Value of an Associate degree.

[Lacedonia4]

Thanks, 
as someone that only after so many years was able to go back to take college courses, I guess there is always that little fear that life gets in the way and one is not able to complete the goal. I have experienced it and now with the pandemic the same fears return. And I don't get why the associate is not viewed as a stand alone goal much anymore. 

And yes in a sense it would be nice to have as a degree to start with. And then work towards the BA. I understand it doesn't make sense financially, but sometimes we should be happy with the small achievement too.

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But I guess if one graduates with associate, they cannot ask you to get SOS 110 for the BA down the road?

An associate's degree isn't a goal anymore because a.) it usually does nothing to improve career prospects except in very specific cases b.) it is very expensive for the non-degree that you get. It's, essentially, a glorified HS diploma that you're paying thousands of dollars for. If you just want the feeling of accomplishment, you could go for a Pierpont BOG AAS. It still costs money (you need at least 12 RA credits) but you get something to hang on your wall to show how far you've come.

I do realize that. And it wouldn't be to hang on the wall or for work. It is a more personal reason as being the only second of my siblings to get a degree, and I guess the achievement has different meaning whether someone is from a foreign country or how much importance a degree was growing up. I'll keep strive for a BA as long as TESU accepts alternative credit and doesn't remove the residency fee (a topic in another thread).