Deciding on a school... NA or RA for my needs

Congrats, and if you don't mind me asking what agency are you going with? I have 10+ years myself in Federal Law Enforcement.

 

I think Dave made a great point. I certainly cannot speak for others, but I would personally steer clear of NA and focus on RA schools. There's no way of knowing whether you will change your mind later on.

If cost is the only consideration, perhaps you could look into a school that has an articulation agreement with a lower-cost school. For example, Columbia College will accept up to 90 hours or so of transfer credit from schools they have agreements with (ex. Central Texas College). I was able to take classes in-state / online for $105 PER CLASS at Central Texas, allowing me to get my degree from Columbia College at a fraction of the cost when I eventually transferred.

Just a thought!

 

I just double-checked the policy to make sure I was remembering it right. Columbia College's website says up to 96 hours will transfer and it appears an articulation agreement is not a must. In my case, it satisfied the "residency" requirement and ensured that certain classes were accepted as equivalents for my major requirements.

From Columbia's website:
"How much transfer credit will Columbia College accept?
We can accept any qualifying transfer credit. However, some of the transfer may not apply towards a specific degree. An associate's degree requires a minimum of 15 hours taken through Columbia College, and the remaining 45 hours may be transfer credit. A bachelor's degree requires at least 24 hours with Columbia College, and up to 96 hours may be transfer. No more than 60 hours of a bachelor's degree may be earned through non-college credit, such as military, CLEP, AP, DSST exams, or professional training

How much do you charge to transfer credit?
This is done automatically for students admitted to the college. There is no fee to transfer previous credit."

 

I am very excited! I officially accepted an offer from US Customs last week. I'll be off to training at FLETC in February. I'm hoping to get into canine enforcement later on down the road.

 

Wow!!!! Great news!!! Congratulations.

Abner