I need to Finish!

[FloridaBound]

So some background about me, I'm a college student at a public university in Ohio that has tons of credits in science but no degree since I switched my major after getting rejected by secondary admissions. Now I can graduate from the current University with an Interdisciplinary degree but I still have the summer and fall semester and 33 credits left, which is insanity for the cost also I don't want an Interdisciplinary degree. I'll have 117 credits in a few days and after being put in about $80,000 in debt, I need another option. I was looking at degrees online and one that struck me at TESU was a BS in Data Science and Analytics, which can be completed 100% online. Now at the moment assuming that my credits transfer I'll be left with taking 34 credit hours. These would be the upper level computer courses, and courses are offered through TESU and statistics.com. The questions I have are:


1. Are my only options to take classes from TESU and Statistics.com?
2. Does this sound like a good plan?

Thank you all!

[rachel83az]

What credits do you already have? Please list them in the format seen here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid335173

Each Statistics.com class is typically $500-$600 and that's kind of expensive for someone who is $80k in debt, IMO. If you want to do this, that's fine. But it's not a super affordable option, IMO. And, yes, Statistics.com is the only way to get credits for this particular degree at TESU. Depending on your credits, a better option might be Computer Science + grad certificate in Data Analytics.

Computer Science would cost 6-7k (depending on credits you already have) and the 4 classes for the grad certificate would be $2316. Still a tiny bit expensive but more affordable, IMO, than the straight BS Data Science & Analytics degree.

But what I would really recommend would be saving the $2k and putting it towards a Data Science Master's degree. There are some super affordable options that depend on your needs. This runs from a couple hundred for a ENEB degree in "Big Data and Business Intelligence" (which is not quite the same thing, but it's inexpensive) to something like this MS in Data Science from Eastern for $10k: https://www.eastern.edu/academics/gradua...ta-science and there are even more options out there, depending on your goals.

So, by doing Comp Sci and then Data Sci, you could get both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree for about the same price or just slightly more than a Data Science BS would cost at TESU.

[dfrecore]

How about a BS and/or MS in Data Analytics from WGU? For price alone, I might consider a BLS w/MIS or PM concentration from UMPI, then an MS in Data Analytics from WGU. I think that would give you the most bang for your buck.
____________________________________________________________
If you list the courses you've taken, we can probably tell you the best way to get any remaining credits you need to get something inexpensive (one of the Big 3, WGU or UMPI). Do it like this:

School (RA or NA, semester- or quarter-based)
Course #, full course name, grade if less than a C

Repeat for all courses, repeat for multiple schools.
____________________________________________________________

I'd also like to say, and this is not without sympathy for your position, but you weren't "put in about $80,000 in debt"; you signed up for $80k worth of debt willingly. But we are here to help you - to get a degree (or two) as cheaply as possible, which will hopefully lead to a well-paying job so that you can pay off that debt and get your life back as soon as possible.

[rachel83az]

I'd also like to say, and this is not without sympathy for your position, but you weren't "put in about $80,000 in debt"; you signed up for $80k worth of debt willingly.

I don't really think that's a fair assessment. If you don't know about something like this forum, you're going to be indoctrinated into thinking that going tens of thousands of dollars into debt is the only way to obtain a degree and this degree is essential to your future success in life. I would not say that college debt has been entered into entirely willingly. I think it's more under duress than anything else. An entirely legal form of duress, even.

[natshar]

I agree with the other posts that WGU might be a good option. You should apply to WGU (it's free) and send all your transcripts. WGU has a data analytics bachelors

The thing about the statstics.com courses is they have certain start dates so it could take a long time even if its not a lot of courses, just because of the timing. And the cost for statsitcs.com is more more money than study.com, sophia, etc. WGU could be cheaper and quicker than TESU, it just depends how many of your credits they accept.

Everyone is talking about masters degrees, but just work one thing at a time and finish the bachelors first.

[bjcheung77]

I'm just curious which school you were attending, wow, $80K and that was for 3 years! I would have thought some if not most of that would be grants and subsidies, with only a portion that you need to pay back as loans.

[bjcheung77]

Are you eligible for bursaries, grants, scholarships, tuition assistance or reimbursement, etc, anything at all? Your parents work, are they part of a union? <gasp> I nearly typed "onion", that would have been stinky and surely would get me teary... We need more details in order to help you further... but you're on the right track. I firmly believe either Big 3 or CBE is the way to go for you. Big 3 for max transfer of courses, or CBE if you know your stuff similar to subject matter experts.

[dfrecore]

I'd also like to say, and this is not without sympathy for your position, but you weren't "put in about $80,000 in debt"; you signed up for $80k worth of debt willingly.

I don't really think that's a fair assessment. If you don't know about something like this forum, you're going to be indoctrinated into thinking that going tens of thousands of dollars into debt is the only way to obtain a degree and this degree is essential to your future success in life. I would not say that college debt has been entered into entirely willingly. I think it's more under duress than anything else. An entirely legal form of duress, even.

Nope.  Entirely willingly.  Maybe THINKING that you need a degree makes you make bad choices - that does not mean that it was under duress.  Definition of duress: Duress describes the act of using force, false imprisonment, coercion, threats, or psychological pressure to compel someone to act contrary to their wishes or interests.

[freeloader]

I'd also like to say, and this is not without sympathy for your position, but you weren't "put in about $80,000 in debt"; you signed up for $80k worth of debt willingly.

I don't really think that's a fair assessment. If you don't know about something like this forum, you're going to be indoctrinated into thinking that going tens of thousands of dollars into debt is the only way to obtain a degree and this degree is essential to your future success in life. I would not say that college debt has been entered into entirely willingly. I think it's more under duress than anything else. An entirely legal form of duress, even.

Nope.  Entirely willingly.  Maybe THINKING that you need a degree makes you make bad choices - that does not mean that it was under duress.  Definition of duress: Duress describes the act of using force, false imprisonment, coercion, threats, or psychological pressure to compel someone to act contrary to their wishes or interests.

1. You don’t know people’s situation. You shouldn’t judge, certainly not without more facts. 

2. If you actually want to help people, acting sanctimonious and superior isn’t going to make them apt to actually listen to you.

[thecontrarian]

I'm just curious which school you were attending, wow, $80K and that was for 3 years!  I would have thought some if not most of that would be grants and subsidies, with only a portion that you need to pay back as loans.

@bjchecung77 - 

This is from my offer letter for Rutgers. It's in a higher cost of living area than the Ohio, but it's still not super-HCOL like Cali or NYC either.

$17K tuition & mandatory fees
$14K housing & dining
$5.9K books, travel and misc
$38K TOTAL (rounded)

Zero financial aid coz parents make > $100K annual income (no Pell etc obviously). Got a similar offer at NJIT, but that also had $6K merit scholarship. Regardless, if I'd picked either college I could have hit $90K by the third year easy!  
Probably even more than $90K coz I like to eat a lot of burrito's.  
Without this forum and the advice people like you provide me free of charge, the college degree path was totally closed to me.