DegreeInfo Success Stories

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Bruce, Oct 12, 2008.

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  1. Vinipink

    Vinipink Accounting Monster


    Restructuring priorities is in order, when you deem necesary.
     
  2. imalcolm

    imalcolm New Member

    Today I finished my AAS in Electronics Engineering Technology from Cleveland Institute of Electronics (DETC accredited). Took me about a year and a half.

    I've started the EET Bachelor's program through World College, which is part of CIE. With previous transfer credits and the AAS, I'm 67% done! I'm hoping to finish by July of 2009.
     
  3. gbrogan

    gbrogan Member

    AS in Computer Information Management, Ashworth College, 2005
    BS in Business Administration, California Coast University, 2007
    Apple Certified Help Desk v10.2, v10.3 and v10.4, (2005 maybe)
    Apple Certified Technical Coordinator v10.3, v10.4 (2006?)
    Certificate in Computer Networking, Ashworth College (2007)
    MS in Information Managment, Aspen University, 2010

    I followed Abner from CCU to Aspen.
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Congratulations! You're on a roll. Keep it rolling and we'll all be here in July when you finish up. In the meantime, don't be a stranger. I'm sure that there are people on our site who would like to know more about your program and your experiences.
     
  5. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Right on! Keep it up.

    Abner :)
     
  6. saby

    saby New Member

    My story

    Hi everyone,

    I saw this post and really wanted to share my story too.

    I do not have a job right now but for me my story is a success story because for a person like me who felt defeated due to a lack of bachelors degree and had no hope to ever be able to do anything in the US, this achievement is a success.

    I came to US 4 yrs ago with my husband and loved this country. He had a job and was here on a project so I was on a dependent visa, a visa that does now allow you to work or study full time.

    For almost 2 yrs I felt depressed and didnt know where to start. I knew I needed a bachelors degree but at the same time I knew how expensive and time consuming the entire process would be. I did not have enough money to enroll in a full time bachelors and I did not have time to commit in one place as my husband too would have to move from project to project and I would have to move with him.

    It was then that I stumbled upon degreeinfo and started reading the forums. I came across John Bears and his book about distance learning and found it at my local library.
    Uptil then all I knew about about distance learning were pricey schools like AIU and Phoenix, expensive and sometimes not even respected for the money I would spend.

    The book was a revelation to me and I soon started calling the BIG 3 schools and narrowed down to Excelsior College.
    I found the website bain4weeks.com also through degreeinfo and thats how my entire journey began. I worked hard and started taking CLEPS, DANTES, ECE'S and added my 37 credits from India to the mix. It was affordable and the best part being I could plan my time according to my priorities. I could be a homemaker and a student at the same time. My husband too had started his full time MBA by then in a reputed business school and he was paying a hefty amount to them. I was happy that my tuition was much much less and I was able to be there for him throughout his stressful college days.

    I was also able to plan a couple of trips to India to take a break and meet my family without any hinderance to my degree.
    After 2 yrs of hardwork and play I was able to get my Bachelors in Liberal Studies.

    I am not doing anything as yet with the degree, but just the knowledge that I have armored myself with a degree from the US, a valid and respectable degree that will allow me to explore further options makes me feel HAPPY!!!

    I feel confident that tommorow when I want I can start a masters, get a job etc and I will not be stopped in my tracks for a lack of bachelors.

    Thanks degreeinfo, if it weren't for you I wouldn't know the world of opportunites waiting for me out there.

    Saby
     
  7. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Rght on Saby!!!!!! Well done indeed!!!!!


    Abner :) :) :) :)
     
  8. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    Excellent work, Saby!! You should be very proud of your accomplishment!
     
  9. vadro

    vadro New Member

    Congrats Saby! This is an amazing testimonial, it is really good to see how the DL has really made a difference in someone's life.
     
  10. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Congrats Saby! Best of luck for the future.....
     
  11. saby

    saby New Member

    Thanks guys:)
     
  12. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Saby,

    I'm late to the party - but thank you for sharing your experiences! Congrats!

    Shawn
     
  13. saby

    saby New Member

    Thanks Shawn:)
     
  14. ssteachn

    ssteachn member

    Cheers to all your success!
     
  15. Racewalker

    Racewalker New Member

    Let me say thank you!

    Hi my name is Brandon. I stumbled upon this site about 8 months ago when researching grad schools. Thanks to the good people at this site I found out about TUI. I enrolled and 5 months & 28 days later I earned my MBA. It wouldn't have been possible if not for you guys. So... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

    Overall I loved TUI. I really liked the fact that they let me work at my own pace which was 11 hours per workday and 16 hours/day on my days off. I also had 1 month off of work due to surgery which allowed me to go like crazy. The instructors (overall) were decent. They demanded high-quality but were not nit-picky. I only had one instructor who thought he was "god" and two others who were clearly out of their element. Despite that I would do it all over again.

    One person who deserves recognition is Dean/ Doctor Gold. This guy goes out of his way to help & support students. He is awesome! If more people in academia took an interest in their students like this guy the drop-out rate would be much lower!

    So there's my 2 cents. Again, for everyone who posted; Thanks!
     
  16. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Right on bro!!!!! You have inspired me to keep working on my MBA! I am working through a class right now. After that, I have on more class, then a capstone and final. It has been hard, but I am visualizing having that MBA on my resume. I will think of you as I do my homework tonight! Damn, just think, an MBA on your resume. Good job.

    Abner :)
     
  17. 4Q

    4Q New Member

    My DL-based educational accomplishments greatly contributed to my success during a long military career and in civilian life. I hope my story inspires someone, especially the enlisted military folks out there.

    I would also very much appreciate if Rich Douglas would chime in because I think he can vouch for most of what I'm about to say and probably add an interesting perspective.

    As for me, I'm from the perenially worst part of Chicago and was told I wouldn't amount to anything--and believed it for most of my years as a teenager and young adult. Yes, it's a bit cliche, but to say my self-esteem was non-existent for my first 20 years is an understatement. Despite my predicted destiny, I retired from the USAF in 2007 as a Chief Master Sergeant (E-9) and am on the path to even more success.

    Before going further, the rank of Chief Master Sergeant is reserved for the top 1% of the enlisted force. I'm just highlighting that to provide an idea how competitive the field is, not to toot my own horn. These days, without advanced education one would be very fortunate to advance to that level. For example, during my Chief Induction Ceremony, I noticed 18 of 19 promotees had advanced degress. The one who didn't was a Pararescueman who had numerous combat saves (yes, lives) during a 25 year career. Education aside, he was as worthy as all the rest of us, if not more so and I have great respect for him. By the way, he had a B.S. in Human Physiology. Combined with his training, I'd go ahead and spot him some kind of grad degree if I could. Oh yeah, one last point; enlisted folk only require a high school diploma. You are a fool if you think this bare minimum will suffice nowadays, military or not, but I digress ...

    Here are my basic educational accomplishments:

    AAS, Acft Maint Tech, Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), 1994
    BA, Liberal Studies, TESC, 2002
    MBA, General Management, Touro Univ International, 2004

    Each time I completed a degree, I slept better at night and that is the truth. Could you imagine going out into today's job market armed only with experience that a potential employer may or may not value? Enlisted people, can you hear me now????

    Please note that my BA and MBA were earned entirely via DL. My CCAF degree is comprised of a combination of Air Force technical training and CLEP/DANTES exams. A grand total of six non-technical credit hours were earned through traditional butt-in-seat methods. Basically my entire college career has been non-traditional. If the AF folks reading this get nothing else out of this post, please know that your CCAF degree can EASILY help lay the foundation for success in your future. Those who tell you a CCAF degree is worthless don't have one. After all, a CCAF degree is a legit, regionally accredited associates degree that all Airmen--even if only serving a single enlistment--can and should get. And it's nearly--if not entirely--FREE!

    I worked my tail off during my 22-year career; however, education played a pivotal role in my success. The fact is my peers/competitors also gave their all and worked damned hard. For enlisted folk, promotions beyond Master Sergeant (E-7) the next promotion often came down to who had the highest education level. We were all highly decorated and had significant responsibilities and accomplishments, but education FREQUENTLY proved the tie-breaker.

    After the military, I was quickly hired into a 3-year GS 7-9-11-12 training program. Basically, I'm training to be a contracting officer who procures stuff for the government. I literally competed against hundreds of people and got the job (with no related experience). Not only did my DL credentials open doors, they actual got me into a highly coveted career field with near endless opportunities in government and private industry. But it all started with that "measly" CCAF degree.

    I'm 41 and I'm convinced I haven't lived the best years of my life yet. I am optimistic about this largely because I've taken advantage of the the good things DL has to offer.

    Get some.

    4Q
     
  18. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    I'm 41 and I'm convinced I haven't lived the best years of my life yet. I am optimistic about this largely because I've taken advantage of the the good things DL has to offer.

    Get some.

    4Q[/QUOTE]

    4Q, I loved your story! Thanks for sharing it!!!
     
  19. Longwaytogo

    Longwaytogo New Member

    Some success for ol' Longwaytogo

    Well, even though I've been absent from this forum for years, today I got the idea to visit, and check in with everyone. Glad to see such progress out there! And, hard to believe but true, even old "Longwaytogo" has made a dent in the degree chase!

    In 2006, I completed my last 2 course requirements online to earn an Associate in Science, General Studies from Northern Virginia Community College, using mostly coursework dating back to the late 1960's, if you can believe it, along with an online "public speaking" course offered by another state community college. Gotta love that!

    However, "NoVa" neglected to advise me that some other state universities in good old Virginia don't accept their Associate in Science Gen. Studies degree as a transfer degree! So, although I had every "general education" credit needed at James Madison University (where I'm currently enrolled in 2 online courses!) nothing would persuade JMU to budge on my first 2 years of college work and I was required to:

    . . . go back to NVCC for yet another online Associate Degree in Science, while sitting in classes at JMU as well! This time I chose "Social Science," using new online credits I'd earned through Old Dominion University, along with my major psychology classwork at JMU, to "grant" the second Associate in Science degree.

    I have noticed over the last few years, while I marched along, that even universities such as James Madison have increased their offering of online instruction, against many of their professors' inclinations. In my major, few professors embrace the concept of online instruction.

    Well, there you have it: some progress achieved. Not "there" yet, but I know that if I hadn't come here for advice and support back in 2004, I wouldn't have had the perseverance to keep on hammering on the old requirements, let alone the new ones they kept coming up with after the fact! (As, for example, disallowing credit for my passing the CLEP in Introductory Psychology, which now means I must pay for another 3 credits. Naturally, I elected to do this online, but JMU now charges $50 per credit hour more for online than for classroom-based tuition.)

    Yet I'm happy to report I'm almost through my goal of a Bachelor's in Psychology at JMU, and looking towards either Nursing as a second degree, or graduate school online somewhere! YES!

    Longwaytogo

    P. S. "Hello to all" and especially congrats to friendorfoe. Can't believe you've racked up all those degrees, while I'm still plodding away part time at it! Congratulations to everyone else. It's definately worth it!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 31, 2009
  20. KKA

    KKA Member

    Reply to Vadro

    Hi Vadro,

    Sorry for the later reply. I have been away. To answer your question, I began my college journey in 1980 and earned my doctorate in 2005.

    KKA
     

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