Hi. My daughter, Tess will start college in 2018. With little real world experience, I'm thinking she will need to do at least some in person classes to get the growth benefits. Plus the transition from High School to pure online/testing might be tough. Tess is not a socialite but has a few good friends. She seems to be gravitating towards leadership in her activities. Since she's not a math/science person, humanities seems to be a good area, particularly communications. Excelsior has a program Excelsior College | Bachelors Degrees | Humanities Degree – Communications| Online Classes TESU has similar programs https://www.tesu.edu/heavin/ba/Communications1.cfm I question how effective these can be online. We will likely start with a combination of Community College and CLEP tests. When it is time to transfer, we'll look at funds (it's expensive in my state). Assuming the online path, I was wondering how others fared for this type of degree. There may be creative ways to get experience such as Toastmasters and working a job.
If you daughter insists on communications for her degree I suggest she also learn a couple of foreign languages - that would enhance her career prospects.
What does she actually want to do for a living, or otherwise what are her five and ten year goals? That's what should determine what she should do academically. Also, there's nothing wrong with a parent helping a teenager get as much information as possible, but consider the advantage of encouraging that she get into the habit of asking for it herself, rather than doing it for her.
Thanks for tips. Tess is on her 5th year of French. I definitely want her to make all the decisions. She's pretty independent. I really like the idea of 5/10 year goals. The diy/online degree is becoming an option due to finances. In this day and age, I expect more and more to be doing it. Excelsior, COSC, TESU may not be the best options but I'd like to investigate
I think it will require motivation and resourcefulness to forge a career in communications based on what you describe. Not saying she can't do it, but she is setting a course that is harder to climb than many of her peers. TESU's sweet spot (and Excelsior, and Charter Oak) is helping adults piecemeal together random credits into a degree, usually to knock down a mid-career brick wall that they've hit. What TESU doesn't do well, nor do they claim to do, is teach someone from scratch. Before you rule out your local community college's AA program, she might want to at least attend an info session or club for their communications/boradcast/journalism/radio students. See what she's about to give up before deciding.
Thanks all. Tess has 5 years of French. She's pretty independent. We will definitely start with Community college. The goals thing is a great suggestion - will try that out. Much appreciated
I suggest that your daughter (not you) should do some preliminary research. She could start here: Communications Jobs | Communication Careers Best Jobs For Communications Majors | PayScale The highest paying jobs for communication majors - Business Insider What Can You Do With a Communications Degree? | Top Universities 16 Careers for a Communications Major
Excellent links - forwarded. Thank you. I absolutely agree Tess should do the research Would just like to get her started thinking. There used to be a decent book called, "What color is your parachute". I may grab it or something similar.
I earned a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies. It was on campus, not through distance learning. I gave many oral presentations and wrote many papers for my classes. Moreover, I participated in a lot of small group discussions. I was even on the speech and debate team for one semester. If your daughter wants to earn a degree in Communication Studies through distance learning, then I would suggest looking for a school that would require a lot of written assignments. I also suggest finding an outlet for her to practice public speaking.
