I am looking for online 4 degree and getting sticker shock

Hi,

It seems like I got on this site awhile back looking for a cheap education. Since then, I almost completed a 2 year degree in Computer technology but dropped out because I couldn't finish the last 12 credits. I do have a current 2 year degree in jewelry manufacturing and repair though. I just got a decent paying job in social services and was looking to finish my 4 year degree but, since I have to pay for it myself, am getting some sticker shock. Any ideas. I am looking for something that's both good and completely online. Please give me some suggestions. I am off to go look at excelsior college since that was what was suggested last time.

Thanks,

Brant

 

Depends on what you want to do and how motivated you are. If it's IT you want to get into I recommend WGU. They have a flat fee system and you do and much college you can during each fee interval which I believe is every 6 months. I think Patten has the same type of system but I'm not sure. If you aren't motivated to power three courses and want to take your time getting a 4 year degree just go to a school like APU. They are for-profit but are very reasonable in price per credit hour. The one thing that will determine your path forward is deciding how you want to approach this and your chosen field. And another is what school are your credits from currently? If it's a NA school transferring might be difficult. If you are unsure what I'm talking about just post the name of the school you attended I'm sure myself or someone else will let you know if it's NA or RA.

 

Excelsior is a good choice. Also look at their "sister" schools Charter Oaks State College and Thomas Edison State College. Both Charter Oaks and Thomas Edison are similar to excelsior, but they are in Connecticut and New Jersey respectively. The key to getting the bachelors degree cheap there is to rack up the credits through tests like CLEP and other sources.

I have been working with my cousin to get her to complete her degree from one of those three and estimate that she will be able to do it for less than $5,000. The plus for this is that you can pay as you go. You can study for a CLEP test for a month or two, pay $100 for the test, take the test, then pick up 3-12 credit hours depending on the subject. So if you can squeeze together $50 per month you could take a test every 2 months and could easily pick up 24-36 credits per year, on average.

The downside is that there is (to my knowledge) no financial aid for CLEP tests (maybe the GI bill covers some, I don't know) so you will be paying out of pocket. Then again, I just dropped $17 for two people at a fast food restaurant this weekend. Skipping one of those every week would get you the $100 every two months that you need for a CLEP test.

While I LOVE degreeinfo.com, there is another degree forum that specializes in Excelsior, Charter Oaks, and Thomas Edison. For detailed info about those programs and test strategies I would look up that degree forum.

The Western Governors University (WGU) option is good for tech people (am am in tech), especially guys going into systems administration, networking, or security. You pick up some useful certifications as part of your degree. Another good thing about WGU is that you can use federal financial aid to cover all of the cost.

WGU is best for folks who want to crank through classes as fast as possible, because you pay per term, not per class and the classes are self paced. If you finish your 3 courses for the 6 month early you can sign up for more courses for free that term. I have known people that cranked out entire MBA's in a SINGLE 6 month term. That mean's that they only shelled out $3,500 for a regionally accredited MBA.

The downside of the school is that if you are slow the cost can VERY quickly run away from you. If you are only finishing 2 or 3 classes per term, it can very easily get to a point where you are dropping tens of thousands of dollars on your Bachelor's degree.

 

The cheapest and fastest option is the 12 credits separating you between today and your computer degree. Even if you're at an expensive community college, you're looking at less than 2 grand.

 

I am making decent money in social services and am going to pay my own boat for school. I can't cut the last 12 credits of computer technology and really can't take the drop in pay.

 

I went to almost got a degree in computer technology at Normandale Community College and I have a degree from Minneapolis Community and Technical College

 

I am leaning toward American Public University. The price for the undergraduate degree is slightly less than taking online classes at the cheapest university in my state. I have to look at the fees before I commit though.

 

Yeah, have to agree with this. Unless there is something very serious preventing you from finishing (i.e. some kind of issue with the school) that's your best route.

 

I disagree. I don't see how finishing 12 credits for an associate's degree, for a person who already has an associate's degree, is the cheapest and fastest option to completing a bachelor's degree.

This is one of those scenarios where one must look at future career aspirations and really take a moment to consider ROI. Do you need a bachelor's to stay in your current job? Get the next job up? Transition to a new career? If the answer to all three of those is "no" then spending too much money just to say you "did it" might not be terribly wise.

If you can work on your own effectively than WGU, Patten or Capella Flexpath might be viable options. If you are OK testing out of courses then one of the Big Three (TESU, COSC or Excelsior) is a good option. If you don't care about a school being Nationally, rather than Regionally, accredited then Ashworth and Penn Foster all offer a reasonable pathway to your goal.

If your interest is in religion then there are a handful of ABHE or TRACS programs out there that will help you put a degree on the wall with the same caveats as PF/Ashworth.

 

You can go the University of the People route or the Nations route and that's pretty cheap. Or you can go the "testing out" route. The road maps for those degrees are readily available and easy to follow. Otherwise, things cost what they cost. What hasn't really gotten much attention in this thread is that you seem to have only a vague idea of what you want to do with your degree. Social Service? Computer Science? Jewelry? It makes you look a little like you're all over the place. Do you have an actual focus as in, "I want a degree in xyx." Getting "a degree" is one thing, getting the degree you want is another.

 

Hi,
Since I am too late to sign up for Metropolitan University, I signed up for American Public University to get a BA in Psychology. I do not need a degree for my job as a Certified Peer Support Specialist but if I want to make more money, and/or work for the government, I probably need the degree. I am fairly sure that due to my experience, it probably won't matter much whether my degree is online or not. I am exploring the military option there.

Thanks,

Brant

 

You may want to check
UNISA its very affordable DL University.

Unisa Online - Colleges

 

Just putting this option out there - if you need an associates degree (for whatever reason)

West Virginia University's Board of Governors Associate of Applied Science degree might be the cheapest in your situation.

You only need 3 credits from them to graduate (assuming you have clocked in about 57~60 credits already).

You can have a 'major' in your degree as long as there's 15 credits done in that field. Eg, Psychology, Computer Science, IT. etc etc.

Board of Governors Associate of Applied Science | WVU Parkersburg

If you're looking directly at a cheap option to complete a full 4 year degree online, many have mention WGU.

There is also Northern Arizona University that offers degree's in ICT, Business, and Liberal Arts

https://pl.nau.edu/ExploreOurDegrees.aspx

It's $3,000 per 6 month term. You can use financial aid (Pell Grant can cover most of it i think)

You do as fast as you can, clocking in as many credits as possible. If you can finish 60 credits in 6 months, you graduate with a degree.

There's no 'final' exam. Every module passed/completed via essay and online test earns you a B grade. More advance research papers/assignments are given if you want to earn an A.

I think registration is done anytime, which means you can start your studies with them anytime.

 

Hi,

I have like 135 or so undergraduate credits, however, my GPA is bad due to a couple of classes I failed and retook a ridiculous amount of times so now my GPA is 2.01. This might keep me out of a few programs.
What else.

As far as this school goes, I heard that regional accreditation for your state matters for certain programs such as psychology. Specifically, that you need to take certain exams in the state it was accredited in if it is not accredited in my state. Anybody know anything about that?

 

APU appears to be accredited in my state, MN. I guess I will do it. I understand that it takes a few weeks to get accepted. I am only planning on taking 6 credits a semester (if they have semesters)

 

I felt a numbness of my left side after reading this...

 

I suppose I could ask but they seem a little slow with their emails.

 

I can think of a few good reasons. One, I think the value of a degree in Computer Science even at the Associate level can be more valuable than many other common degree types at higher degree levels. Two, With 12 credits left it's obviously going to be cheaper and faster to complete that than any Bachelor's degree program that will more than likely carry an at least 30 credit minimum requirement.

Having said that, Computer Science is not something I'd recommend at any level unless you love it and have a sharp focus on making it a career. I think the main problem here is not knowing exactly where he wants to go career-wise.

This ^

 

Just a note: when a school is regionally accredited or nationally accredited its accreditation is recognized nationwide. The states don't handle accreditation, only state approval, and state approval is a different process.

 

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. -- Derek Bok