Should I earn credits at Sophia Learning before UMPI even with a PELL grant?

[Infinite-Telephone52]

Do you know if I can do both simultaneously? As in not pushing back my UMPI start date and work in Sophia if there is downtime waiting for papers to be graded/milestone approval.

You can do both Sophia and UMPI, but it's not advisable. As you can have 2 courses open on UMPI so you can keep going while waiting for Milestones to be affirmed and the Rough Draft returned. There isn't much down time when you have 2 or 3 classes open. It's easier to get everything done on Sophia. Once you're enrolled at UMPI, you need written permission from your academic advisor to transfer in additional courses. They have generally given approval in the past, but that could change. You would also be taking time away from your UMPI classes. Doing both at the same time will most likely slow you down.

This really helps. I was concerned about wasting time deferring by one session because I only need 8 courses at Sophia. I am very motivated to complete the program quickly, but also don't want to risk the Sophia courses not transferring in later, or for my GPA to suffer.  My other concern was needing to wait days, or over the weekend on milestones/grading/adding the next class. I am not working and am free to dedicate 35-40+ hours a week to school like a full-time job, so I'm trying to plan accordingly to be as efficient as possible.


I really appreciate it, thank you!

---

Yes, you can work on both simultaneously, but I still wouldn't recommend that route, even if you have no commitments and can cram all you can...It all depends on you...It's like paying for two subscriptions of service and you won't get your money's worth.  I would again finish all you can with Sophia.org and then complete the rest with UMPI in the next session.

Thank you, this really helps alot!

[arbitrarysky]

My opinion: there's no reason to push back enrolling at UMPI to focus on Sophia. With a full Pell Grant, you're profiting from attending UMPI since the tuition is so low. You only need to complete 2 courses per term (or 4 per semester) to stay eligible for financial aid. Complete two courses for Summer I, then use your refund to pay for Sophia and knock out whatever is easier there.

[ss20ts]

My opinion: there's no reason to push back enrolling at UMPI to focus on Sophia. With a full Pell Grant, you're profiting from attending UMPI since the tuition is so low. You only need to complete 2 courses per term (or 4 per semester) to stay eligible for financial aid. Complete two courses for Summer I, then use your refund to pay for Sophia and knock out whatever is easier there.

The OP wants to be done ASAP. By only taking 2 courses per session, it will drag out how long it takes them to complete their degree. Degree conferrals right now are taking 6-8 weeks! That's a whole additional session they have to wait for the degree to be awarded.

[arbitrarysky]

My opinion: there's no reason to push back enrolling at UMPI to focus on Sophia. With a full Pell Grant, you're profiting from attending UMPI since the tuition is so low. You only need to complete 2 courses per term (or 4 per semester) to stay eligible for financial aid. Complete two courses for Summer I, then use your refund to pay for Sophia and knock out whatever is easier there.

The OP wants to be done ASAP. By only taking 2 courses per session, it will drag out how long it takes them to complete their degree. Degree conferrals right now are taking 6-8 weeks! That's a whole additional session they have to wait for the degree to be awarded.

Two courses for Summer I only, while working on Sophia. At 30-40 hours a week, OP can easily finish 8 Sophia courses (I spent about 10 hours on each) plus at least 2 courses at UMPI in 8 weeks. They would be further ahead than if they were to defer a term to focus on Sophia only.

[rachel83az]

Two courses for Summer I only, while working on Sophia. At 30-40 hours a week, OP can easily finish 8 Sophia courses (I spent about 10 hours on each) plus at least 2 courses at UMPI in 8 weeks. They would be further ahead than if they were to defer a term to focus on Sophia only.

Actually, I think this is a really good point. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but this seems like a good plan in this situation.

[Infinite-Telephone52]

My opinion: there's no reason to push back enrolling at UMPI to focus on Sophia. With a full Pell Grant, you're profiting from attending UMPI since the tuition is so low. You only need to complete 2 courses per term (or 4 per semester) to stay eligible for financial aid. Complete two courses for Summer I, then use your refund to pay for Sophia and knock out whatever is easier there.

I was just thinking about this last night after my post! I am going to do the minimum at UMPI and use the rest of the session to complete my Sophia courses. Contingent upon Jessica's approval. Waiting over a week for an email response. Thank you!!

---

My opinion: there's no reason to push back enrolling at UMPI to focus on Sophia. With a full Pell Grant, you're profiting from attending UMPI since the tuition is so low. You only need to complete 2 courses per term (or 4 per semester) to stay eligible for financial aid. Complete two courses for Summer I, then use your refund to pay for Sophia and knock out whatever is easier there.

The OP wants to be done ASAP. By only taking 2 courses per session, it will drag out how long it takes them to complete their degree. Degree conferrals right now are taking 6-8 weeks! That's a whole additional session they have to wait for the degree to be awarded.

Two courses for Summer I only, while working on Sophia. At 30-40 hours a week, OP can easily finish 8 Sophia courses (I spent about 10 hours on each) plus at least 2 courses at UMPI in 8 weeks. They would be further ahead than if they were to defer a term to focus on Sophia only.

Excellent point, much appreciated!

---

Thank you all so much, you have been an incredible resource!

[braven]

For one session I did the minimum class (1 class) and did 3 classes the second session to get my pell.

I did sophia when I did that 1 class and knocked them all out