Why did you get your Associate's Degree? / Why will you get your Associate's Degree?

At my last teaching gig, I would occasionally advise someone into getting the AA. Generally, this happened if they weren't sure that they really wanted to be in college. I always figured that leaving with something was better than dropping out of college with nothing.

Of course, we're talking about roughly $150 in costs (to "graduate") to get the AA rather than $1500 that Excelsior might charge.

For the students who seemed as likely to complete 4-5 years as they were to complete 2 years, the AA didn't make as much sense (though occasionally someone would still voluntarily get it).

 

I went for my A.S. from Ashworth for several reasons:
1. I had been out of school for a while and I needed to ease back into the process of learning. Ashworth fit the bill as they were work at my own pace so no stress with deadlines and such.
2. Cost. This was because at the time and still to this day, community colleges in Massachusetts run around $400 a class.
3. Originally intended to be a stepping stone to a bachelors, but this plan did not work out the first time as I started a bachelors at Peru State in two completely unrelated majors.
4. To enhance my marketability when applying for jobs.
5. Time constraints with work and other commitments. I could not afford to take more time out of my day to go to class F2F, so the associates as well as dipping my feet into distance learning just seemed to be the best decision for me.
Overall, I think working on my associates first was a great way to get back into higher ed. It has shown some value as I will eventually use it as a stepping stone a second time around toward another bachelors in accounting.

 

You bring up a valid point. IMO getting your Associates prior to going after your Bachelors makes sense provided it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. My Associates didn't cost me much because I went to a California Community College who charged $20 per unit. Total tuition for my Associates ran me around $1,200 to $1,300 USD.

Now if I was considering a for-profit college that would run me substantially more for an Associates, that would change things quite a bit.

 

I wouldn't have gotten an AA if I had originally completed my BA in 4 years as intended. I took two years at Evergreen (but didn't have the full 90 credits I should have by then), then had to leave for financial reasons. While I was away, I took some classes at a community college, then eventually decided to just complete the AA there so I'd have something. I had to make up a bunch of credits because Evergreen doesn't have required classes, so I didn't have some of the required subjects. But it wasn't too bad, since I was still pretty close to 90 credits.

I graduated with the AA in the "college transfer" major, such as it is. No real major subject, just all the required courses for the automatic transfer eligibility for our state universities. At that time I was temporarily on disability leave from work because of a car accident, so I decided to go right back to Evergreen because I didn't really have anything else to do other than medical treatments, and I had an income for a while. So I got my BA a year and a half after the AA.

Basically I only got it as part of the path back to the BA after leaving college the first time. I could have done without it, but it's another little certificate for the collection (and I do mean little -- it's only 5x7). Actually, I am very glad I took the classes I took at SCCC. I wouldn't have gotten around to taking those topics had I stayed at Evergreen straight through, and I really liked most of my SCCC classes.

The only one that was a waste was CSC 101. Intro to Computers. I was required to take it. The teacher came in on the first day and held up a floppy disk, saying "This is a FLOPPY DISK. We STORE THINGS on it." I went up to her and told her that I was actually on leave from a technical job at a software company, and she gave me permission to play Solitaire in the back of the room for the whole quarter as long as I attended class and turned in the work. Easiest A ever.

 

The community college system in California is most wonderful. I was able to live at home and pay very low tuition while taking most of my lower division classes. After my AA then I went to UC Berkeley for my Bachelors. I thought that the lower division classes at the community college were generally much better than the huge classes at Berkeley. For me the community college route saved a very large bundle of money.

 

Yes. Community College courses can be much better than huge lower-division classes at state universities, that's for sure.

Another thing I noticed at my CC -- I expected that the student body would be less bright, less driven than students at my four-year college. I was wrong.

 

I am just one class away from two Associate degrees and the reason I am going to get them is that I just need a break for a while but before my "time off" I want to have something to show for it. Someday I will move on the something bigger and I think that having my associates degrees will motivate me to get there.

 

I'm ~9 credits shy of another associate degree, this one in natural science, not sure if I'll pick it up or allow ~40 credits to go undegreed <gasp> lol

 

I've been taking classes at the local CC on & off for a few years, one day I looked up and realized I'd have a degree with five more classes. At $60/credit hour and assuming that most if not all of the credits will transfer to the four-year school as gen ed requirements, it's a good deal. Having a goal that was actually reachable also kicked me into gear to really focus on school.

I also figure an AA degree looks better than no degree on the resume should any job issues happen between now and when I finish my BA.

 

An AS landed me my job, I was told my degree (which I did not get yet) was why I got the job.

 

Like many, I worked and took classes here and there after high school. I was 26 when I decided to go to school full time and finish my bachelor's degree. It turned out that the university that I was attending offered an associate degree in the same subject, so I gladly completed the additional physical education required for the A.A. degree and earned it 10 years after I graduated high school. It provided me with a sense of accomplishment while I completed my B.A. degree the next year. My current institution articulates all of its A.S. degrees into its B.S. degrees, so no credits are lost going from the associates to the bachelors.

In several national studies, students who started their education at community colleges, earned associate degrees and transferred to state universities, had higher grade point averages during their junior years than students who began as freshmen at the 4-year universities.

 

I have two associates I earned about this time last year. The first reason for me was that I had invested so much time and energy into my CC education I felt slighted transferring to my 4-Year with “nothing” to show but “credits.” Another reason is that I am a very impatient person; I needed to get some “I love me” materials for my office to keep me motivated.

I needed some more credits to round out my associate credit requirement in addition to getting some guaranteed electives transferred to my 4 year program so I found an associates program that I liked. I took the 5 classes required for it in one semester and then transferred to my four year. In my first semester at my four year I did my statistics class and transferred it back to the CC, BAM, two associates.

I guess it could have been viewed as frivolous, however checking that “some college” box for so many years just irked me, now I can check the Associate Degree ‘box’ and next month I can check the Bachelor Degree ‘box.’

I say if you are close it doesn’t hurt, why not get some more candy on your resume; it can’t hurt in most situations.

Brez

 

As an HR Manager, I see so many applications with "some college." When I look at their college information on the application, I see applicants with so many hours, and upon inquiry they tell me they got through 3 years of college, but just didn't finish for whatever reason. I often have the opportunity to let them know that they have options to complete their degree now and be able to check that "Associates" or "Bachelors" degree box. I think an Associates degree is worthwhile, just so you can put something down in case you don't complete your plans for that 4-year degree.

 

My bachelor's was a technolgy management emphasis......so it was just natural steeping stones to have a few tech diplomas, and an AS degree.

 

I earned my AA while I was in the military. It served as a good benchmark and goal to shoot for - I earned it in about four years while serving as an infantryman in a highly deployable unit. I live in Washington State where an AA is approved as a direct-transfer degree to meet the requirements of the first two years at any state university, so it was a good fit for me as I was not sure what my post-enlistment plans were exactly.

 

I got my A.S. for a couple reasons-- one was, as many posters here found, helpful for filling in a blank spot on a resume.

Another reason was post-degree-- the A.S. allowed me to enter one of the less-common 3-year (effectively) Bachelor's degree program from one of the US schools that shaves a year off if you have an Associate's. That is turning out to be one of the best luck situations I've ever landed in from a cost as well as time-to-completion standpoint.

 

I'm debating whether to pick one up or not...I'm in the process of sending my transcripts to both Excelsior and Charter Oak for evaluation--I think with the various courses I've taken over the years that I'm only short 15 or 20 hours--If that's all I'm lacking then I think I'll skip the AA. If it turns out that I need more hours than that then I'll seriously consider picking up the AA (I have all the hours that I need) from Excelsior so that I have something while I take the other classes.

 

A) $78 per credit
B) Easy transfer (guaranteed acceptance into any Fla state college/univ with Florida AA/AS).
C) $78 per credit
D) Could go local, with actual classrooms and guidance counselors I could look in the eye. This was important to me in order to help map out my educational future. Not as critical for upper level studies.
E) $78 per credit
F)Guaranteed admission. Since the 4yr university I wanted to attend was Tier 1 and NOT open admission, with my academic record I needed to go somewhere I could be accepted and earn the credits I needed to transfer to my preferred school.
G) $78 per credit. Really, is there a better reason?