seeking degree planning advice in Cybersecurity Bachelors for High School Student

[EducationSeeker]

Hello,

My son will soon be 16 and is finishing his Freshman year in High School this May and I am seeking Bachelor's degree planning for him. He believes he might want to major in Cybersecurity. He attends a local public STEM High School here in Ohio. We are looking at a Cybersecurity track program at his High School where he would get some college credits and also qualify for a basic certification in Comptia Networking A+, Comptia Network +, or IC3. Additionally, he would get some college Math (College Algebra or Statistics), Science, and other college general electives (College English 1 and 2). These college classes would be paid for and funded by the state of Ohio. I am trying to help him plan to get his general Associates in Science for dual enrollment by the time he graduates High School in 3 years. Additionally, I am looking at options to potentially for the Big 3, UMPI, or WGU to finish getting his Bachelor's in Cybersecurity or Information Systems fairly quickly and efficiently after High School. If he is fairly ambitious, we are exploring options where he might finish his High School and Bachelor's degree at the same time by doing credit by exam, community college/dual enrollment, and a Big 3 competency based program. 

I know WGU is a competency based program and seems to have a pretty good Cybersecurity BS program. I am also looking at UMPI. Please help.

Education Seeker

[rachel83az]

What kind of budget do you have? WGU for a student who has only just graduated HS may or may not be the best idea. Because WGU is competency-based, it becomes more expensive the less experienced you are. Even with full transfer credit, your kid could wind up taking 2, 3, or more terms to finish due to unfamiliarity with the subject material. If you have the budget for this, that's fine. But it can be a shock to some people who are hoping for a fast/cheap degree.

[dfrecore]

As an Ohio resident, I would look at going with Franklin University.  They will take all those credits your son earn in high school, plus they accept ACE (and I think NCCRS although you can't quote me on that).  They also have a 3+1 program with 237 CC's in 30 states - I'm guessing they have one with your son's local CC.

I'm guessing that with the 3 years it will take to earn the credit during high school, he won't be able to get his bachelor's then as well - but he'll certainly be further along than everyone else.  I think if you can have him earn his GE and Free Electives during high school, and take a few of the major courses at the CC, then he could probably finish in a year or so though.

Check to see if your school is here, and if so, get the transfer guide so you take all the right classes: https://www.franklin.edu/transferring-cr...er-schools

-------------------------------

UMPI is not an option, as he has to be 20.  WGU is not a great option for someone without much experience; CBE is about time and getting through courses as quickly as possible, while as a newbie, time is what you need to spend on courses where you're actually learning a lot of info for the first time.  We don't generally recommend them for young students at all.

[ss20ts]

UMPI doesn't accept students under 20. They also don't have a cybersecurity program. Have you looked into SNHU?

[MichaelGates]

The American Dream Academy
https://www.coursera.org/programs/americ...demy-jzjjt

He could take the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst course series for American Council on Education (ACE) credit as a start.

https://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pa...0d3a58e694

The course is free.

[natshar]

As an Ohio student I'd look into public Universities in Ohio. Ohio has a really good dual enrollment program and all public Universities in Ohio accept CLEP and I think (but don't quote me on it) they all accept DSST too. Many schools accept ACE and NCCRS too. And even if they don't accept those at the very least they are generous and accept dual enrollment credit. Many also only require 30 credits to be taken in residence.

As someone who has researched and has experience with schools in Ohio, I've seen this first hand. I had a friend who earned a whole bunch of dual credit in HS and then did their bachelors in only 3 semesters after high school due to the prior credit. I didn't grow up in Ohio and I don't think dual credit is big in the state I grew up. But the amount of students I met with 60,70, even 90 college credits earned in HS shocked me. From my research it appears Ohio has more generous transfer policies and dual enrollment policies than other states I've lived in and researched. Ohio has a really good dual enrollment program you are allowed to earn up to 120 credits for free in high school.

WGU is meant for adults with experience and UMPI yourpace you have to 20 to get in.

But I feel like going to a public university your kid would access to networking and real world opportunities they wouldn't get if they did an online school meant for working adults. Public universities have offices and departments dedicated to helping students find internships and some degrees even requiring internships as well.

If I were in your shoes, I'd try to help your son earn as much as he could using CLEP, DSST and dual enrollment credit at a local community college. Take CLEP in the subjects that align with the HS curriculum so for ex, if they are taking government in HS try to government CLEP. Another good CLEP would be the information systems CLEP. There is a Cybersecurity DSST as well. Pair CLEP/DSST with the dual enrollment and you get have an associates degree easy. If local CC is a CLEP/DSST test center then it even saves more time as well.

Then take that associates degree to a local public state university and graduate in 1-2 years. If you want to it ensure 1 year maybe even try for a 3+1 associates degree. But a regular associates and enough extra CLEP/DSST at University that accepts them to cover everything could work too.

[bjcheung77]

[Do Not Rush] In short, for your younger child, get started with AP, CLEP/MS and ACE courses then ladder up with Dual Enrollment when in Junior/Senior grades. Basically, start AP and CLEP/MS, if you want to take some ACE/NCCRS courses, that would work as well. I suggest starting off with courses that interest you, there is no need to rush, take the ACE/CLEPs slowly and surely until you are ready for the next one as there really isn't a set order to get these credits...

Further to this, I suggest when they're in grade 10 or later, take courses at the community college as dual enrollment, it can be online or if you prefer, on campus if it's near. The main goal is to educate your child and obtain college credit at the same time, you should be able to get enough credits for an Associates by the time they finish Highschool. If your child wants a real challenge, during the next few years, try to slowly get up to 90 credits with the ACE, AP & CLEP/MS, dual enrollment options towards a Bachelors, be it Business, Liberal Studies or whatever. Keep that door open to higher education, the credits will practically be "3" years of college education at a fraction of the price.

I would start with anything be it ACE/CLEP, etc, just to get started, essentially using these methods, you'll get the Freshman and Sophomore years incredibly cheap or very close to free, if you "resourcefully plan ahead" you can get Junior year the same way, it's usually the final year where you finish the Bachelors, is where it'll "cost" you as you really need to "finish" it at the school of choice. Try getting into dual enrollment for courses that aren't available by test out, something like a science with lab, a course that isn't alternative credit friendly (drama/theatre), or a language course where it provides more interaction with students/teacher.

For your older son, it's pretty much the same steps "sans (without) AP & Dual Enrollment". So, you may want to get him to evaluate his options at the current university - Youngstown State, see if they take ACE/CLEP for gen eds/electives, I would not suggest the Big 3 or CBE such as TESU/UMPI unless they're your last resort OR unless you're in a rush to finish the degrees in a year. Taking your time and working along with your children towards the same classes/exams would be an amazing opportunity to get credit together! https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...or-Finance

[EducationSeeker]

As an Ohio resident, I would look at going with Franklin University.  They will take all those credits your son earn in high school, plus they accept ACE (and I think NCCRS although you can't quote me on that).  They also have a 3+1 program with 237 CC's in 30 states - I'm guessing they have one with your son's local CC.

I'm guessing that with the 3 years it will take to earn the credit during high school, he won't be able to get his bachelor's then as well - but he'll certainly be further along than everyone else.  I think if you can have him earn his GE and Free Electives during high school, and take a few of the major courses at the CC, then he could probably finish in a year or so though.

Check to see if your school is here, and if so, get the transfer guide so you take all the right classes: https://www.franklin.edu/transferring-cr...er-schools

-------------------------------

UMPI is not an option, as he has to be 20.  WGU is not a great option for someone without much experience; CBE is about time and getting through courses as quickly as possible, while as a newbie, time is what you need to spend on courses where you're actually learning a lot of info for the first time.  We don't generally recommend them for young students at all.

@dfrecore This is good advice. I think that getting a combination of RA CC credits and ACE credits a cheap source like Sophia/Study.com is a good idea. I noted that a local CC, Eastern Gateway Community College will either provide free College Credit Plus credits while a student is in High School or a free Associates degree to recent graduates. Eastern Gateway also have a 3 + 1 program where the student can pay CC level tuition or transfer in about 90 credits which is pretty generous. The online Cybersecurity Bachelor's is about $400 a credit hour so about $12k for the cost of the degree. I am also going to look at public universities as well like Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, Wright State, and Kent State. All of these programs at about 1 year of tuition is like roughly $9-12k not including any financial aid he might get.

 SNHU also appears to be pretty affordable at about $320 per credit hour and you can transfer up to 90 credits into the program

[origamishuttle]

SNHU also appears to be pretty affordable at about $320 per credit hour and you can transfer up to 90 credits into the program

If you're considering SNHU, then maybe take another look at WGU. Satisfactory academic progress at WGU is 12 CUs (equivalent to 12 semester credit hours) and tuition is $3,950 ($330 per CU for 12 CUs), while 12 credit hours at SNHU is $3,840. The difference is that WGU allows a full six months to complete the 12 CUs, so it's much easier to meet that minimum, or even fit in extra courses during that time. If you fit in even one extra course, the cost per CU drops to $263 or less. WGU also allows 90 CUs to be transferred, and there is a lot of information about the various courses on Reddit, Quizlet, and Udemy, so there is a good amount of studying that can done before enrolling at WGU.

[EducationSeeker]

SNHU also appears to be pretty affordable at about $320 per credit hour and you can transfer up to 90 credits into the program

If you're considering SNHU, then maybe take another look at WGU. Satisfactory academic progress at WGU is 12 CUs (equivalent to 12 semester credit hours) and tuition is $3,950 ($330 per CU for 12 CUs), while 12 credit hours at SNHU is $3,840. The difference is that WGU allows a full six months to complete the 12 CUs, so it's much easier to meet that minimum, or even fit in extra courses during that time. If you fit in even one extra course, the cost per CU drops to $263 or less. WGU also allows 90 CUs to be transferred, and there is a lot of information about the various courses on Reddit, Quizlet, and Udemy, so there is a good amount of studying that can done before enrolling at WGU.

Hi @OrigamiShuttle,

Is the minimum age limit to apply to SNHU and WGU 18 or can a minor (i.e. my son is 16) enroll there? Also, from a cost standpoint, it sounds like the least expensive path for a Bachelor's degree without a scholarship in Cybersecurity would be WGU @ $3950 plus the cost of taking as close to 90 credit hours from somewhere like Study.com, Modern States, CLEP (alternative ACE credit providers) so I would likely looking at a minimum cost for his Bachelors degree of around $4,500-5000?

Thanks,

Education Seeker