Degree for free

[nnahh]

You can take as many CLEP & DSST exams as you want for free. But they will only pay for your first try, so if you fail any, the next time is on your own dime.

For a TESU BSBA in General Management, those 2 exams would cover the entire Gen Ed, Free Electives, 8 out of 12 core courses, and 4 out of 6 AOS. If you took 7 TECEP exams at $117 each (in place of some of the CLEP/DSST exams), it would satisfy residency requirements. Then, your final course, the TESU online capstone would be $750 (active duty military tuition), so your cost for the entire degree would be $1,569.

You could save your GI Bill for later, or an MBA or something else. Or give it to your kids?

It would actually be possible for someone active duty to get a "free" degree with your plan; it'll just take a little longer than paying on your own.

Tuition Assistance can be used for up to 16hrs per fiscal for Army (other branches can use TA for TECEPs too according to TESU). TA covers the entire cost of the TECEP or course since there are no fees. Plus, if you qualify for financial aid, you could end up getting money back when you take the online Capstone.

I guess it'll take at least 3 semesters to do for free since you have to wait until the following October for TA to kick back in once you max out the 16 paid hours. Of course you'll be responsible for graduation fees, but you've still come pretty close to "free".