BALS degree at TSU

[LokiBear]

I am working toward the end of BALS degree at TSU. The only two courses left for me is the capstone project and SOS-110 cornerstone. I am trying to register SOS-110 and the registration fee is $1500. I lost my job during the pandemic and was wondering is there any way to reduce the price?


Thank you

[rachel83az]

I have super bad news for you: unless you qualify for financial aid (FAFSA) or a scholarship of some kind, the capstone and cornerstone are both about $1500. And, if you don't have 16 residency credits, you need to pay a $3k+ residency waiver.

If you're American, I would fill out the FAFSA to see how much you might get. Depending on what aid you qualify for, it might be cheaper to do an additional 16+ credits at TESU than to pay for everything out of pocket.

[bjcheung77]

Hey, I got your PM - I only have one question for you, do you have tuition assistance/reimbursement? If not, you can use Pell Grant since you haven't got a Bachelors yet. I would recommend doing two courses for two terms to take advantage of this option. Now, the residency waiver is something you can not get out of, you have to pay it when you graduate.

For example, if you paid for graduation and the residency waiver, but didn't finish all the requirements within that time frame of 12-15 months, you will need to pay the residency waiver fee again. It is always best to pay for things when it's not needed, and not prepay that amount. Unless of course, you're prepaying for something like a prepaid cell phone service.

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Follow up question, are you currently enrolled at TESU or have you become inactive? How many credits total have you taken at TESU? If you are closer to completing the 16 residency credits, then take easy courses from them with the Pell Grant, even if you don't need those courses to graduate - this saves you the residency waiver fee. Taking up to 16 credits with Pell Grant will be cheaper than paying the residency waiver fee - see my post: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ng-Courses