In your opinion, who should not earn a degree from the Big Three?

[cookderosa]

What are the main cases of students who probably shouldn't earn their degree from Excelsior, Thomas Edison, or Charter Oak?

gosh yes!
Online degrees are fine for many fields, but of course you need hands on for many too, so that is the first criteria I'd use.

Second, if you have ZERO cash and are using financial aid, the Big 3 are a disaster. You'll be in huge student loan debt using financial aid (even with grants) taking 12-15 credits per semester. Additionally, you won't be able to qualify for freshman scholarships or merit scholarships - money that teens typically can tap into.

Third, the classes you need are not available for every major at all 3 schools- so you can't "just sign up" for any major. Transfer credit is REQUIRED for many degrees they offer - or I should say are "approved to award" but do not offer.

Fourth, you don't have the brain space to organize and plan the degree yourself. Since the real value of these degrees is when you DIY them, if you're not the DIY type, this is going to be awfully stressful.

To flip the script, I think there are 3 perfect reasons to earn a degree from one of the big 3.

First, you want a degree in business or liberal arts - nice and straightforward at all three schools.

Second, you plan to check the box and move onto bigger and better things- whether it's opening a business, mission work, military, already in a career, or a million other things, these degrees will do that for you.

Third, you only have or want to spend only about $10k for a degree. You can take a loan for your Cornerstone / Capstone if you need to, but you'll want to have some cash to get started because earning credits this way will cost cash.

Another perk, though not a reason, is that you don't need to take the SAT or ACT - the colleges are open enrollment, so 100% admission. Just sign up!