Degree Plan TESU BSBA in Accounting

[thecontrarian]

I find it difficult to believe that a 98th percentile SAT score couldn't be turned into a really nice scholarship at a good bricks-and-mortar college somewhere.  You made a really big u-turn from wanting to go to an Ivy League school to TESU.  I know that things are crazy right now, but I would think this choice through for a bit.  There really is still value in a bricks-and-mortar school, especially for a young person with high test scores, etc.

I agree. Are you really saying you didn't get ANY scholarships to any schools? I find that hard to believe. Where I live, most schools give automatic merit-based scholarships to anyone who gets in but it depends on your grades. I was under the assumption this is common practice in most public schools across the country. 

Many state's schools have something called "Presidential Scholarship" (or they might be called something different depending on the school) which is basically a full ride. The key is if you apply to these are lower-tier schools than you would normally go to you could get it. Check around for these.

My thoughts (and feel free to disagree):

At your age, I am not sure what the value of getting a whole degree in one year is. Why not use CLEP/DSST and maybe cheap CC/ASU EA to speed things up and then go to a state school? Then go to a decent state school you could either graduate a year or two early or double major. Get some experience first, meet people, gain connections, etc.

In my opinion, getting a bachelor's from a state school in 2-3 years with experiences, connections, networking and social opportunities etc. will probably get your further in the long run than a fast churned online degree with no experience or connections at your age.

@natshar and @eriehiker

I did get a merit award at one of my in-state schools, but it was really minor. Even tried bouncing that off the other school, but they weren't interested.  The social opportunities and connections thing is definitely an issue that I'm going to miss out on. Especially in my state (NJ) which is really closely connected to NYC with internships etc. But at the end of the day, I just don't want to leave college with $150K in loans. It might work out, but it might not either and then I'd be saddled with the debt. I've looked at it in terms of opportunity cost and sort of made a decision based on that.