"Big 3" degree value?

[MA2]

I hear a lot of people talking about getting degrees from the "Big 3" especially by testing out of a lot of the credits.

Excelsior, Thomas Edison State College and Charter Oak...

How are these degrees regarded by employers when compared to a "regular" 4 year degree?

I know a lot of people on here go for these "big 3" online schools so you will probably be biased, but I was just wondering and I can't really find any reliable information online.

So if I got a degree from a traditional public college, like Virginia State University for example, in accounting, how would this compare to an accounting degree from one of the "big 3?"

Thanks

MA2/USN

[Chebasaz]

I can't speak for all employers obviously, but when I review candidates, as long as the school is accredited by the DoE, it's valid. After that, it's down to real world experience and the ability to mesh well with the team.

From the four or five unsolicited job offers I get every month with my Excelsior education listed on my resume, other employers feel the same.

Edit: Two glasses of Bordeaux = messed up posts. The DoE doesn't accredit, but they recognize the accrediting agencies. You guys know what I meant!

[burbuja0512]

If you do a search, you'll see a ton of posts about this same question. I think Shotojuku has the best reply with a rating system for colleges... hopefully he'll pop up here.

IMHO, getting a good job depends on a number of factors. What I've seen in my career is that experience is more important than the degree, but a degree is necessary to get past the recruiter. Many HR people simply won't pass your resume on to the hiring manager if you don't meet the requirements. If a degree is listed as a requirement, you don't get an interview. Period.

However, you also won't get an interview with an awesome education if you don't have experience. There may be an exception if you have Ivy league education.. to be honest I haven't ever interviewed anyone that fits this description. I'm in B2B software sales and my guess is Harvard folks don't want to be in sales lol.

A big 3 education will check off the box same as any other degree. Yes, it's better if you have a degree from a famous university, but big 3 degrees are about the same as most others. Well... except you're not 100k+ in debt.

We shouldn't think less (or more) of our degrees because we're completing them mostly or partly through testing. CLEP/DSST are accepted by over 1200 colleges in the country. Employers don't know or care about this. They just want a way to weed out candidates when they've got 500+ resumes that come in per posted job. Trust me.. I've seen a million resumes and never once known which classes or tests that an applicant took in college.

[cookderosa]

I hear a lot of people talking about getting degrees from the "Big 3" especially by testing out of a lot of the credits.

Excelsior, Thomas Edison State College and Charter Oak...

How are these degrees regarded by employers when compared to a "regular" 4 year degree?

I know a lot of people on here go for these "big 3" online schools so you will probably be biased, but I was just wondering and I can't really find any reliable information online.

So if I got a degree from a traditional public college, like Virginia State University for example, in accounting, how would this compare to an accounting degree from one of the "big 3?"

Thanks

MA2/USN

you can't find any information because "we" call them the "big 3" they don't know they are part of that club They are all regular regionally accredited colleges, 2 are state colleges. Nuf said.

[MA2]

Hmmm, interesting. I'm going to look in to it further... would be nice to take some traditional classes though so I can get the full GI bill living stipend while in school, instead of the half you get for taking all online classes.

I'm guessing accounting or finance isn't a degree where you can CLEP very many credits besides the general education requirements though.

Is one of them more renown for business/accounting/finance degrees?

[Chebasaz]

I just picked up a copy of the Navy Times at the PX yesterday. The cover story was the new improvements to the GI Bill. Even half of the living stipend is a great improvement for distance learners, but I agree.. Where is 50% is good, 100% is better

I've heard good things about the Excelsior Accounting track, but mostly as it applies to a New York CPA. Not sure for the rest of the country.

[Maniac Craniac]

It depends. If you are banking your entire future on just one degree, I'm not sure if the Big Three are for you. However, if a degree is just an obstacle to clear to go down a path that you are already qualified for, or can be qualified for by other means, they get the job done.

[MA2]

Yea even if you take just one class in a traditional setting and the rest online, you can still get 100% as long as you're a full time student.

It doesn't seem that any of those colleges teach classes on any of the 3 bases is this area so that doesn't seem like an option.

I also don't like how the degrees say "Bachelors in business with a concentration in ________" or am I just being picky?

[Maniac Craniac]

Also, I don't imagine that an employer would check your transcripts to find out how many CLEPs you took. Many don't even bother to check that your school exists.... not that that should give you any ideas milelol:

[MA2]

Yea I know they don't really check what classes or CLEPs you took, just that you have such-and-such a degree.

I'm just a little nervous is all... I failed out of college the first time, I was 18, working 55 hours a week to pay for school (didn't want student loans) and was too immature for everything and I eventually cracked.

Now I'm almost 24, and spent 4 years in the Navy so school is paid for now, I have no debt of any kind, some emergency money in the bank, and I'll be making $1530 a month just off the GI bill housing allowance and the reserves paycheck I'll be getting.

I wouldn't want to flunk out again because I'm an idiot or end up wasting my time at a state school when I could get the same education at an online school in half the time, etc etc.

MA2/USN