Which bachelors/school to attend? Degree Plan Help

[scorpioninlife]

Hi everyone, I needed some advice regarding what would be the best degree to get/what school would be most viable. I'm looking between UMPI or TESU, not too sure yet. As of right now, my main career is attempting to become an English Teacher. However, I'm currently just trying to do TEFL, which mainly just requires any type of Bachelor's degree. I'm looking to leave out of my country by next year fall, as I'm in a bit of a tight situation at the moment. I don't have a job or any big responsibilities, so I can fully invest my time into schooling. In terms of job experience, I've mainly just worked at food jobs—however, I am experienced with social media marketing (helping influencers and people who are interested in becoming viral/knowing how to make their social media accounts more advertisable), and I also have a blog where I write a bunch of essays regarding anthropology, sociology, and more. I don't currently have any college credits, but I'm willing to take things on Sophia/Study/any alternative to help the process. Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of the quickest and affordable degree I can attain? Since I'm planning on teaching outside of my country, I don't necessarily need an extremely specific degree. A lot of places would require me to get a Masters in education anyway, which I don't mind getting. But for a starting point, does any plan sound doable in terms of graduating by next year fall? Thank you!

[rachel83az]

To better assist, please fill out the template and the addendum in this thread and reply here, thanks. https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[bjcheung77]

@scorpioninlife, that's an informative introduction post, but I also suggest following the addendum/template as that will give a better and bigger overall picture/overview of your current scenario as each person has a different situation.  With the extra details, we can provide a more concrete answer for you.  My suggestion is to take some time to review posts/threads and the WIKI for info...

Right now, you're going in a few directions, you should decide on the degree/institution you want to get, for example, from what you currently have provide me, you may be better off with a UMPI BLS Education Minor, you can take an extra minor if you wanted in Management (take classes that can transfer into the MAOL) and you'll be done with both the Bachelors and Masters by next fall.

Here's an example thread for BLS, MAOL, two sessions each, $3K+$4300=$7300 for both in a year (you need at least to transfer 90 credits through Sophia.org ahead of time): https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...e-Question

[LevelUP]

Since you have experience with social media marketing, you might consider pursuing a Business Administration degree with a focus on marketing, and also consider a minor or double major in English. If a career in teaching doesn't work out, this will provide you with a valuable fallback option. Given that you have 40 hours a week available for studying, it shouldn't take long to achieve this.

BABA Marketing
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

BA English
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

UMPI minors
http://catalog.umpi.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=155

[RachelB]

BA English
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

UMPI minors
http://catalog.umpi.edu/content.php?catoid=4&navoid=155

I've heard that the English degree at UMPI is quite difficult, and I imagine it would be even more so for someone who is not a native English speaker.

OP, I recommend going for the BLS with an education minor. You'll be able to use a lot of Sophia/alternative credit, and the education classes should reinforce what you learn in your TEFL classes. Alternatively, if you want to teach English as a foreign language long-term, there are TEFL degrees (as opposed to certificates) that are available now, so you might check those out.

[rachel83az]

For someone not in the US, and/or not looking to use a degree in the US, I would not recommend a BLS. Even though "any" Bachelor's degree might be acceptable, a lot of countries don't even know how to deal with a Liberal Studies degree and it might not count as a "real" degree. So, it'd wind up as time/money wasted. But History would probably be easier than English. Students really like Dr. Z's History courses at UMPI.

[RachelB]

For someone not in the US, and/or not looking to use a degree in the US, I would not recommend a BLS. Even though "any" Bachelor's degree might be acceptable, a lot of countries don't even know how to deal with a Liberal Studies degree and it might not count as a "real" degree. So, it'd wind up as time/money wasted. But History would probably be easier than English. Students really like Dr. Z's History courses at UMPI.

Fair enough. It's good to know that people like the history courses there. If the psychology courses don't work out for me, I will likely switch to history.

[scorpioninlife]

Your Location: DC, USA

Your Age: 22

What kind of degree do you want?: Any. I'm really good at writing, I study a lot upon anthropology and sociology on my own time. However, I do plan on becoming an international teacher and it doesn't really matter what degree I get. For now, I would just like whatever degree could be the easiest to attain in less than a year. I'm struggling to figure out which college would fit best for me.

Current Regional Accredited Credits: I don't currently have any. I don't mind earning some for whatever degree I need. 

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: Same for the reply above.

Any certifications or military experience? None.

Budget: The most that I could spend is probably around 4-5k. I don't necessarily qualify for student loans because my parents make too much money and I won't be considered a dependent yet. This is also why I would like to finish it as soon as I can so that way I can save money, just in case I have no choice but to take out loans.
 
Commitments: I don't have any commitments. I gave up my job, currently staying with a family member so I could dedicate myself to school and further my career. 

Dedicated time to study: I don't have much commitments, so ideally my dedicated time to study would at least be five days a week, 7-8 hours a day. 

Timeline: I would like to finish within at least 6-9 months. But if that is too naive, feel free to let me know! 

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: I don't have any, but if there is any way for me to attain it (aside from FAFSA) feel free to let me know!

For added context: I don't mind taking exams or tests, I can be decent at memorization. I'm decent with history as well. I am *really* bad at math and I struggle a lot, but I excel wholeheartedly with English. I love essays and typing things up in my free time. 


(I apologize for not following the template the first time - I struggled to see it on my digital device.

[rachel83az]

4-5k isn't much. But you're in luck, with UMPI it's possible to get a degree for that little! This is especially good because you like essays/papers.

How about a BA History?

Start with https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quirements
Then follow the rest of the plan on https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

If you finish in 3 sessions (6 months), the cost will be $4500. Plus a couple of months of Sophia and maybe some Study.com and your total cost will be right around $5k. If you're able to finish in 2 sessions (possible, though fewer people do this with the History degree), it'd be $3000 + Sophia/Study.com

If you're going to do the BA History, you absolutely need to do both Spanish I & II at Sophia unless you're fluent in another language. If you can speak French or Japanese or whatever, taking an ACTFL exam will be the fastest/easiest way to earn the 6 foreign language credits they require.

[bjcheung77]

@scorpioninlife, Nice update, I've merged your thread with the original one. My original advice of the UMPI BLS still stands, you'll be able to get that for about $3K if you can finish UMPI in two sessions of $1500 each. There are some other fees such as the $ for a few months of Sophia.org, you can get 90 credits alone from Sophia.org by following the WIKI degree templates to the T. The remaining 30 credits need to come through UMPI and you can take the 3-4 classes that can transfer into the MAOL if you decide to get a Masters later. Get the Gen Eds and then work on the degree of choice: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI