If you had to choose a college to attend, which would it be?

[wuxbustah8]

I'm currently in the Air Force going for my bachelors degree in Computer Science. Since it seems like they are about to cut Tuition Assistance, I'm looking for a new school. I have my CCAF just about finished so I'm hoping to carry as many of those credits over as possible.

What I'm looking for in a school is somewhat low-cost, or very helpful when it comes to getting Financial Aid. For instance, when I went to University of Phoenix they helped me get set up for the FAFSA and I believe they even had a code to make it so applying for this was free. This was a huge help.

I'd also like a school that takes a large amount of transfer credits. I'll have 60+ by the time I start, and I would like to CLEP/DSST as many classes as I possibly can, therefore a college that takes a bunch of transfer credits is nearly a must.

Finally, I want an online degree that won't get laughed at. It took me a while to finally accept it, but University of Phoenix was a horrible choice of a school. I'm currently in Trident University and I don't feel like it's much different. What are some good online collleges that people will actually respect?

TL;DR Need new online college for IT degree, what is one that is low-cost, lots of transfer credits, respected?

[OpenRoot]

Have you looked at the UMass programs? They have one thats very flexible called University Without Walls that takes (if I recall) 90 xfer credits. The only thing is your degree will say something along the lines of "bachelors in UWW, concentration in ________ "

UMass Boston also had a degree completion program. The bachelors is in community studies and as long as your credits fit the pre-reqs you just need to take 30 credits in residence. I think most if not all are available online.

I also just want to tell you that filling out the FAFSA should always be free, no code required.

[rebel100]

Be responsible and manage your own FAFSA....I mean seriously, your an adult so act like one. If there is something you don't understand ask, and we will help you discover the answer...but since your gonna be on hook for the bill you should thoroughly understand what your getting into. Never trust the counselor at any school, especially a for profit like UofP.

As for good schools I would thoroughly investigate the Big 3, WGU, these are gonna be the most flexible in accepting CCAF, other transfer credit, and credit by exam. They are all regionally accredited schools. You can finish a Bachelors at any of these for less than $5000/yr in less than 2 years...so if you have say a PELL grant it would fully cover it.

Look also at your home state public schools and any out of state that will extend in state rates to servicemen/women. The University of West Florida is one school that comes to mind. Schools in Florida generally accept up to 90 credits in transfer/credit by exam....that will really help with the cost.

Best,
Mike

[wuxbustah8]

I appreciate the answer. I didn't realize the FAFSA was free to sign up for. When I went to do it recently it was like an $80 charge, but there was a spot for a code that the college supplied. When I said the UoP helped with this what I meant was that they actually brought it up, and made sure it was. I know this was only so I could enroll in as many classes as possible but still, it helped.

I'm enrolled in Trident University (another for-profit) and nothing was ever even brought up.

I'll look at some of the schools you brought up. Is 90 transfer credits about as high as it goes? I'm looking at Southern New Hampshire University as a possible college as well and they allow up to 90 as well.

[Jonathan Whatley]

As Dr. Paul Wrubel wrote on a college planning question-and-answer site:

There is no fee associated with the federal FAFSA program. Sometimes people go to what looks like the federal web site. It isn't. Then they get hooked for a fee. www.fafsa.ed.gov is the federal web site. To file, you will also have to get a PIN number for both the student and the parent [if the student is young and classed as "dependent" rather than "independent," and the parent has to file]. It sounds like you used the private, for-profit website [I won't repeat the link here]. Start over using the government web site.

[Jonathan Whatley]

I'll look at some of the schools you brought up. Is 90 transfer credits about as high as it goes? I'm looking at Southern New Hampshire University as a possible college as well and they allow up to 90 as well.

Yep, 90 of 120 – except at the "Big Three" of Thomas Edison State College, Charter Oak State College, and Excelsior College. For many programs, the minimum local credit is only 3 sh at TESC and Excelsior (a capstone course in liberal arts, business, technology, etc. as appropriate; in the TESC BSBA, this can be taken as an exam), 6 sh at COSC (a cornerstone course emphasizing college writing and research, plus a capstone course in your concentration).

This is the biggest part of what makes them the Big Three, and so popular here.

[ronaldemail1]

If I had been aware of the advantages provided by the big three to me as a Foreign student,
I would have selected Thomas Edison immediately back in 1995 or 1996. The degree offered
by them allowed more flexibility on the courses that I could take, I would have been able to
finish my degree on 2 or 3 years taking some exams and courses available locally, and I would
have a Master by now.

I am originally from Peru and my first college was the equivalent of an Ivy League here, but
TESC offered way more advantages to me than the original program (which was actually copied
from American Universities and changed to suit the Peruvian Market).

[rebel100]

fafsa.gov

The first "f" stands for "Free" as in Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Once complete you can add schools to it so they can assess you for financial assistance. This matters a lot, for a couple of reasons.

1. You will see right away if you qualify for a grant, typically the PELL grant. This can be form a few hundred dollars up to $5700/year. With a PELL grant you should be able to finish a bachelors for free in a year or two if you already have the CCAF (or most of it).

2. While your FAFSA assessment stays the same, schools will dole out aid differently. For example Harvard has pledged that they carry out a "blind" admissions policy and they will fully cover the cast for any admitted student that chooses to attend...so the local grant at Harvard can be 10's of thousands of dollars. But they still base that aid off your FAFSA.

3. Schools like UofP will basically take all your grant funding and put you in a loan that maxes whatever the government says you can borrow...their admissions are essentially predatory and you should seek an education elsewhere.

Another good school for you is AMU/APU...though I think you can find a solid Bachelors cheaper elsewhere.

[Yanji]

Old Dominion has a great programme for AF students who have at least 24 hours of CCAF credit in electrical or mechanical engineering... that doesn't apply to you by any chance, does it? It only costs $250/cr and requires 39 credits at ODU.

SUNY Empire State College (pretty much TESC on steroids with a 30 credit residency) offers a plethora of online degrees which are pretty cheap for NY residents and not too bad for out of state. They're very well-known in NY (as a night school, but still respected enough) and anywhere outside NY/NJ/CT/PA most people think it's "just another SUNY college", which isn't a bad thing.

UMass is a good shout. They have lots of programmes throughout the various campuses (Amherst is best, Lowell second) including a BS in IT with an optional Business minor at UMass Lowell.

Avoid the for-profits... there might be slightly better ones out there but stick to established state schools and non-profits to be safe. If cost was no issue I'd probably go with the NYU SCPS degree completion programme. The NYU name combined with solid military service will open doors.

EDIT: Let me add UI Springfield's online BS in CS. Being an Illinois school, it might give you a slight edge in getting into arguably the best online CS Masters at UIUC in the future. (unless you can get into Stanford's online Masters in CS)