Where to Finish my Degree?

[Stoic]

I guess I just have to convince my parents and some people in my life. They don't think an online degree is a "real degree."  Everyone in my life is suggesting the in-person option. I don't have a career or a set plan or anything so an in person college could give me direction.

With either option, I'll be working probably part-time. With TESU, if I can find a good full-time job I'll do that. But with the State U, I probably just work part-time. I have no interest in getting a masters degree any time soon. I don't think earning a masters particularly an MBA is a good idea unless you have the work experience to back it up and I don't.

On the plus side, the State U was really impressed with knowledge and degree planning skills and research. I knew more about the Universities CLEP policies than the people working there. If I was to get a masters in anything it would be counseling related so I could be a counselor/advisor. Over the years, I've noticed 99% of the time, I know more about the college policies than the people in charge. Counselor at my old CC laughed my degree plan and I told me my plan wouldn't work and suggested different courses. But I showed her when I graduated with two associates and two certificates in two years, all debt free, with all planning done by me.

I know I could have had my bachelors degree a while ago. When I got serious about finishing my degree in September. At TESU I was just 5 UL courses, capstone, and one CLEP away from a BALS. Could have graduated in March 2019 easy, but I figured I could do better than a generic BALS. It ended up working out so I earned a third associate and certificate in CIS at a different CC in a single semester's time and my total cost for everything was about $200. Once you get your first bachelors you don't get financial aid anymore, so I'm trying to make my bachelors a good one. I'm trying to see if I can major in Communications at State U but I'm not sure if that is possible in one year.

"I don't have a career or a set plan or anything so an in person college could give me direction."

I dealt with this dilemma in the past.  You may think you will get more direction, but even at the top programs of the USA you're just checking in a box and filling out requirements from a sheet of courses. You also hardly learn anything, and forget everything you learn in no time. Even at Harvard you're just cramming information to pass a quiz or write some paper and smart people in the real world know this. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with doing a state university, it's a good approach if you find a program that allows you to transfer in all your credits but the last 30 or so and you can complete that with the Pell. That's the approach I would personally take.  But also there's nothing wrong with doing a big 3 degree because ultimately if you're above 25 years old is all the same unless the degree is specialized in engineering or computer science, etc from a university with a good name. A big 3 degree in anything could get you a job where you get a salary raise and improve your quality of life in the very near future, also it will make you look more credible. I mean it's something to throw on your LinkedIn and resume and move forward and start working, plus whatever degrees or certificates you put on top of it pay for themselves with your higher earnings. Employers don't care about the name of where you went to college to a certain extent, it's software that's judging wether you checked in that bachelors box or not, the rest is how you sell yourself.

Here's some quick advice: Apply to Fort Hays State University General Studies bachelors with a concentration in business and transfer all your credit (they take clep, ace, etc) into their program which can be completed online. You can use the Pell and will probably get a bit of a kickback since the tuition is so cheap. This way you get a state u name in your resume and it's not going to take you forever to finish.