Help me choose... NYU or Excelsior for a BA.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by skirtlet, Jul 28, 2021.

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  1. skirtlet

    skirtlet Member

    Good point. I thankfully wouldn't have debt with NYU SPS undergrad if I can pay the $6K a year in cash, but I would owe big $$$ for NYU SPS grad school. I do want to avoid loans... paying for all those years sounds painful. I've had a lot of debt before in my life, and I do want to keep mine as low as I can. With as little savings as I have, I really should've considered instead saving $6K a year and going with Excelsior/the cheapest.
     
  2. skirtlet

    skirtlet Member

    That's a good idea. I had thought about doing one semester at NYU SPS to have taken classes there to hopefully show them one day I could thrive in grad school there (or just for the sake of attending my dream school, even if it's not where I get a degree). I do love the idea of having a fallback plan if I need/want it with Excelsior, TESU, etc. I'm doing all the Sophia.org credits that I can while I'm a member of it to give myself those options.
     
  3. skirtlet

    skirtlet Member

    It really is more of a passion school than an ROI desire. It was a childhood dream and $18K is relatively cheap for a dream. $100K+ debt for NYU SPS grad school would be much easier to turn down, but $18K seems bearable. Logic tells me to value my time more, but I'm honestly very underpaid in my career and can't picture that changing within the next few years either. The 3 years of my life for a BS/BA I could probably get a better ROI on if I took on a second job during those hours or did career training or something, but school has always been a bit of a hobby for me. I have 200+ college credits already with zero college degrees, plus tons of MOOC certificates, and rather enjoy school in general.

    It does seem like it really would be my last chance to attend NYU, unless I did NYU SPS grad school online and took on huge federal loans for grad school. I don't want to be haunted by giving up a dream, but I don't want to end up 3 years later regretting the time I put into it either. I don't think I would regret pursuing a dream, even if it took years/time, as long as it wasn't huge debt or expense for it. My far-fetched dream would be to get into any highly competitive school (Princeton Woodrow Wilson or Harvard Kennedy School) and land a scholarship or GTA gig there, but NYU SPS is my realistic dream.

    I like your Honda vs. Porsche analogy. Cars don't do it for me, but I understand why people would choose something that they dream of and that brings them joy, even at a premium cost. Education and travel are the two things I'm willing to splurge on instead of cars. I see the practicality of my "Honda" with Excelsior, but can't help but lust my dream car anyway for those same dream car reasons. My unattainable Ferrari would be studying international affairs at Princeton, but an entry-level base model Porsche is more realistic for me. I wish I could have some BA/BS degree to my name now, then do NYU SPS BS degree as a hobby/passion pursuit the next 3 years, but I don't want to axe my ability to get Pell grants and NYU SPS won't do second degrees.
     
  4. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    What are the 7 credits missing at Excelsior? Is it the Info Lit, Cornerstone/Capstone courses? What do you do for a living, since you mentioned "work", is it a full time marketing gig? How much time do you have on your hands to finish courses? Got commitments other than school, work - what if "something in life" happens and derails your plan? What's your budget/funding for your studies? Basically, do you have a nest egg, sufficient to complete the degree(s)?

    I don't know how much you have saved up and how your time management is, but as I mentioned in the linked thread. I for one would cheer you on to completing BOTH, using whatever money you have now, complete the remaining 7 credits. See if you can transfer more credits from the courses you have at Excelsior towards the degree at NYU. Just don't apply for graduation at Excelsior yet until you're close to being done with your NYU degree.

    In the end - You get both degrees without spending too much energy/money/time, it's just an extra 4 grand to get the Excelsior degree en route to your NYU SPS degree, do them both as I think the ROI/Value of the Excelsior degree would be better now. The BSLA from Excelsior is just the check the box degree, your NYU SPS degree if your ideal degree, go for it, nothing much really is stopping you from getting both as you have the cash/energy/time to do it now.

    In regards to a future Masters, you don't really need to worry about that, you can plan that further down the road when you are about done with the NYU SPS degree. If you plan your financial aid and use it to the fullest, you have up to 12 terms, that's 6 years of "more cash" to get you past that extra $4K at Excelsior, you can do a cheapo Walden MBA or WGU MSML as your final educational goal (or similar cheap RA Masters)...
     
  5. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

    are u working? i mean if you already have a job that pays ok, and you've got not much debt / people to support - i'd say go for NYU and be a dreamer ! YOLO (take all those pell grants etc!)

    You wanna look back 20 years later and think of WHAT IFs ? at the end of the day - do what makes u feel good - but not until it alters ur lifestyle blah blah blah

    Yes, I am that odd ball that tells u to spend on that expensive paper that can double up as a mouse pad
     
  6. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    I'm going to throw another school onto the pile: UMPI. You would need more credits than you would at EC (at least 30) but you could get a Management & Leadership degree: https://online.umpi.edu/programs/ba-business-mgmt-leadership.aspx It would also cost about the same, or even slightly less than, those 7 credits at EC. A generic degree might be all that you need but, aside from NYU being your dream school, perhaps what's holding you back is the psychological aspect of "only" getting a liberal studies degree.
     
  7. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    One should be careful with double dipping at two schools. I know TESU is strict about this. Excelsior is not that cheap to take courses at, so I wouldn't advise that the OP take Excelsior courses to transfer to NYU.

    NYU SPS only allows students to transfer in 30 credits, which is why the OP would need to complete three more years. It looks like the OP has already hit the transfer credit limit.

    Other than that, there wouldn't be any value in earning a BSLA at Excelsior if graduation is going to be delayed until after earning the NYU degree.
     
  8. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Another possibility is that sometimes schools have different graduation requirements for income students seeking a second Bachelor's degrees than they do for transfer students looking to complete a first one. Perhaps if you did finish the Excelsior degree you might only be thirty credits from a second Bachelor's at NYU instead of eighty? Schools vary on this, but it's certainly worth asking NYU.
     
  9. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    According to the OP, NYU SPS does not award second bachelor's degrees.
     
  10. Vicki

    Vicki Well-Known Member

    Honestly, I think the OP has already made up their mind and is really just looking for confirmation that it is a good idea.
    The amount of time & money = bad idea.
    But it’s what you want to do, so…. It is totally up to you if you think it is worth your time and money.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  11. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Alas. Never mind, then.
     
  12. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    One thing to keep in mind is the value of having degree at hand. Employment situations can change; if you are suddenly on the job market, it is better to have a degree on resume than... well, not have it.
    I have a good friend who did not have a degree (has been an elementary school teacher in Romania, where you can become one with a vocational certificate obtained in high school), but earned a PMP. She had a secure job in a private company as an IT helpdesk manager. Well, the owner of a company retired, and kiddos had their own ideas... Long story short, I helped my friend scramble and get a COSC BBA.
    One can earn any number of passion degrees after that first Bachelor's. Harvard Extension's ALM, for example. Or a relatively-big-name Master's through Coursera or EdX.
     
    Futuredegree and Rachel83az like this.
  13. skirtlet

    skirtlet Member

    No, I haven’t decided anything. If I had already decided, I wouldn’t be so torn between 2 schools still. If I had decided NYU SPS already, I also wouldn’t have posted on here knowing people would probably tell me to go to Excelsior/quickest school. I wanted to see all sides and pros/cons of each school, as well as get advice from seasoned students.
     
  14. skirtlet

    skirtlet Member

    It is indeed the cornerstone, capstone, and info lit classes I need for Excelsior.

    I have no commitments other than work. No family, no kids, no spouse, no other major hobbies, no house, no civic orgs. School is my main hobby. Life might change in 3 years, but I doubt I’ll have kids. A spouse might impact it, but also unlikely with my lifestyle. My job rarely requires overtime, except a few times a year. While I don’t have $18K in liquid cash to cover 3 years of NYU SPS, I can pay the $6K a year out of my salary as I go. I pay no rent/mortgage, just utilities. I have no car payment and no credit card debt. My income isn’t great, but my bills are low/very low. I do like the idea of doing Excelsior now, along with NYU, so if I did need a quickie degree, I would already have completed (but not conferred) Excelsior. I could swing the $4K cash for Excelsior now and use my scholarships/pell/etc. for NYU SPS at the same time. I would love to have multiple degrees in a few years, especially after waiting so long for any college degree, so waiting to confer Excelsior until I’m nearly done with NYU SPS would be an ideal goal for me.

    My current job pays ok and is a full-time marketing gig. It pays better than 2019 but not amazing. I don’t see any real chance to multiply my salary or get a huge promotion in my career in the next few years either. The certificate programs I did the past few years took maybe 1-2 hours a week of my time while attending that school full-time. I figure NYU might be 5-6 hours a week of my time. My time isn’t very valuable as my income isn’t great, though I’m not sure if I could get a better ROI on my time working instead of NYU SPS. I really wouldn’t ever be interested in freelancing or part-time jobs on the side of my full-time job, so the only real way I could boost my income would be to change jobs/companies. I like to think a BA/BS from anywhere might help me land a better job, but I live in the middle of nowhere and there’s few well-paying marketing gigs. I’m really not sure how truly beneficial a BA/BS from anywhere would be in my field/city/stage of career, but I hope it will help one day. I like the idea of having Excelsior done (but not conferred) so I could get that degree conferred quick if I do need a degree for another job in the next few years. I could try to take a few more grad classes with Pell/scholarships the next few years to try to get ahead. I have 12 graduate credits so far completed. Walden or a cheap MBA in the future sounds great too.
     
  15. skirtlet

    skirtlet Member

    That’s a good point. I do like the idea of private paying for Excelsior, but not conferring, if I do NYU SPS for a few years. Then, if things/job changed and I needed any degree to my name, I could get it conferred quickly at Excelsior without any additional classes. That would give me a way to scramble to confer a degree that I had already completed, if ever needed, if I have to find a new job.
     
  16. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    To lock in a catalog, you need to maintain enrollment. Excelsior has an annual fee for those taking fewer than a certain number of credits each year. I've seen cases of people delaying enrollment, and the degree requirements changed causing them to need more credits.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  17. Charlie1

    Charlie1 New Member

    Hello everyone. This is Charlene. I’ve been a lurker on this board for over 15 years but rarely post on the board. Just wanted to say thank you to all the members on this board because I learned so much from you guys from my 15 plus years of reading your posts.

    However, I’ve been reading this thread with great interest and finally had to reset my password for my account in order to respond to this thread. Here is my story regarding NYU and regrets. At 18 I made it to the Stern School of Business at NYU but DID NOT attend because of a boy. The boyfriend and I broke up soon after my declining NYU and hence my regrets of not going to NYU even now over two decades later.

    After graduating with my Bachelors from another school, I applied to NYU Gallatin, and NYU Steinhardt and was rejected BOTH times. So…. I thought getting a certificate degree from NYU School of Professional Studies would rid myself of regrets…. Nope that did work either because although I now have a certificate from NYU, I am still not an alumna and can not access the benefits for NYU grads amongst other reasons too long to list. I also have two other Master’s degree from other colleges but that still does not matter because they are not from NYU.

    As an aside, I am a native New Yorker and still live in New York. When friends, family and people that I meet talk about college I always feel terrible because as New Yorkers so many people I know attended or are attending NYU. New Yorkers love NYU. I understand the poster’s comment about not being able to afford graduate school because there aren’t usually any scholarships from NYU and tuition is usually paid for by the student themselves unless they can get funding from someone else. Anyway, just last night I was on NYU’s website trying to find an NYU degree program that I can get into because acceptance rates are so low. And then if I am lucky enough to get accepted, I would need to find the way to pay for. Regrets still ongoing….

    Anyway, please let us know what you decide. I will be reading.
     
  18. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    If you are able to take the Information Systems or Marketing Analytics majors at NYU SPS, I think that will boost your salary substantially. There is such a high demand for data-driven marketing professionals that I would think an NYU degree in those fields combined with your marketing experience is an easy sell for a promotion or career transition. These majors also make it easy to justify your NYU degree from an ROI perspective (meaning your $ and efforts on the NYU degree will more than pay for itself in terms of career/salary growth).
     
  19. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Thanks for being careful, cautious, and helpful - I agree, I also am careful/cautious before I make any recommendations. Some of the information OP provided is incorrect, they were mislead. That is why I am asking for more questions to find out what is happening... I think the ROI/Value of a BSLA at Excelsior or even at UMPI would be there, as the OP has so many credits, they most likely would have a concentration or two in something or more...

    @skirtlet , after reviewing what you've informed us, you can do the following and have your "dream" and something extra to go with it! There were issues with incorrect info that was provided to you. Let's find out what can be done and if this is the path you want to take or not. You decide on the advice that's given collectively and make your own decisions. Here is my take with the limited info we have.

    1) Second Bachelors @NYU - Stay the current course of doing an Excelsior/NYU SPS combo, skip the thought of a second one at NYU, unless you're going into Nursing or Engineering. Link: https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/more-applicant-types-and-programs.html

    2) Degree - You're going for a BS in Leadership & Management, it has several concentrations, skip them. Change that to BA in Social Science. Why? The BA Social Sciences has the Organizational Behavior & Change, it's the closest to a "business type" degree that's somewhat similar to what you currently want. NYU SPS has these two as their only online degrees, doing another concentration works too, but they won't be "business like". Link: https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/online-programs.html

    3) Reason - NYU SPS allows up to 64 transfer credits to their 128 credit BA/BS due to residency requirements, you transferred the max 48 credits into the BS L&M (the core & electives), by changing to the BA SS with OBC, you bump that up to 64 credits (core & electives). By doing this, you skip one semester/term and are up 16 credits and save the cash for Excelsior's degree! Link: https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/student-experience/policies-and-procedures.html
     
  20. smartdegree

    smartdegree Active Member

    Wow, that was impressive and detailed research. :)
     

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