What have you done with your Big 3 Degree?

[Togas]

I've been talking to some people about the big 3 schools and how it would be a good idea to look into them. (Even more so for my Navy friends).
A few of them have asked me "If it's so easy / quick how good can it be? What have people done with it?"

So, I guess if anybody is willing to share.

Degree Name, School.
How it's helped you? Promotion, better jobs?
I've seen quite a few members here going after their PhD's. Perhaps I will chase after one, not sure if that is of any interest to my friends asking about it.

I'm still in school and can't really be the example for these guys.

[sanantone]

The Big 3 are regionally accredited, non-profit schools. TESU and COSC are state schools. In that respect, they don't differ from any other unranked, non-profit school. They all offer dozens of courses, and most of their students do not test out of a large number of credits. What you have to worry about when testing out is having enough graded credits for certain graduate programs and health professions programs may not accept prerequisites that were completed by CLEP/DSST/challenge exam.

Testing out of a degree is quicker and easier, but I'm not sure I would call it easy. You still have to study, and people do fail tests. Poor test takers will have to rely on self-paced courses such as Straighterline, Sophia, Study.com, and ACE-approved courses from Penn Foster College.

If you're not going to attend a prestigious school, then all that matters is accreditation and avoiding schools with bad reputations (almost all of them are large for-profits). The Big 3 are mostly unknown to the general public.

BA in Social Science, Thomas Edison State College
I was able to register as a licensed chemical dependency counselor intern. I now work as a substance abuse counselor and am earning hours toward my license.
I got into an online master's program at a state university. After finishing my master's degree, I moved on to a traditional PhD program at a state university. I'm in the process of taking my last elective. Once I defend my dissertation proposal, I will be admitted to candidacy and considered ABD.

[rebel100]

Finished my bachelors at Charter Oak which led to finishing my MBA which led to tripling of my pay and better life all around.

[kevinmane]

Got my BA in Liberal Studies from TESC in 2011. Took my one year to get my BA.
I too was in the military when I went for it.
CLEPs/DSSTs are free for military. So they can save their GI Bill and any other college benefits for their graduate degree!
Having veteran credits and the necessary minimum requirement of a Bachelor's Degree, I was able to snag a pretty good-paying state government job. Since then, I've been able to move up in my government career to where I'm making over 100k/year.
It wasn't handed to me; I busted my arse the whole time to get to this point. But I was able to get on this path SOONER in life because I took the shorter route.

So to answer your Navy bud's question:

If your Navy buds want to stay in the military, they can become an officer later. But they're going to need a Bachelor's. As long as it's accredited, the BA can be in anything.
Likewise, even if they don't want to become an officer, they can improve their chances of promoting within the enlisted ranks when they have a BA.
Also, if they don't want to be in the military anymore, they're going to need a BA for any job they want to go for. If they want to make anything close to what they're making in the Navy for similar work, they're gonna have to have a BA. It's just the way the civilian world works.

In short, it will help them move up in their military or future civilian career. It will cost nearly zero dollars and will take them far less time than traditional classes. Furthermore, the alternative credit paths (like CLEPs) are much more flexible for their crazy schedules. They can study and take tests whenever they feel like it.

Unless they were planning on going to Harvard for some specialized subject, if they only need a degree from a non-profit public state school, then they should DEFINITELY pick one of the Big 3.

I met a lot of people in the Air Force who were using up ALL of their GI Bill and THEN SOME to get a degree from University of Phoenix or ITT Tech. Took 'em over 3 years and cost a butt-load.
Mine cost me $0 (free CLEPs, tuition reimbursement via military college benefits) and I was done in less than a year. I got promoted faster than them and I landed sweet Civilian jobs when I got out.
It's a no brainer, man.

[Togas]

Thanks everyone for sharing.
I'm currently thinking about changing over to TESU from my current degree and going to a masters program next year. These posts are pushing me more in that direction. I'll need to talk to some more people about all of this for my case. (I'm just focused on getting back in the petroleum industry. Not many TESU grads on linkedin in the positions I want for me to talk to)
I can't wait to show the guys these posts. Hopefully they will serve as inspiration. Of all of them, My old chief will probably jump on this first. He's 3 years out of retirement.

[subhuman]

.....I met a lot of people in the Air Force who were using up ALL of their GI Bill and THEN SOME to get a degree from University of Phoenix or ITT Tech. Took 'em over 3 years and cost a butt-load...

Going to ITT Tech was one of the biggest mistakes I made in my life. They lied to me and specifically said there credits would transfer. I would sue them if I could prove it. Luckly my company at the time paid for most of it, so my GI Bill was not wasted just my time. I feel really bad for the young kids that I went there with. They must be buried in debt right now.

I am doing UMUC but if I were to go totally online I would go to Charter Oaks. I think it is not as known as an online degree as the others. Stevenson University also sounds promising.

[passit1]

Graduated last September from TESU (TESC at the time) with a BSBA Operations Management specialization which lead to a new position with a Fortune 100 company and a 15% increase in salary.
I'm currently working on my MBA with WGU, hoping to follow in Rebel100's lead and use the MBA to move up.

[soliloquy]

Nothing major yet. Although it did get me into grad school (two months till graduation!) and it did allow me to qualify to sit for a certification I was coveting.

[smf6824]

Got a managerial position in my field.

[cookderosa]

I've been talking to some people about the big 3 schools and how it would be a good idea to look into them. (Even more so for my Navy friends).
A few of them have asked me "If it's so easy / quick how good can it be? What have people done with it?"
[B]
First off, it's not so easy. It takes resourcefulness, planning, and a lot of discipline. If you stay around here long enough, you'll see that many people don't finish. So, there's that. But, if you ARE resourceful, willing to plan, and have discipline, you CAN earn a degree for a fraction of the cost through one of the big 3 or any college for that matter. I *literally* make a living showing parents of high school students how to do this for their teens, and they almost never go to the big 3. It just so happens that for people that have Tuition Assistance and need distance learning (Navy?) the big 3 are perfect fits.

Second, what does anyone do with their degree? I know lots of unemployed degree holders- and I know lots of high earners that dropped out of college. The question they are asking is the wrong one. The correct question is whether or not THIS degree will help YOU do what is on YOUR goals sheet. It might not- you certainly are not going to be a strong candidate for medical school with a liberal arts degree from Excelsior...but it's been done....not much, but it has been. My goal was to get into grad school - I did that, so it did exactly what "I" intended it to do. Check.

Finally, you didn't ask, but I'll add that the "big 3" isn't what they are- it's what people call them. The overwhelming majority of students (I'd estimate over 90%) have no idea they are at a college that allows them to test out. In fact, when I was a student, I took 12 months of classes at TESC and never met a single student in any of my classes that even knew what CLEP was. So, THOSE students are graduating with full pride, they don't at all think that their college degree is anything less because a few students know how to be efficient and resourceful to pull the absolute MAXIMUM number of exam and distance learning credits out of their hat. Around here it looks like a well worn path, but I promise you, it isn't. The vast majority of people NEVER test out of a degree; and the vast majority of people NEVER test out of more than a class or two. Be thankful you found the minority [/B]