Big Brand Name Schools

[esh]

Hello all in this amazing forum.

It seems that for my needs, a brand name school degree would be the best option.

Which school (their online division), have members had the most success with transferring credits into and what would be the smart plan for that.

Wishing TESU was an option for me.
But harder, slower and more expensive will pay off best long term.

Appreciate everyones input.

[ss20ts]

What degree are you working towards? Define a brand name school? I mean if you're looking for Cornell, then no Sophia isn't going to help you.

[esh]

Any liberal arts degree would be fine. Lit, Art History etc.

My situation is a bit odd.
I have a UK Masters Degree but no BA.
In the UK they don't require older professional students to have a BA before applying for an MA if ones resume is strong enough.
In my case, I have a stronger resume than most of the faculty at the school I did the MA at.
The MA program was well done and I graduated with highest honors.

I am now looking at Doctoral programs in the US (my native country), and they have never seen someone with an MA and no BA. (common in the UK). In the UK I could move directly to a PhD. But now that I'm back in the US, and in Covid times, I have to go back and do a BA.

I simply need a BA in anything, from a school that won't raise red flags.
Like everyone here, its a Time/Cost calculation except that I need a name school. So for me, more time, more coast, both being unavoidable.

Hope that made sense!
thanks again!

[MNomadic]

It's really tricky to tell what would fit with "brand name" but would would Purdue University Global work? Obviously it's basically just rebranded Kaplan University but the average person won't really know the difference between them and *actual* Purdue. PUG is relatively generous with the alt credits and transfer credits they allow and they have some competency based programs if you really want to accelerate.

[nyvrem]

I'm just gonna put these schools here since they are practically 'teh bestest skools' around that offer online bachelor's degree programs (if price is no issue)

University of Pennsylvania

https://lpsonline.sas.upenn.edu/academic...ors-degree

Washington University in St Louis

https://ucollege.wustl.edu/programs/unde...ies-online

University of Virginia

https://www.scps.virginia.edu/bachelor-of-liberal-arts/

New York University

https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academi...grams.html

You prob can't use many alternative credit options to enter these programs, so next cost effective option would be to check ur local community college and see if they offer an AA/AS program online. it should be pretty cheap for in state.

Alternatively, you could just enroll in ur PhD program from a UK Uni and do your research in the US. a UK PhD is pretty accommodating to distance learners. You can check the University of Leicester out.

https://le.ac.uk/study/research-degrees/...hey-are/dl

Not sure what field you're into, but there's alot of UK Unis offering PhD programs for distance learners.

[bjcheung77]

Hey there esh, where did you get your Masters and which Masters degree major or program is this?  There are so many different options for you, you've not provided as much details as possible, such as the cost/time, do you have kids or other commitments, etc.  It all depends on each persons certain circumstances, there are so many variables in play...

Here is just one of many possibilities: Complete a BALS from TESU for cheap/easy/fast, then complete a MALS at Harvard Extension School and apply to the PhD of your choice, I mean, even thought it's HES, it's still "Harvard".  I think paying for that extra would be better than say another offering elsewhere.  A MALS at HES is $35K, a Bachelors from HES is also about 35K, so, for ROI, I would rather get a MALS from HES instead.

Another option is, get a Big 3 degree from COSC, EC or TESU, then apply to another competency based degree for the masters, you can get a pretty decent deal by going with NAU PL or UWisconsin Flex, they do offer competency based degrees at the undergrad and graduate level.  Again, it does take some time to complete the requirements and transfer whatever you can into their degrees, the possibilities are available if you seek it.

For ROI, Excelsior/TESU are in the top 10% in all of US, COSC/WGU are in the top 15%, this is out of 5300+ universities and they made the list of top 1500, ranging in the top 400-500.  Anyways, for myself, that is sufficient enough for me to apply and enrol in their programs.  They aren't Ivy League, but get the job done, and can prepare you for Ivy or Top schools, several people on this board have gone onto ranked schools with these degrees.

[Merlin]

I am now looking at Doctoral programs in the US (my native country), and they have never seen someone with an MA and no BA. (common in the UK). In the UK I could move directly to a PhD. But now that I'm back in the US, and in Covid times, I have to go back and do a BA.

To play devil's advocate for a moment here... since you already have a UK master's and you say that it isn't a problem for a doctoral degree in the UK, then why not just look for a distance-learning doctoral degree from an international university in the UK or elsewhere? There are plenty of highly ranked universities in the UK and elsewhere that offer distance learning degrees at the doctoral level.

I earned my degrees in the US and I'm looking at doctoral programs right now. My current top choice is a Ph.D. program in the UK. A lot of schools are offering distance-learning options now with Covid. Not to mention, UK schools tend to be much less expensive than US schools at the same quality level.

If that isn't something you're interested in, you can always just look at getting a quick and dirty bachelor's degree from any school just to say you have a bachelor's degree to meet entrance requirements. It doesn't have to be a big name school. If you're looking at doctoral programs most admission boards will likely be looking at your master's degree as your primary academic credential anyway, assuming it is in the same subject area as you're seeking a doctoral degree in. Not to mention, graduate admissions boards really just want to see a strong overall application package and most people suck at that. Your CV, statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation are often weighted much higher than your school, GPA, or GRE/GMAT scores. If you can show your passion and demonstrate that you have what it takes to graduate and publish, they are likely to consider you a strong candidate regardless of what school your bachelor's degree came from.

That said, if you really want to attend a highly-ranked traditional B&M school for undergrad, and you have the funds and a few years to do so, then you're likely to not find a lot of options here to help you since most big-name colleges aren't going to accept a lot of alternative credits. Most will accept a few CLEP exams but that's it. CUNY accepts like 30-40 credits from alt. credit providers, but that is on the high side.

[dfrecore]

I'm not really certain why you think you need a "name brand" school at all. ESPECIALLY since you can get a BALS or whatever? I'm going to guess that you THINK that the school wants this, but I'm thinking that it doesn't necessarily. I'd probably do more research.

I also think the Master's program, including major and grades, will hold much more weight with admissions than the bachelor's could hope to do. So the BA is even LESS important than you think.

If you do something like Purdue Global or CSU Global, where they'll take 90cr including ACE, I'd probably do that and get 30cr in the major from the finishing school. Just my opinion.

[hsfamfun]

My son is thinking about pursuing the RBA from Marshall University. It is a state school, but pretty well known.
https://www.marshall.edu/rba/