Pierpont BOG AAS Questions

[dfrecore]

My cousin wants to go to mortuary school, but in our state it's recommended to get 60 credits then attend. It seems like the AAS at Pierpont might be the easiest/fastest/cheapest option, but she only has 6 college credits from a community college. She signed up for two courses at a community college in the summer which would get her to the 12 RA credits. My main question is: does anyone have a degree plan for this degree fleshed out?
We were looking primarily at straighterline since she can work on multiple courses at once and there's no/minimal waiting period before moving on to the next class (unlike sophia). Most schools have a very limited window that she can apply and we're hoping she can finish in time for application in January. 

Everyone here helped me immensely going from nothing to a bachelor's so I'm not unfamiliar with the process, but I'm having trouble figuring out pierpont.

Believe it or not, I've actually degree planned for someone for this!! Not even kidding.

So my question is, which mortuary school is she planning on going to? And what state?  Because in many states, it's not just going to school, there are additional requirements including a national exam.

Wow! That's awesome! It's such a niche program. She's debating between three, but she is located in NJ.

AAMI in NYC - top pick since it's close for the few days of in person classes but offered predominantly online.
Arapahoe community college - predominantly online as well, but far for practicals.
Mercer Community College - last resort because it's not online. 

AAMI gives advanced standing status to people who hold an associate's degree - which is why we were looking at this degree. If I'm understanding the requirements in NJ they require 2 years of college and then mortuary school.

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So for my student, we looked at online options, I only wanted RA schools (rules out AAMI) and looked for the lowest possible prices.  Turned out to be DMACC (Des Moines Area CC) at $200/cr.  I planned it out, with him taking all of his GE courses locally (cheaply) first, including the courses he already had.  Doing it this way saves him thousands (20cr for roughly $75/cr for GE's and then 43cr at DMACC at $200/cr).  He'll have to go to IA twice during the program for clinicals, but he'll actually be able to afford it because the per credit price is low.

The other nice thing is that they have a variety of options: FT w/GE completed = 4 semesters, FT w/no GE = 6 semesters, Accelerated w/GE completed = 3 semesters, PT if GE is completed = 6 semesters.  He'll do the last since he's going to be working FT while going through the program.

The only thing I don't know is how it works if your state is not affiliated with the school (for instance, CA doesn't require that a school be affiliated, so it doesn't matter) - no idea on how it works with NJ.

Anyway, hope that gives you a good start on research.  I also looked at NETXCC (TX) and Jefferson State CC (AL).  And I went off of a list from the national exam to find schools and then ruled out NA (they were all WAY too expensive), then just started looking at each school's prices (I checked in-state first).  The list tells you who has online programs as well.

That's actually another school we were looking at since it was listed on the NJ site for accredited schools - just was a bit far for clinicals - but you're definitely right about the price. Do you by chance have the plan you used still? She's starting pretty much from scratch and currently only has 6 credits. 3 in american sign language and 3 in an intro to psych course.

She has a friend in CO she could stay with which initially made it more attractive, but might make more sense to go IA since the cost per credit is lower.

I think for us it turned out to be cheaper to go spend 2 separate weeks in Des Moines than to do a more expensive program.

Tentative Schedule
Each Funeral Home based student will be expected to attend the following times in person:

• MOR 334 - Funeral Home Operations II - generally in March or April - 4 or 5 days
  During these days, students will complete mock funeral arrangements; mock funerals and visitations; and simulate religious funerals and visitations.
  
• MOR 940 - Funeral Service Capstone - generally 4 or 5 days
  During these days, students will complete the embalming and restorative art requirements for the program.
  

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Here's what you need to bring in for GE to make life a little easier (it will free up time during the semester, plus lower the cost if you can get things for less than $200/cr)

GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES
DONE - B. SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE or HUMANITIES: Psychology
DONE - DISTRIBUTED (ADD'L A, B, OR C OR ORAL COMM OR INTERPERSONAL COMM): ASL

A. COMMUNICATIONS: English Comp I is easiest-to-find option
C. MATHEMATICS OR SCIENCES - basically any college level math or science
DISTRIBUTED (ADD'L A, B, OR C OR ORAL COMM OR INTERPERSONAL COMM)
DISTRIBUTED (ADD'L A, B, OR C OR ORAL COMM OR INTERPERSONAL COMM)
Human A&P w/Lab (4)

I would take ONU courses for $150 each (ENG 109 - College Writing I; MTH 117 - Finite Math or BIO 201 - General Biological Science; and then anything else they offer for the additional "distributed" options; probably cheapest to do Human A&P there if you don't have cheaper options).