Explaining the Big 3 to my colleagues...

[taylor]

My post was not advice but just MY experience. Of course, the best advice would be to be proud of your degree and the hell with everybody else. But we're all individuals and some of us including myself can't totally get rid of the angst when degree conversations come up at professional or social settings. At this point I'm even considering getting an MBA from a well known school mainly for personal reasons.

[mrs.b]

I was one of those, before finding out about the Big 3!

I was, too. I have stories of my B&M school days. I refer to them as misspent youth, or "that year and a half of pure stupidity I would do over in a heartbeat if I could find a time machine and slap sense into my younger self." Spent $25,000 a year of my parents' money, plus room and board, to attend a college I only stayed at two or three nights a week. My best friends attended the FUN school a couple towns over where we played and partied until our grades were such that our parents shut off the cash flow. (Since we're being honest. I usually excuse it away by saying I selected a major that was not for me!) Fast-forward "a couple" years, and I would rather my professional colleagues not know 99.9% of those tales, thanks! I'll take pride in my second and much more successful ride on the higher education merry go 'round.

[taylor]

Very interesting posts on this thread. But I don't agree with the underlying tone of some of the comments that the Big 3 degrees are better than B&M degrees purely because of savings. There are many other factors that people attend B&M campuses, even though they know very well that there are cheaper alternatives, such as developing strong personal relationships and also networking. My reason for going the Big 3 route was mainly because after going through a divorce and selling off a business, I knew I had to enter the job market and without a degree I knew I would be at a huge disadvantage. My TESC degree has served me well as far as my career but there's always that feeling inside me that I feel like I need to supplement my TESC degree with a more well known masters degree but that's just me personally. Good or bad people do judge others on their education. I find myself doing it too. For example, I worked out with a guy who was wearing a USC cap. While we were working out and having small talk, based on my assumption that he was a USC alum, I thought he must be pretty smart. When I asked him about his USC education, he told me he actually graduated with a business degree from U of Phoenix. That USC cap instantaneously changed into a dunce cap in my eyes. But all kidding aside, I know the Big 3 is a good option for those of us who are working and usually older but I would definitely prefer my daughter to go to a B&M even if it costs more for other factors.

[freddy]

There are many other factors that people attend B&M campuses, even though they know very well that there are cheaper alternatives, such as developing strong personal relationships and also networking.

Networking and strong personal relationships might be the only valid reason to go to a B&M campus. However, even with those points I question whether the "strong personal relationships" and "networking" are worth the additional cost of a B&M school.

The only reason I'm attending a B&M school is because the GI bill is paying for it, otherwise I don't think I would even bother with it.

[Prloko]

They don't know how to deal with the cognitive dissonance of realizing they've been screwed over for a good chunk of their lives so they
turn things around and bring you down in any way they can.

Frankly, I think a lot of people feel nostalgic about their "college days" because they're experiencing Stockholm Syndrome.

Were you a Psych major?

[Prloko]

That's just it. None of this is new. The Big 3 are just the latest in a long line of options for nontraditional education.
John Bear has been publishing a guide to doing things "our way" for the last thirty years. It's been widely ignored.

How to Get the Degree You Want: Bear's Guide to Non-Traditional College Degrees: John Bear: 9780898150803: Amazon.com: Books

I see where you're coming from, but I guess I'm just a cynic. I don't see a lot of fortune going on on these
forums, I see people doing months (and years) of research, making plans, and going the road less traveled.
The majority will never be willing to do that.

In a way, nontraditional education is like astronomy. It's always there. It will always be there. If a person is
too foolish or proud to simply look up, then it's no one's fault but their own.

I thought I read somewhere that John Bear used to run a diploma mill.

[Prloko]

Having a bit of an issue. Every time I tell one of my coworkers that I'm in school, they ask where. When I try to explain that I'm taking a fast track method of getting through my undergrad degree, they ask if it's a purely online school and I explain to them that it is but they are RA. Is there any one else that's been to a Big 3 school, that started to feel a little embarrassed because of the way people react? I'm actually very proud to FINALLY be finishing up something I started years ago, but I can't help but feel like other people think it's a cop-out way of doing things, or that it's not something they can even relate to.

I'm almost to the point of changing the subject when I'm out with people that start talking about their "college days". I feel like COSC has been more challenging than ANY of the brick-and-mortar schoolwork that I did waybackwhen...it's just a quicker timeline.

Has anyone else had the problem of explaining that these aren't "fake" programs when out with friends or colleagues? I think part of it is that some of my friends actually teach at physical campuses and they don't want to have to learn how to teach online formats (and that's going to be an issue for them in the future, because it's not going away).

The one thing to remember is that they are your CO-workers. The gal with the fancy degree, the guy with the big state school, and the guy with the TESC/COSC/EC, all working at the same job will tell you that they waisted their time and money. If they brag, just tell them "the good it did YOU, you're working at the same job as I am." Now if they're your superiors thats another story.

I used to work in a job with all college grads. I had a high school diploma and while they were going to frat parties and getting drunk, I was working from the bottom doing low level clerical work. In those same four years, we had the same job, me from experience, them from college. The difference was they were $50,000 in debt where I made $120,000.

Of course, I'm sure these co-workers are in management positions.

[IrishJohn]

I was, too. I have stories of my B&M school days. I refer to them as misspent youth, or "that year and a half of pure stupidity I would do over in a heartbeat if I could find a time machine and slap sense into my younger self." Spent $25,000 a year of my parents' money, plus room and board, to attend a college I only stayed at two or three nights a week. My best friends attended the FUN school a couple towns over where we played and partied until our grades were such that our parents shut off the cash flow. (Since we're being honest. I usually excuse it away by saying I selected a major that was not for me!) Fast-forward "a couple" years, and I would rather my professional colleagues not know 99.9% of those tales, thanks! I'll take pride in my second and much more successful ride on the higher education merry go 'round.

Oh Lord, I think many folks have stories like this - myself included! :reddevil:

I of course deny everything and will do so until my dying day... hilarious

[Stitching Belle]

I generally explain away my years at Ole Miss with the statement "I had a wonderful time, and the GPA to prove it!"