I Want A Bachelor's Degree Which Path Is The Fastest For Me??

[jrose963]

I have an Associates Degree in Administration of Justice from my local community college in California. The college is called Bakersfield College and it is regionally accredited.

I had my Associates Degree evaluated by WGU and it showed that all my gen eds would be fulfilled. I ended up doing their cybersecurity program for a bit. Passed CompTIA A+, an intro to programming course, two courses having to do with databases and some other courses like intro to information security or something like that. This was a while back ago though so don't remember everything but the point I am trying to make is I did do some courses at WGU before I decided to withdraw. 

Now I am financially stable and want to earn a Bachelors Degree preferably something related to technology in order to give me more employment opportunities.

I work for FedEx Ground part time and apparently they offer tuition reimbursement but if need be I will just pay out of pocket or take out federal student loans. 

I want to get this done as fast as possible though. 

So if you were in my shoes what would you do?

So far this is my plan
- complete as many transfer courses as possible at study.com for the WGU computer science program.
- enroll at WGU for computer science and transfer in all your credits.
- If my math is right I should only have about 10 courses left to do at WGU.
- I think 10 courses in two terms is doable for me. But I may be underestimating the difficulty of the courses.

Does my math look right on the plan I outlined above? 

Also the reason I want to do the computer science program is because after passing the CompTIA A+ I realized I hate those type of exams lol so I want to avoid CompTIA if at all possible.

Additionally if you have a good argument to just ditch tech and finish any degree program I am open to that idea. With that being said I have done the research and tech really seems like it would open up more opportunities for me than getting a bachelor's in criminal justice.

Also I just logged in to WGU and it says "Continue your education and apply as a Readmit" then it shows a big button and on the button of that text it says "Reapply Now" Would re-applying be the same as re-enrolling? or is that different?

Is there a school where I can finish faster than if I went with WGU?

Thank you for any help it is greatly appreciated.

[rachel83az]

My understanding is that the final courses at WGU are extremely difficult; possibly even more difficult than the CompTIA. A lot of students aren't able to complete a WGU degree in one (or even two) 6-month term, even with maximum transfer.

Depending on what you already have, a Comp Sci degree TESU might be both easier and faster than WGU to complete.

Fill out both the template and the addendum from here for better assistance: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[allvia]

To add to what rachel83az mentioned; since you're already planning on the cost of two terms at WGU, the TESU BACS would likely be cheaper.

If you list all your existing courses/credit we can help know where you stand (see this thread for format on listing what you have https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid335173)

Also, you should find out more how the FedEx tuition reimbursement works. Some companies require you stay with them 'X' amount of time after and some don't. If they don't require any time after then it could be a great way to get some free money to pay for at least part of your degree without the pressure of staying with them. And almost all companies pay for CS and Business based degrees, as both apply to the company as a whole.

[bjcheung77]

Fill out both the template and the addendum from here for better assistance: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

To add to what rachel83az mentioned; since you're already planning on the cost of two terms at WGU, the TESU BACS would likely be cheaper.

If you list all your existing courses/credit we can help know where you stand (see this thread for format on listing what you have https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid335173)

Also, you should find out more how the FedEx tuition reimbursement works.

@jrose963, Welcome to the board... As mentioned above in 'quotes', you should do the addendum and template to provide us greater details on what you bring to the table in regards to credits, find out how your tuition assistance works (amount for reimbursement, etc), and decide what degree/institution you want to finish with.

[dfrecore]

I think you need to reassess your degree plans, just because I think you can't base the degree on the A+ cert, which is one of the harder ones to do - it the longest with 2 exams, and just a lot of material is covered. My husband who has 20+ years of IT experience, and has completed MANY certs over the years, would not get his degree at WGU simply because he does not want to study for that stupid exam - the rest he thinks he could easily do, but he dreads the A+ cert.

That being said, since you already passed it, if it's still current, you don't have to retake it; so you should be open to getting whichever degree you want there, rather than only doing the CS degree. Now, if it's expired, and you'd have to retake it, you have to figure out if it's worth doing (I don't know how long it's been so can't advise you on that).

If you simply want a CS degree, then you can compare TESU to WGU, and look at which courses you have left to take at WGU, and list those, so we can tell you the best way to get them, and how difficult it might be. So you'll have a better feel of whether you can complete it in 2 terms there, or if TESU would be a better option.

Also, getting an unofficial (or official) transcript from WGU so you can list the courses you completed there will help as well (because they will transfer to TESU).

[origamishuttle]

Now I am financially stable and want to earn a Bachelors Degree preferably something related to technology in order to give me more employment opportunities.
...
Additionally if you have a good argument to just ditch tech and finish any degree program I am open to that idea. With that being said I have done the research and tech really seems like it would open up more opportunities for me than getting a bachelor's in criminal justice.

I agree that a tech degree may open more doors, but it's also a lot of work to do without an end goal in mind. Have you considered what career path you'll follow? Careers in tech are mostly based on ability and experience, so getting an easier/faster business degree, at least to start, can allow you to begin building that experience sooner.

I work for FedEx Ground part time and apparently they offer tuition reimbursement but if need be I will just pay out of pocket or take out federal student loans. 

One thing you'll want to look into if you need more than one term is timing enrollment and reimbursement by calendar year. Often the amount of reimbursement per year is not enough to cover WGU tuition sustainably, but if you time it right with two terms, you can get one term reimbursed per year.

So far this is my plan
- complete as many transfer courses as possible at study.com for the WGU computer science program.
- enroll at WGU for computer science and transfer in all your credits.
- If my math is right I should only have about 10 courses left to do at WGU.
- I think 10 courses in two terms is doable for me. But I may be underestimating the difficulty of the courses.

The study.com courses will give you a better idea of how challenging the rest of the degree will be, although, as Rachel mentioned, the most challenging courses will need to be completed at WGU. You'll want to start researching those courses on reddit and the unofficial discord [https://discord.com/invite/unwgu] to get a clearer picture.

Also I just logged in to WGU and it says "Continue your education and apply as a Readmit" then it shows a big button and on the button of that text it says "Reapply Now" Would re-applying be the same as re-enrolling? or is that different?

No, you need to apply and be accepted again.

Is there a school where I can finish faster than if I went with WGU?

It depends. There are several schools where you can likely complete the degree requirements faster, but WGU is the absolute fastest with conferral. Most schools take a few months to confer your degree, whereas WGU takes about a week.

[davewill]

I would delve a little further into what you want to do with your degree. Do you wish to become a software developer or an I.T. professional? Do you just intend to work for a tech company but not as an actual engineer or tech? Please fill out the whole template so we can brainstorm your options more thoroughly.

[dfrecore]

Now I am financially stable and want to earn a Bachelors Degree preferably something related to technology in order to give me more employment opportunities.
...
Additionally if you have a good argument to just ditch tech and finish any degree program I am open to that idea. With that being said I have done the research and tech really seems like it would open up more opportunities for me than getting a bachelor's in criminal justice.

I agree that a tech degree may open more doors, but it's also a lot of work to do without an end goal in mind. Have you considered what career path you'll follow? Careers in tech are mostly based on ability and experience, so getting an easier/faster business degree, at least to start, can allow you to begin building that experience sooner.

I work for FedEx Ground part time and apparently they offer tuition reimbursement but if need be I will just pay out of pocket or take out federal student loans. 

One thing you'll want to look into if you need more than one term is timing enrollment and reimbursement by calendar year. Often the amount of reimbursement per year is not enough to cover WGU tuition sustainably, but if you time it right with two terms, you can get one term reimbursed per year.

So far this is my plan
- complete as many transfer courses as possible at study.com for the WGU computer science program.
- enroll at WGU for computer science and transfer in all your credits.
- If my math is right I should only have about 10 courses left to do at WGU.
- I think 10 courses in two terms is doable for me. But I may be underestimating the difficulty of the courses.

The study.com courses will give you a better idea of how challenging the rest of the degree will be, although, as Rachel mentioned, the most challenging courses will need to be completed at WGU. You'll want to start researching those courses on reddit and the unofficial discord [https://discord.com/invite/unwgu] to get a clearer picture.

Also I just logged in to WGU and it says "Continue your education and apply as a Readmit" then it shows a big button and on the button of that text it says "Reapply Now" Would re-applying be the same as re-enrolling? or is that different?

No, you need to apply and be accepted again.

Is there a school where I can finish faster than if I went with WGU?

It depends. There are several schools where you can likely complete the degree requirements faster, but WGU is the absolute fastest with conferral. Most schools take a few months to confer your degree, whereas WGU takes about a week.

[jrose963]

My understanding is that the final courses at WGU are extremely difficult; possibly even more difficult than the CompTIA. A lot of students aren't able to complete a WGU degree in one (or even two) 6-month term, even with maximum transfer.

Depending on what you already have, a Comp Sci degree TESU might be both easier and faster than WGU to complete.

Fill out both the template and the addendum from here for better assistance: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Thank you for responding as well as everyone else in the thread. 

I am going to make a much more better post with all the information that has been asked of me. 

I do have a question though. How do I delete my post? Or can I not do that? 

I will have the updated information likely by tonight cause I am PST region. 

I plan to make a spreadsheet in Google Sheets and share the link in my new post.

[jrose963]

I made a post on degree forum and it was not comprehensive enough for people to help me that much. I want to make a new post that has all the information that was requested. I want to delete my post that had insufficient information that way it doesn't clutter the forum so how do I do this? Thank you for any help.