Charter Oak increase

[Polexia]

I applied to Charter Oak and paid the $75 fee and all that, and I'm in the process of having my transcripts sent over when I received an email from them talking about how I would also have to pay a $150 non-refundable fee. I am on a REALLY tight budget and have been awarded a Pell grant which is awesome but doesn't cover the whole Charter Oak tuition as it is. I am extremely disappointed because the economy isn't just affecting the school, it affects all of us students and prospective students. It's not like the COL has reduced or my wages have increased or my rent has decreased. I'm already being squeezed for every penny I have.

I was so looking forward to making this work, but now I will just take CLEP and other tests and go through my local college where tuition is only about $900 a semester. I wanted Charter Oak because I'm in my 40's and I thought that COSC served the older student better and had a better online program.

I just don't feel I can trust COSC now. I would have liked if they'd have told me about this $150 up front before I applied because I could have saved $75. Is it even legal to throw mandatory fees at people after the fact? These things factor into my decisions, money is a huge deal which is why I'm trying to complete my degree in the first place (to get a better paying job.)

"Tuition and Fees
The cost of developing and providing high quality academic programs and services continues to rise as state support for higher education continues to decline. In response, we must, reluctantly, raise our tuition and fees. Effective July 1, 2016, you will see an increase of approximately 4 %. While no one wants to hear anything is going to cost more, if you look closely, we believe you will still find that completing your education with us remains quite affordable.

AN IMPORTANT CHANGE to the undergraduate enrollment process
As an accepted applicant you will be expected to confirm your decision to enroll in the college by paying a non-refundable $150 deposit. The deposit will signify your commitment to pursuing degree completion and position you to engage with college services such as orientation and advisement, earlier on in the process of matriculation. The deposit will be applicable to tuition/fees once you register for classes and you will be able to be defer your enrollment for one term to allow for the changing life demands the adult student encounters.

The last day to enroll in our Summer Term 2 courses is Wednesday, June 15. We will open Fall enrollment on July 5."

[dfrecore]

I would contact them and tell them that you want a refund of your $75 app fee, that you can't afford the $150 fee so there's no point in applying at all. Just tell them that you can't afford it. If they get enough people doing that, they will either stop charging the fee or raise the app fee or something else to make it worth their while to review your transcripts (I'm guessing that they get a lot of applicants who apply and send in transcripts, but then don't enroll, so they waste a lot of time doing this - in their opinion). Just a guess though.

[jsd]

It's not a fee, it's an up-front deposit on a future course. It's not the best system, but it's money you'd have to pay to COSC anyway. You can apply it to their cornerstone or capstone (or any other course you'd be taking with them).

[bjcheung77]

Polexia,
If you have read anything previously in regards to TESU, you know that there have been MORE changes and additional fees.
So, to quickly recap, TESU added a crap cornerstone at $300, a residency waiver of $2000, and changed residency requirements.
In any case, many schools, not just the Big 3 have modified their tuition and other fees to compensate inflation, etc.

FYI, I would assume for you as well, when we were way younger, say 20 years ago, tuition was cheaper for me or us...
But at that time, I never had a chance to go to school as I was the only one working along with my parents as my sisters went to college.
Tuition then was cheap at $36/credit in my area; nowadays, it's $107/credit and this is community college/lower level not upper level credit.
Upper level credits and graduate credits at college/university have gone up over the years as well, it's not just at one school.

For me, I had it even more rough than you would think and I still have the guts to continue onward, as I tread towards obtaining the degree.
1) I was unhealthy/had issues, was enrolled in community college, but wasted $ as I didn't pass my courses (that was in the late 1990's), I got fed up.
After two years of borrowing government loans and not getting college credits, I had to find a job and get something in life started...
I went to a local institute to learn my A+ and Network+ to get into IT as that was the "hot market", and got a minimum wage job in sales/service.
A+ training for $450, Network+ training for $750, you can do that yourself free, but I had no "network" to practice on and wanted the training.

2) I spent a considerable amount at a local career school, thinking it would help me get a better job (paid ~$6500), in that year 2000 - over a decade ago,
it went under without notifying anyone beforehand, those credits aren't transferable as it's not "college level credits, it's more career training".
3) In 2003, my first dose of online learning came when I wanted to give learning a third chance, it was a killer as well. CIE/WC, was NA DETC accredited for a long long long time, but after I enrolled and was taking both their BCIS (Comp Info Systems) and BEET (Electronic Engineering Tech), they LOST accreditation!!
I was like WTF, you're probably the LONGEST running DETC institution in history! I was choked, but I didn't pursue higher education for another decade.

During that decade, I worked from sales/service at a small computer shop and move to a computer wholesale (min wage still). Found a job at a software company in 2000 and started working in their call center as a tech support agent, after 7.5 years I left and am working at my current company (also a call center, same job). I have been at this call center for 8 years and even though it's hard work and I don't get rewarded, it brings in cash I use to save up for my education.

I rethought everything again in 2015 and did all my research on both forums, put my foot down with the support of wife/parents/sisters and kids, and this year giving a final chance at getting that education I have dreamed of, even with these obstacles in my way, I am going forward as it will get me up that corp ladder into a higher position in IT. I don't want to be stuck at a help desk position, it's been over 15 years. I am starting from scratch as no credits will transfer.

Recommendation: COSC is a great school, I was going to choose them but TESU just upgraded to University Status, UL level courses required were fewer, the cost for both are practically identical, but the courses I knew would come through properly, for COSC I would have to keep emailing for pre-approval to transfer them in, and other reasons. I suggest you stay with COSC, as that application is good for 6 months, if you have transcripts, send them in...
I spent January and February of this year researching programs and also creating my guide (steps to power my way through the degree, self reminder).

For COSC, their requirements for the BSBA are virtually identical to the BSBA at TESU. The AOS probably will allow the full use of the courses as well.
What you can do is review the Beginners Guide I created for myself, the general education requirements are the same for COSC/TESU, but courses accepted maybe different, you can review them. DO NOT take courses at COSC, the only two you need are the Capstone/Cornerstone. Everyone transfers courses from their "much CHEAPER ACE" recommendation for credit courses elsewhere, or take CLEP/DSST, etc EXAMS.

Please don't give up because of financial troubles, I would save up whatever you can, as you don't have to pay for anything for the next 6 months at COSC.
I would take all the required courses elsewhere as recommended on the guide or wikia, then transfer everything to COSC. Hope this helps!
http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...llege.html
The Basic Approach - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia

[Decius73]

This is a non refundable DEPOSIT. It is applied toward your tuition. It is not a fee.

[sanantone]

I can understand why they're requiring the deposit. It's not bad if you know that you will definitely attend COSC. If you're trying to find out which school will give you the best evaluation, then this deposit is a deterrent from applying. I hope TESU never charges a non-refundable deposit. It's already bad enough that you have to enroll at Excelsior in order to get an official evaluation.

[dfrecore]

I can understand why they're requiring the deposit. It's not bad if you know that you will definitely attend COSC. If you're trying to find out which school will give you the best evaluation, then this deposit is a deterrent from applying. I hope TESU never charges a non-refundable deposit. It's already bad enough that you have to enroll at Excelsior in order to get an official evaluation.

This was my point. If you want to apply to all 3 schools to see where you will get the most bang for your buck, then it's essentially a $225 application fee - if you end up not going there, you don't get the deposit back. It's only good if you end up there. Major deterrent.

[Polexia]

This is a non refundable DEPOSIT. It is applied toward your tuition. It is not a fee.

I already gave them 75 bucks, though. Isn't that a good enough indicator of interest? And I mean they get to keep that no matter what, anyway. The 150 is a deterrent for me because I am trying to feel out the schools for what's going to serve me best. I would like to get the eval without having to spend a ton of money (and 150 and 75 is a lot of money for me. If I had this money to blow, I would just pay for school outright and not bother with financial aid because I wouldn't be eligible for that, anyway.) I feel like it just hits the folks who are struggling to better themselves. One more little rung added to the greased ladder. Maybe not a big deal in the long run but in my position (not actually having the money) it is huge. And I wrote to admissions (from whence this email came) and no one even bothered to acknowledge my letter. Really leaves a poor impression of them.

[bjcheung77]

I already gave them 75 bucks, though. Isn't that a good enough indicator of interest? And I mean they get to keep that no matter what, anyway. The 150 is a deterrent for me because I am trying to feel out the schools for what's going to serve me best. I would like to get the eval without having to spend a ton of money (and 150 and 75 is a lot of money for me. If I had this money to blow, I would just pay for school outright and not bother with financial aid because I wouldn't be eligible for that, anyway.) I feel like it just hits the folks who are struggling to better themselves. One more little rung added to the greased ladder. Maybe not a big deal in the long run but in my position (not actually having the money) it is huge. And I wrote to admissions (from whence this email came) and no one even bothered to acknowledge my letter. Really leaves a poor impression of them.

It takes a little longer than that, you just need to wait. Furthermore, almost all schools are like that. I originally thought it was a fee increase or something, didn't know it was just a deposit. LOL, that was a lengthy "note", but you get my drift... they again, are one of the better schools out there. If you go to other FOR PROFIT schools, guess what, MORE fees and MORE hoops to jump over and pay for... trust others and myself, COSC and the the Big 3 ARE the way to go.

[dfrecore]

I would just call and request a refund of your $75. Say that if you can get your transcripts evaluated for free because you can't afford the $150, then you don't want to apply there. And if you knew in advance, you wouldn't have sent them the $75. I would be very persistent on this. Telling you you'd have to pay an additional $150 AFTER you applied is just wrong. Take it up the chain until you get your $75 back. I would, and $75 isn't a lot of money to me - it's the principle of the thing. But if it WAS a lot of money to me, I would certainly be diligent in pursuing this!