How much is too much to spend on a degree

Thanks guys. After talking with my wife about it (college was mountain state university) she was feeling strongly that the cost of the degree was too much. So back to the drawing board I guess. Computer science degree are just near impossible to get online without massive expenditure.

 

There are a lot of good schools which offer computer science bachelors degrees online. A good source is geteducated.com.

http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_computer.asp

Most of the programs listed offer a bachelors for between $10K and $20K.

Check out the program at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

 

Thanks but those are all graduate programs. I need undergrad and there are few that aren't well over 20k to complete. The cheapest I have found is troy university which isn't a real CS program.

 

University of Illinois at Springfield has many degrees available online including Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. The curriculum is certainly real computer science. This degree is offered as a degree completion programme so you need an associate-level degree for admission. There are a multitude of very inexpensive associate degree-granting institutions which are available very distance education. If you really want earn a CS degree, it can be done.

 

Thanks sentinel. I am not really interested in UIS springfield for several reasons. First is cost. They are $257 per credit hour making them somewhat expensive. Second is the cohort program, it would take me 3 years just to complete their part making it one of the longest programs out there at that rate I might as well go to school oncampus. I was hoping for cheaper and faster.
May not be possible.

 

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I don't know your industry, but since you are having trouble finding a college that meets your needs exactly, perhaps it be possible to shift your focus on finding a master's degree that is exactly what you need? Maybe for now, finding a bachelor that could be faster/cheaper/online would be a step in the process to earning the degree that would be most helpful to your career.

For what it's worth, there are no bachelor programs that met my needs exactly either, I chose the one I did because I could complete it quickly for a low cost and it wouldn't hinder my progress toward my real goals (which will be at the master level). The bachelor program at TESC is hard to calculate for the general population because there are so many options for earning credit (each with it's own cost), but I feel confident saying it can be earned from scratch for about $5000. I'm saving my money for my masters- where I believe you get a lot more bang for your buck.

 

Many masters degrees in computer science require at least some prerequisite courses at the undergraduate level whether taken as part of an undergraduate degree or individually outside of the undergraduate degree. Therefore, checking the prerequisite requirements of the graduate degree will help you choose the right undergraduate courses. A BA with a minor in computer science might be sufficient provided you plan ahead. Athabasca University offers individual courses in computer science. You should be able to computer an undergraduate degree with a minor in computer science for about USD10K or less.

 

If you factor in the opportunity cost of full-time attendance on-campus and working part-time (or not at all) versus distance education while maintaining full-time employment, and then subtract that amount from the anticipated salary during the first year of employment after graduating with a BA/BS in computer science, the net cost should be some positive amount greater than or equal to zero. A minor in computer science is potentially the optimal route in your particular situation.

 

If money is an issue (and when is'nt it?), you may want to consider just getting any RA undergrad degree ASAP (just to check it off)...and then consider enrolling in a low-cost Information Management program (often they don't require a CS undergrad...and can get as technical as you would like with electives).

If you're missing the challenging techie stuff - you can always do the professional certs in tandem...

Just a thought.

Greg

 

You guys may be right. I could go to troy they would be cheap enough to get me under 10k. Get the bs in applied computer science with a minor in business then pick up the couple of theory classes I would be missing. Should allow me to get into a grad program cheap and still open some significant doors at work. I just wish the program wasnt called APPLIED computer science. Because you know this is going to raise eyebrows.

 

If you attended Troy University during my time there. The program wasn't called APPLIED Computer Science. Anyway, Troy University doesn't says "BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE" on your degree diploma. It just says, "BACHELOR OF SCIENCE;" However your transcript does state your major and minor. I am sure, your employer don't want to see your transcript. I believe some Employer wants to see your DEGREE DIPLOMA; Just list in your resume as "COMPUTER SCIENCE." Nobody really cares it is APPLIED COMPUTER SICENCE or COMPUTER SCIENCE. As long as you are qualified with the job based on your academic and experiences.

That is my two cents.

 

When I sat with our IT guys to talk about jobs I meantioned applied computer science and they said. We would want to know what you learned, because we know what computer science is, but not applied computer science. So it does matter. Anyway. Money is a real object here.

 

I would never spend a dollar more than I absolutely had to spend as long as the institution was accredited, offered the classes I wanted, and offered them in a format that worked for me. The only exception would be if I absolutely knew where I wanted to spend my career, and I absolutely knew that the firm preferred applicants from a particular school.

I am almost 40 and would be considered pretty darn successful by most. In my personal experience it is the degree that matters, not the institution.

Pug

 

Xarick,

You worry too much about what people think of your degree. If you are afraid what people think about your major, then I bet you worry what people think about whether your degree is distance or traditional.

This is a true story about one of my friends, who graduated about 2 years before me in 2000. He attended Northern Virginia Community College, then after two years he transfered to George Mason University. He has been attending schools every semester, whether part-time or full-time. Up until today, he has not finished his Associate degree nor a Bachelor degree. All his classes can be combined over 200 credits.

Three years ago, I advised him to transfer all his credits to Thomas Edison State College and receive a Bachelor, then move on for Master degree. He thought about it, then he backed out because of the reputation of the institution. Guess what? Now, he still shorts six classes for his Bachelor degree in MIS at GMU. Be honest, in that 7 years he has been studying; it is possible he can complete his Ph.D, or something.

In general, I support higher education; however, a college degree to me it is just a piece paper. I meant, most of the jobs require more experiences than formal education. I am continuing my studies because possible I want to teacher after I retire from the Military. Otherwise, I just enjoy my time by reading books and doing researches.

 

The funny thing is if his grades are decent he could take the TESC degree and be over halfway to his Masters at GMU with those six classes.

 

Troy doesnt have some core classes I think should be in a CS degree that is why I shied away. Like comp architecture and theory of programming languages, but the money thing on these other degrees is really killing me.

 

Xarick

As someone who routinely hires Oracle DBAs and developers, I can honestly say that I have never made a distinction between Applied Computer Science vs. Computer Science...and one of the best programmers I've ever worked with had no CS degree (Music major - go figure).

To be candid, this may be that 'grey area' where you either dive into a 'good enough' school (and actually start the BS) - or you go back to square one...and continue your analysis (w/o progressing).

As previously mentioned, I'm not sure agonizing over an undergrad is a good use of one's time. I think focusing on getting it done and moving on to a good quality, inexpensive Masters is.

Just my 2 cents.

Greg

 

Can't you take a lower cost CS degree which doesn't include those classes, and still take the missing classes elsewhere?

 

dammit.. you guys are right.. I am doing it again.. I am delaying for no reason. I could have been half done by now.