A bachelors plan for my son

[rachel83az]

His Spanish is weak so guessing he'd be more inclined to do an asynchronous scenario (no other students that hear him). 

Have him try SDC's Spanish 101/102, then. You do need to make a couple of recordings of you speaking Spanish, but as long as you do well on the exam(s) then you don't have to do that well on the assignment(s).

May I ask what UMPI has over say TESU or COSC?
Note: He's a C+ / B- student (though I saw better grades in early high school)

COSC: You can't really get a degree from COSC these days without spending a bunch of money for COSC courses. See https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...DC-credits Without UExcel exams, most SDC, and places like Coopersmith, there is no way to get 30 UL credits via alternate means for COSC.

TESU: TESU is at least $7k for a degree. If your son doesn't like writing essays, TESU can be a good option. But UMPI can be had for as cheap as $1400/$2800, if one is good at writing. TESU also has less structure and more complexity than a UMPI degree. With TESU, you have to get credits from multiple different sources and keep track of a lot of stuff yourself. With UMPI, you get some credits from Sophia, some credits from SDC, and then you finish up with UMPI. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

Since you mentioned your son dislikes complexity, I think UMPI would be a way better fit unless he's not good with writing papers.

[jb111]

Since you mentioned your son dislikes complexity, I think UMPI would be a way better unless he's not good with writing papers.
That may be perfect.  He will need to brush up on writing.  Any suggestions on keeping this skill warm as he plows through SDC?

[LevelUP]

Dedication level (while working part-time) 10-15 hours a week.
We have at least 5K to throw at the degree.

UMPI does sound like a good choice, given those factors.

"party school" is nothing but a joke.
ASU graduates are employed by top companies like Intel, Google, Yahoo, etc.

Obviously ASU degree worth much more than UMPI degree.
And it's more well-known among top employers.

I see your point that ASU is probably one of the best brand-name state schools you can do fully online that is available to everyone. ASU would require a lot more than 10-15 hours a week and a lot more than 5k, so it wouldn't be a good choice for the OP, however. 

We had someone on this forum that graduated from TESU get accepted into multiple T14 law schools,  Northwestern University and Cornell University, with a nearly full-ride scholarship. 

WGU grads are working at some top companies, such as Microsoft.

If these colleges we recommend were so-called "diploma mill" type degrees, then people wouldn't be able to move on to competitive master's programs and land high-paying jobs.

So is it worth it to spend X amount of dollars and X amount of time at X school to land X job? That is a mathematical formula to figure out and an endless debate to have. 

The one thing I'll say is that the more time and money you put into a degree, the more of a gamble you are taking that those things will work out in your favor.

[carrythenothing]

Since you mentioned your son dislikes complexity, I think UMPI would be a way better unless he's not good with writing papers.
That may be perfect.  He will need to brush up on writing.  Any suggestions on keeping this skill warm as he plows through SDC?

Both Arizona State University Universal Learner and Olivet Nazarene University are regionally accredited and don't require payment until the end if you want the class(es) transcripted. ASU UL does now charge a $25/course enrollment fee.

[rachel83az]

That may be perfect.  He will need to brush up on writing.  Any suggestions on keeping this skill warm as he plows through SDC?

Some SDC courses do require papers. Same with Sophia. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List shows how many Touchstones (usually papers) a given course has. Compare with https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents to make sure he gets his GEC (gen ed) requirements filled. 

Depending on which history courses he's taken already (I'm assuming US/American History 1 & 2?), he may want to take the weirdly named U.S. History: Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future. That's a LL history elective at UMPI, but it has 3 papers and can help prepare him for more writing at UMPI.

If he just wants a BALS, Sophia Spanish I will do. If he would be more interested in a History degree (which is what I'd recommend), Spanish 101 & 102 from Study.com. 

Biology 101L from Study.com is currently the easiest & cheapest way to meet the lab science requirement. 

As motivation, he may also want to get the FREE Pierpont degree: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC He will pick up the requirements for this on the way to UMPI, so no extra complexity beyond enrollment at Pierpont. 

Pierpont requires:

• 3 credits in English/Communications (completed)
  
• 3 credits in social sciences (completed w/ history classes)
  
• 6 credits in math/science (College Algebra & Environmental Science from Sophia recommended)
  
• 3 credits in computer literacy (Introduction to Information Technology from Sophia)
  
• 60 total credits. (after completing the 3 above classes, 27-30 additional credits required)
  

Depending on how fast he works, given how much free time he has, he should meet the credit requirements for the Pierpont degree in 1-2 months, with all requirements for UMPI another month or two later.

[LevelUP]

I appreciate the contrasting ideas (helps us hone in). 
For him, university name does not matter (though Excelsior sounds odd).  This is a kid that has no idea what he wants to do (and I keep telling him that's fine for now).  In my eyes, the degree grows his brain and exposes him to different interests.  His Spanish is weak so guessing he'd be more inclined to do an asynchronous scenario (no other students that hear him).  At this point, I'm just happy he's willing to continue.  Heck, trade school, get a job where he can learn something - as long as he is moving forward.
May I ask what UMPI has over say TESU or COSC?
Note: He's a C+ / B- student (though I saw better grades in early high school)

UMPI is cheaper than TESU, and TESU now requires 30 RA credits which your son does have. We have had lots of good feedback with UMPI from students. UMPI only gives B's and A's, so it is easy to graduate with honors. (3.5 GPA+)

I suggest making sure your son graduates with a B average or higher, or else he make be discriminated against in the future. 

How to get straight A's in college

https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...t=straight

COSC requires 30 RA now as well. Also, COSC stopped accepting all but 50 SDC credits and almost none of them are UL, so it makes it a lot harder to get a degree there. In addition, all transfer credit must be a B grade or higher.

[bjcheung77]

@jb111, Wow, so much info already.  From reading the info posted, your son should go Associates> ladder up to Bachelors. In regards to institution, UMPI (90) > Excelsior (113) > TESU (114) - you can almost transfer in the same number of credits to all three, UMPI doesn't allow NCCRS credits but Excelsior/TESU does.  It really depends on the student and some variables...

I would recommend completing everything for the Pierpont BOG AAS with an emphasis of your sons choice from the subjects he is interested in, using mainly credits from the local community college, CLEP/ModernStates, Sophia.org and then ladder up to UMPI BLS with a different minor or two using Study.com and UMPI residency credits.  He'll have an emphasis from BOG AAS and minors within the BLS.

Note: You may want to provide us the name of your sons college, they may accept CLEP credits and require only 15 residency credits.  If that is the case, he already has over that number and should be able to CLEP some of the required credits to graduate.  If not, he can check for challenge exams within the institution.  I recommend a local college vs going to Pierpont BOG AAS route first...

[Vle045]

i am not sure UMPI would be a good fit if he only has about 10 hours a week. Unless he can pound out papers super fast and is self-motivated and self-directed.

[ss20ts]

UMPI is a no name school. Why do you recommend that? unless you're on an extreme budget, I wouldn't recommend UMPI or Excelsior.

I recommend:

1. Take max 60 CLEP exam credits
2. Take 30 online community college credits
3. Transfer the 90 credits to ASU, finish the degree in 1 year.

It costs 1 year worth of tuition fee plus exam fees plus online community college tuition.
But he can be a graduate at ASU. That'll be much more helpful for job search.

UMPI is a state university. Most schools aren't well known outside of their region. A bachelor's degree today for the most part is a checkbox on an application. Rarely does it matter where your degree is from. It matters that you have one. 

ASU isn't the greatest school on earth either. Also out of state tuition is not cheap at ASU. 

Why do you think a 21 year old has a small fortune to spend on a degree?

[dfrecore]

UMPI is a no name school. Why do you recommend that? unless you're on an extreme budget, I wouldn't recommend UMPI or Excelsior.

I recommend:

1. Take max 60 CLEP exam credits
2. Take 30 online community college credits
3. Transfer the 90 credits to ASU, finish the degree in 1 year.

It costs 1 year worth of tuition fee plus exam fees plus online community college tuition.
But he can be a graduate at ASU. That'll be much more helpful for job search.

ASU is fine, but nothing special.

You're assuming that you can transfer in 90cr between CC & CLEP, but that's not necessarily true.  I just looked at the Business degree - there are 20 UL courses required.  That means 60cr that you can't transfer in from CLEP or a CC.  That's at least 2 years at ASU - so minimum of $30k if you're out-of-state.  Not at all worth it.

Go try it with a few other degrees and see what it says, I'll be it's the same or worse.