Affordable Master's Degrees

[dartheminence]

I am pleased to say, thanks to the advice I've recieved from the members on the forum, and to InstantCert and the services they provide, I have completed all my requirements for an AS from Charter Oak State College. By May, through various ECE and DSST/CLEP credits I intend to also complete a BS in General Studies with a concentration in Psychology. My question has two parts:

First and foremost, I am scheduled to take the GRE subject test in Psychology on October 13th. I would like to request your ideas on the best study supplies and definite psychologists that would be known for that test. I do need to score in at least the 40th percentile to achieve 18 credits toward my undergraduate degree.

I also think it's time I start considering Masters degrees. Cost is a huge factor for me. I pay for everything with cash. I would like to continue to do so. Any information on reasonably priced, regionally accredited institutions, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[bird]

If you are looking for an online Master's Degree, look at GetEducated.com.

I received my Masters in IT from Nova Southeastern University.

I am working on an MBA from Eastern New Mexico State University which is very affordable.

GetEducated.com will help you find that online affordable Master's program.

[cookderosa]

I am pleased to say, thanks to the advice I've recieved from the members on the forum, and to InstantCert and the services they provide, I have completed all my requirements for an AS from Charter Oak State College. By May, through various ECE and DSST/CLEP credits I intend to also complete a BS in General Studies with a concentration in Psychology. My question has two parts:

First and foremost, I am scheduled to take the GRE subject test in Psychology on October 13th. I would like to request your ideas on the best study supplies and definite psychologists that would be known for that test. I do need to score in at least the 40th percentile to achieve 18 credits toward my undergraduate degree.

I also think it's time I start considering Masters degrees. Cost is a huge factor for me. I pay for everything with cash. I would like to continue to do so. Any information on reasonably priced, regionally accredited institutions, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Congrats on your progress so far!!
Masters degrees are certainly more expensive and have less work-arounds than undergraduate degrees. So, I've always justified paying "rack rate"by the huge amounts of money off set by being smart about my undergrad degree (under 10k).

You're going to find that some of the NA schools can be cheaper than RA schools, but that's not a hard and fast rule, there are tons of exceptions. It's my opinion, that a NA degree at the graduate level is probably ok unless you're going into a field that wants something else. As an example, in my case, I'm planning on teaching culinary arts at an RA university (I currently teach at a RA community college), so I'm seeking an RA graduate degree BUT the field I'm in would certainly have allowed me to get an NA degree instead of an RA one- my field doesn't care. If you plan to practice in any related psych/counseling type setting, you might want to narrow your choices to RA schools. The NA/RA decision is yours to make, just know that each works depending on your needs. Just a thought.

As for generic RA degrees, I love Western New Mexico University. I'm pretty sure it's still the cheapest RA university degree with distance offerings/no residency in the country. You essentially pick 2 or 3 concentrations from the list of offered options, for a total of 36 credit (12 classes). At $190/credit (6 max per term or the price jumps) you end up paying UNDER $7000 for the whole degree (2 years).

There are a handful of other schools, I'm sure people can chime in, but I guess the question is whether or not you need a degree to check the box, or a degree for entry into a career. I think the WNMU degree wouldn't be a great career prep degree, but if you're an outside the box thinker, you might be able to make it work.

Online Programs

[sanantone]

Chadron State College is about $262 per credit hour. Fort Hays State College is $241 per credit hour with the exception of the MBA program. Peru State College is $262 per credit hour. As stated above, Geteducated.com is a great website for comparing costs. Some of their data is out of date, but it gives you a general idea. Wayne State College has a super cheap MBA at $7500 regardless of residency.

It's great that the New Mexico colleges offer this deal to non-residents, but it would kill me to go at such a slow pace just to save money. With my short attention span, I would probably drop out after the first year. If you're capable at working at a fast pace, a masters a WGU could be finished in a year and under $7,000 with no book purchases required. The only downside is that you won't have a GPA, which could make it difficult for entrance into PhD programs if that's in your plan.

[IrishJohn]

Jennifer, is WNMU a state school or private? Thanks.

[irnbru]

...

First and foremost, I am scheduled to take the GRE subject test in Psychology on October 13th. I would like to request your ideas on the best study supplies and definite psychologists that would be known for that test. I do need to score in at least the 40th percentile to achieve 18 credits toward my undergraduate degree.

I also think it's time I start considering Masters degrees. Cost is a huge factor for me. I pay for everything with cash. I would like to continue to do so. Any information on reasonably priced, regionally accredited institutions, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Greetings, Darth

The members areas has a good baseline of information on the GRE Psychology test, mostly posted by Alissa. This is where I started with most of my study. Please have a look at the 'Progress history' link in my signature for information covering how I approached the Subject GRE.

Are you sitting the test with a view to using it to leverage access to a social science masters or solely for credit at Charter Oak? Why you are sitting it will affect how aggressively you need to study. Because I was sitting it for credit at EC, I needed to score above the 80th percentile for maximum credit, while Charter Oak require a rank above the 40th percentile, albeit for less credit? Study for the Subject GRE pretty much dominated my life during the run up to it.

Reference masters programmes as a self-funding student: I'm in the same boat so appreciate how costs genuinely factor into decision-making. Looking at some of the pricing for US graduate programmes, I was always comforted that UK postgraduate distance-learning and residential programmes were, in comparison, affordable. You might want to look at some of these options but it really depends what you want to *do* with your qualification and what specific prerequisites anything afterwards requires.

Please have a look at Home page: Graduate jobs, Postgrad study, Work Experience, Graduate Career Information | Prospects.ac.uk

It's the official UK postgraduate search engine (although doesn't cover all available courses, quite). Likewise, have a look at Home | University of London International Programmes which is the distance-learning portal for some of the best colleges in the world.

Identify what you want to study at masters level and why. Then start examining departments, access, affordability, structure and syllabus; e.g. I chose Staffordshire as I wanted to broaden my studies, it has a leading International Relations department (and excellent standing in psychology) coupled with an outlook on distance-learning that is pretty advanced and in line with my expectations from experience with Excelsior College.

Good luck!

[rebel100]

Jennifer, is WNMU a state school or private? Thanks.

WNMU is a State school...founded in 1893. It is an awesome choice, cheap if you do it part time. I wasn't unhappy there, but did find the 16 week semesters sort of excruciating. WNMU has a sister school over on the East side ENMU that runs a similar discount for part timers but has an MBA available.

My vote for cheap and fast is WGU...self paced and the tuition per semester is only $3500...and that is good for 6 months, plus all study material is online and free of any additional cost...it's a great deal!

[IrishJohn]

Interesting, thanks! I'm considering WNMU for the dual concentrations, but will keep ENMU in mind just in case I decide to go the business route. I'm planning on starting sometime late next year after I wrap up the BSBA I'm currently finishing.

[rebel100]

Interesting, thanks! I'm considering WNMU for the dual concentrations, but will keep ENMU in mind just in case I decide to go the business route. I'm planning on starting sometime late next year after I wrap up the BSBA I'm currently finishing.

You can actually take 18 credits in one, 18 in the next. Or, 18/9/9 for three areas.

[cookderosa]

My vote for cheap and fast is WGU...self paced and the tuition per semester is only $3500...and that is good for 6 months, plus all study material is online and free of any additional cost...it's a great deal!

Hummmm.....I knew it was cheap, I knew it was self-paced, I did NOT know that it was this format. I'm going to look into this. Thanks!
EDIT: checked it out, it's perfect for teachers, business, nurses, or IT people.