Where I stand.. want a CS degree

[supreme1995_a]

Hi all.. im in a bit of a confusing situation. I’m holding 48 credits from a NJ county college (from 5 years ago). I have English comp 1, Spanish 1/2, social psychology, sociology, criminal justice, US natl govt,  US state / local Govt, psychology 1, public speaking, police admin, criminal justice… for 2.54 gpa 
have about 6 more credits from another local college with a 2.5 gpa 
Then I have 2 police academies completed with a combo of 50 or so credits, some are probably overlapped and some aren’t. I think they’re “passed” so does that count as a 3.0 or 3.5 towards GPA? 
I’m looking to get a CS Bachelor degree. Currently not enrolled anywhere but looking at CAL State/ UC schools. Not sure if I qualify or what the best option for me right now. I’d like to fully enroll in an online course for CS since I work full time. 

Long story short: I’m looking to get a Cs Degree

[rachel83az]

If you want cheapest/easiest, that'd be TESU or maybe WGU. CAL State/UC schools are good schools but they'd be difficult to get into and who knows if most of your credits would transfer. I'm not saying not to apply, but be aware that you might be taking the more difficult path compared to going to TESU or WGU for a comp Sci degree.

[supreme1995_a]

If you want cheapest/easiest, that'd be TESU or maybe WGU. CAL State/UC schools are good schools but they'd be difficult to get into and who knows if most of your credits would transfer. I'm not saying not to apply, but be aware that you might be taking the more difficult path compared to going to TESU or WGU for a comp Sci degree.
I want a degree, but I also don’t want an “easy way out”:. If that makes sense. Nothing wrong with an online schoolbut I feel schools like that get a bad rap sometimes. For example, i mentioned it to a friend and immediately they started saying how a boot camp is probably a better use of the $ and time rather then one of those “barely accredited schools”

[freeloader]

Not really sure what you are wanting help with, OP. The strengths of this forum are schools like Thomas Edison State and Charter Oak that let you test out of most of a degree and schools like WGU and UMPI that offer competency-based, online degrees. None of these schools are “barely accredited”. They are all, at least the ones that I mentioned, regionally accredited, public, not for profit schools. If you don’t want to attend a school like TESU or WGU, that’s perfectly fine, but that doesn’t mean there is anything “wrong” with those universities.

The relative value of a boot camp vs a bachelors degree is going to be situational and individual. Just curious—is your friend a hiring manager, HR representative, CS project manager, or holder of a position where they have knowledge and experience evaluating the education and backgrounds of people in the CS/IT/CIS area? If so, then why are you looking at degrees at all?

A quick search of the Cal State system online shows that Monterey Bay offers a bachelors degree in CS and San Jose offers one in Information Science. If you have your mind made up on a UC/CSU school, sounds like you should apply to those and hope for the best. See https://www.calstateonline.net/Programs?...20Sciences

I am not trying to be rude or confrontational, but it kind of seems like you know exactly what you want to do, educationally speaking. If that’s the case, what, exactly, are you wanting to achieve?

Are you wanting to boost your GPA to help you get into a better school? Are you wanting to learn some CS to make sure you like the field and make it more likely that you will get into a better program?

[supreme1995_a]

Not really sure what you are wanting help with, OP. The strengths of this forum are schools like Thomas Edison State and Charter Oak that let you test out of most of a degree and schools like WGU and UMPI that offer competency-based, online degrees.  None of these schools are “barely accredited”. They are all, at least the ones that I mentioned, regionally accredited, public, not for profit schools. If you don’t want to attend a school like TESU or WGU, that’s perfectly fine, but that doesn’t mean there is anything “wrong” with those universities.  

The relative value of a boot camp vs a bachelors degree is going to be situational and individual. Just curious—is your friend a hiring manager, HR representative, CS project manager, or holder of a position where they have knowledge and experience evaluating the education and backgrounds of people in the CS/IT/CIS area?  If so, then why are you looking at degrees at all?

A quick search of the Cal State system online shows that Monterey Bay offers a bachelors degree in CS and San Jose offers one in Information Science. If you have your mind made up on a UC/CSU school, sounds like you should apply to those and hope for the best. See https://www.calstateonline.net/Programs?...20Sciences

I am not trying to be rude or confrontational, but it kind of seems like you know exactly what you want to do, educationally speaking. If that’s the case, what, exactly, are you wanting to achieve?  

Are you wanting to boost your GPA to help you get into a better school?  Are you wanting to learn some CS to make sure you like the field and make it more likely that you will get into a better program?

I’m trying to figure out the best option. Not totally against WGU but want to explore options. That’s all. 

My friend doesn’t have any experience but he is going to a NJ state school for the same thing. Degrees don’t mean much in this field to my knowledge but an online degree from certain schools carry a bad rep regardless which is my fear.. 
I know ASU and a few other schools offer online degrees for CS so id explore that as well.

[LevelUP]

I’m trying to figure out the best option. Not totally against WGU but want to explore options. That’s all. 

My friend doesn’t have any experience but he is going to a NJ state school for the same thing. Degrees don’t mean much in this field to my knowledge but an online degree from certain schools carry a bad rep regardless which is my fear.. 
I know ASU and a few other schools offer online degrees for CS so id explore that as well.

People that graduated from WGU have gotten jobs from large tech companies such as Google and Amazon.  

The dream is to get a job at Google, then quit so you can be an ex-Google employee, then you can spend the rest of your life making fun of peons that work for companies other than Google 

[dfrecore]

Talking to a random friend who has no experience with hiring is not the best person to discuss this with. Instead, you're much better off talking to people who work in IT/CS, see where they got their degrees (many won't even have degrees), see what companies want when hiring, etc.

Your 2.5 GPA will probably hold you back from a UC, but you may be fine at a CSU. Either way, if you have to move and live there, and take out loans to pay for 3 years of school and living expenses, I don't care what you think, you're WAY better off getting an online degree from a less expensive school. And if you can find a school (like TESU) which will take a lot of your police academy credits as free electives, you will be further along than a CSU which may not have a lot of space for electives. WGU will be a cheap option IF you can get through quickly. If you don't have any CS experience, you will probably take longer to get through, which will cost more. I generally don't advise going to WGU for a CS/IT degree if you can't get through in a single term.

Also, just an FYI, a P/F course has no impact on your GPA - it doesn't raise it, it doesn't lower it.

I am going to recommend TESU, which is a NJ public school. Their CS degree plan is a decent one.

[bjcheung77]

TESU is my recommendation since you're in NJ and looking for a public/state school as well. WGU is exclusively online, TESU provide grade letters for their courses vs WGU is just pass/fail. If you're looking at U of Texas - Austin or the Georgia Tech Master degrees as a final goal, TESU may be the better bet for the grades and cost/ease of finishing. You have RA credits already, I would take the 16 credit residency requirement instead of paying for the residency fee, this will get you more graded credits.

[supreme1995_a]

I’m actually in California right now everyone ^

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In regards to TESU. I see their program is a BA of CS not a BS of CS.. any reason why or any difference?

2. I’ve seen ASU offer a full online degree which I may look into as well.
UC/CAL only take upper level transfers (jr and up) and I don’t have that standing yet. I’ll need a year or so at a community college and then transfer.. rather not do that.

Better off applying somewhere and doing the degree through the school from where I stand now.

[rachel83az]

The biggest difference between BA and BS is essentially the number of science credits you take. Most computer scientists don't really NEED things like physics and/or chemistry, so why waste money on that? If you look on LinkedIn, it doesn't distinguish. It's just "Bachelor of Computer Science" when you go to add it to your profile.