in New York and rejected them because (1) it had just been rated the top U.S. party school in a major survey, and (2) when I asked them about graduation standards they responded, “Well, you pursue your program and, when you feel you’re ready and we feel you’re ready, you graduate.”

Finally, I looked at the Big 3, attending an info session for TESC. Their graduation standards were simple – wrack up 120 credits and meet the distribution requirements, and you graduate. Clean, simple, and no Skidmore-type bullshit. Ultimately, I went with TESC instead of Regents (now Excelsior) or COSC because they were located only an hour from me.

Side note: I always encourage people to enroll in a program that they can actually visit physically. Despite the acceptance of online degrees, there is still a difference between saying, “I earned my degree from…” versus “I went to…” I can actually say both because I actually did show up at TESC occasionally for meetings with my program advisor, portfolio advisor, T&A advisor (heads out of the gutter, kids – it means Testing & Assessment), and for the few TECEP and DANTES exams I took. I don’t have to play word games when someone asks, “Where did you go to college?”

Time from matriculation to graduation (having gone in with only six credits): 1 year, 10 months.

Master’ degree

After spending part of a semester at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law in California (in their M.A. program), I found that (1) I wasn’t particularly fond of California, (2) I was bored in the traditional environment, (3) the stellar authors that were teaching there were not the best teachers, and (4) I was watching them blow their chances of achieving regional accreditation.

On my leisurely drive back to Pennsylvania, I visited both Antioch University and The Union Institute (for future reference if I decided to continue for a Ph.D.). One I spent a few days home, I drove to Vermont and visited Goddard College and Vermont College (then a part of Norwich University).

Antioch had an anti-war bumper sticker on virtually every car I saw on campus – they appeared to be stuck in the sixties (this was in 1987). At Goddard, there was a giant dot-matrix-printed computer banner that said, “We came out proud, and we’re not going back in the closet!” Cute, but naïve in the age of AIDS – they appeared stuck in the seventies.

V.C., which was founded in 1837 and part of a university founded in 1819, was the only school that actually appeared to have progressed successfully through the eighties. They had a great campus that I would ultimately visit for my colloquium.

Ultimately, I hedged my bets – applied to, and was accepted by, both Antioch and V.C. Antioch seemed to be more of a pain in the butt in terms of administrative details, while V.C. had a core professor in the Philadelphia area, where I would end up doing their required bi-monthly interdisciplinary seminars. I went with V.C. and pulled off the program in 11 months and 29 days (but who’s counting?).

Footnote: Vermont College was dumped by Norwich University and bought by The Union Institute, which changed its name to the current Union Institute & University. Union would dump it a few years later (after skimming off their best programs), and the great campus they had in Montpelier is now the regionally accredited Vermont College of Fine Arts. But I graduated in the good old days, so my diploma is from Norwich U.

Doctoral

Back in the 80’s, there was essentially a “Big 4” – Union, Walden, Saybrook, and Fielding. As a humanities/social sciences guy, for me there was always only one game in town – Union, which was the most unique and creative doctoral program of its time.

Greatest program I experienced, similar to the Vermont College model I was used to. And one that, unfortunately, also doesn’t exist anymore. After overextending themselves with V.C. and getting into hot water with the powers-that-be in Ohio, Union discontinued their old model and became a cookie-cutter copy of their for-profit counterparts (in other words, they sold their soul to survive). I believe that our own Rich Douglas was one of the last to earn a Union Ph.D. under the old “Union Graduate School” learning model, and neither he nor I recommend Union today. (For a great look at the wonderful old Union, check out some of the articles at Union Graduate School.)

Total time from matriculation to graduation: 2 years (their minimum at that point, since extended). I think the reasons I pulled it off so fast were (1) their model was so similar to Vermont College that I didn’t have to get used to a new learning model, and (2) when I wrote the study plan for my M.A., I wrote an initial draft for my doctoral plan, making the first flow into the second with a good deal of continuity.

So, why don’t I bother with higher education today? Notwithstanding that it has priced itself off the market, the online model just doesn’t cut it when compared with the older university-without-walls model, which actually created a sense of community not dependent on chat rooms. I wax nostalgic… :biggrin:

 

We grew up in a similar part of PA. For reference, my parents met while attending Wilkes in the 70s and have never moved more than 90 minutes away from the city.

My BS - I settled on Embry-Riddle because I had just finished my first AAS, they took a lot of transfer credit (69 of the needed 120 credits) and the night/weekend/online classes worked with my work/life schedule for the two years it took me to finish. I didn't do much comparison on this one since it was a choice between ERAU and UoP at the local base education office.

My MPH - I found A.T. Still through the DANTES catalog and went with it due to again, it being the option that worked best with my work/life schedule. I looked at a lot of programs and this one was the best fit.

 

What worries me is that I had to think about "T&A" for a solid five minutes trying to figure out what the gutter version was.

I think I might have grown up and I'm not particularly happy about that.

I know Wilkes well. Though I always felt a bit closer to Kings (likely because I actually only lived about a block away from the campus). For those of you not from "the area" I will say that Wilkes-Barre can be an incredibly difficult town in terms of employment. With so many local universities there is a glut of college graduates willing to work for peanuts. When I got out of the Navy I encountered such employment gems as:

"Wanted: Director of Human Resources, must be willing to do bookkeeping and answer phones. Starting Salary: $9/hr"

It's the reason I expanded my job search from Baltimore to Rochester.

Funny thing is lots of people from "the area" used to bust my chops because I had an "online degree" and assured me that I would never get a job with a degree that lacked the "prestige" of the "illustrious" NEPA institutions such as the University of Scranton, Marywood University, Kings College or College Misericordia (now Misericordia University).

I think they were partially correct. I doubt I would have found suitable employment in that area with my CTU degree. So, I left (something a lot of valley dwellers are not willing to consider).

Moral of the story? Pick a place where you want to live. If you love it, that's swell. But sometimes (often times, in some career paths) you have to leave to have the career you desire.

 

A-ha . . . For those who still don’t know what it stands for, you’ll find a good illustration of it in A Chorus Line. One of the best productions I’ve seen is done by Hopewell Valley Central High School in New Jersey and can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_NC6beS7M4 – the reference starts at 1:02:30. Great production – fully uncensored, very ballsy, and Broadway caliber.

That apparently makes three of us. Back in the early 80’s I lived in Wilkes-Barre (on S. River near Academy, two blocks from the Wilkes campus) and did a radio show on WRKC-FM at Kings College for a few years. These days, I go to or through Scranton every couple of weeks and, as I drive through W/B on the interstate I hardly recognize the city.

I think the moral is (or at least should be) similar in terms of pursuing a degree. Most people who come to DI seem to lean toward doing it the fastest and/or cheapest way. I made my choices based on the learning model of each program – namely, where I would have the most fun earning a degree. Or two or three. Cost is important but should not be the final arbiter; ditto time. If the fastest and cheapest is a dull, drab, boring program, move on.

 

I chose Bellevue for my BA because they offered the program I wanted (Leadership), in the format I wanted (accelerated cohort), at an acceptable price point, and were a nonprofit institution. Rankings were unimportant.

I chose them again for the MS because they offered the major I wanted (Organizational Performance), and because I was so impressed with them during the BA.

I'm now looking at possible doctorates. I will choose one, eventually, based on finding a program that excites me at a reasonable cost. Nothing else will play a role in my decision.

 

Wow! I lived in W-B for three years. I didn't even know that University of Scranton awarded associates degrees.

 

My undergraduate career began at a brick and mortar school. I come from a family where every one goes to college, and lives on campus. I applied to eight colleges and was accepted to all but Cornell U., where I was waitlisted.

I chose Clark University in Worcester MA for it's strong psychology program. I minored in English Literature. I was also attracted to the universitie's proximity to Boston - only under one hour away. I loved my time at Clark. I stayed there for three years. I left because my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

I finished at Stony Brook University, which is part of SUNY. I chose SBU because it was close to my parent's house and it's the most well respected and competitive college on Long Island. It has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and is ranked "Highly Selective" by most college guide books.
I did not want to complete my degree at a lower ranked college.

I received my BA in Social Science and took lots of English and writing classes. I graduated with honors.

Now, over 25 years later, I want to obtain a masters as fast as possible. Actually two masters degrees. I have been futzing around the internet in search of the perfect program, and wondering what I should do first - get an MFA at a low residency program or get a fast masters to satisfy a need withing my current profession.

With that in mind I chose Concordia University - Portland. They have a one year masters in education. I am taking the social science education track.
After I am completed with that, I am going to take a certificate program in Sociology at Appalachian State University, online, which will give me the needed Sociology credits to teach at a community college, smaller liberal arts college or online.

THEN I will get my MFA.

That's the plan.

 

Hey AH! You're almost a Wistah chick!
(Sorry about your Mom)

 

Yes Kismet! And I lived in a Three Deckah while eating grindahs and drinking tonic!

My time in Wistah was wicked fun!

 

Afterhours, the one-year program qualifies you for teaching social studies at the secondary level? In an ideal world I'd like to option to teach both high school social studies and community college history and another allied subject (looking at doing an interdisciplinary MA). I need to investigate your route. We move a lot though, so that's why I've figured CC is probably my best bet.

Oh, I choose TESC, because I had already racked up a bunch of credits at different B&M schools and it was one of the most straightforward, and cost-effective options. I used CLEPs and DSSTs, all things I found out about on this forum, and only had to take a handful of classes, but all in my major, so I was fine with that.

 

Actually, the only states where it defiantly does are Oregon and Washington. However, it differs in every state.

In my sate, it's more about accruing teaching hourse. People with a BA can substitute in their field. I am subbing 11th and 12 the grade social studies.

So it does not confer a teachers license to a non teacher. Necessarily.

If you want to teach at the community college level, the Concordia program covers grade 14 - or the first two years of college.

My goal is to teach at the college level. For that, I will need the 18 credits in sociology that I can get from Appalachian State University.

 

Steve, I remember when you began at University of the Cumberlands. My husband is in search of an on-line PhD.

How has it been? How long is the program? I remember some discussion about the religious nature of the school. My husband comes from an Evangelical religious background (Christian and Missionary Alliance) but he is much less ridged now, although still a Christian. His politics lean left. Would this be an issue for him? Thanks in advance!