Help finding a school and degree plan

[bleedingpurple]

Like most people, looking for cheap and fast. I've looked into WGU, a little into TESU and SNHU. Which would be best?  I started taking classes as if I'm starting WGU, but am wondering if that's the best way to go.

Your Location: Arizona, United States.  
Your Age: 43
What kind of degree do you want?: Computer Science, ideal job ML or AI engineer (first choice, I would want a masters), but flexible so that I could pursue cyber security, cloud or other comp sci careers.

Current Regional Accredited Credits:  

Community college 61 credits, mostly General Education and old credits. All done 1997-2008, would these colleges only take gen eds because of the age of the credits?
Pierpont BOG AAS in process, just to have an actual degree of some kind.

Written English I
Introduction to Sociology
College Algebra
Trigonometry and Elementary Fu
Computer Concepts & Applications
Written English II
Calculus I
MS Windows XP Professional Adm
Networking Essentials
Elementary French I
Precalculus
Database Access
MS Excel Specialist Cer Prep
Cult Anthro & Linguistics
Asian Religion
Expl Non-Western Cultures
Basic Design
Solar System
Solar System Laboratory


Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 
 
Sophia Credits (Completed this year):
Principles of Management
Introduction to Web Development
Environmental Science
Calculus 1

In progress: 
Project Management
Introduction to Programming in Python

Any certifications or military experience? Google IT Support Certificate(2022), 3/4 through the Google Data Analytics certificate, if that counts.

Budget: No savings, but 0% on a credit card for 12 months if purchase date is before 12/31/2022, Max 10,000, ideally less, of course. It's a big risk to pay off!  

Commitments: Full time commitment to study, but do have kid, and husband, possibly a job offer.
Dedicated time to study: I can study as much as is needed, but possibly getting a job soon, so, I might only be able to study in the evenings 3 hours and weekends 8-12 hours per day.
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal, since that would be the cheapest.  
I would like to finish within 6 months (0% credit card with 23% interest after 12 months!), so that I could get a job and pay down that bill fast!
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: None! ☹, The possible job does not offer any tuition assistance.

[bjcheung77]

Cool! You did the addendum and template; this is what I propose. You should go for all the non-proctored courses I am starting you off with:  Invest in a second monitor, start working on non-proctored courses from Sophia.  Link: Sophia.org Equivalency List

1) Sign up for Sophia.org, it's $99/month, I suggest trying to complete all of these and more within two months.  Complete the courses that transfer to institutions of your choice, it's all non-proctored, use the second monitor to review the e-books/pdf files.

2) Sign up for CSM Learn, https://www.smilabs.org/products/csmcourse
Wiki: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/CSM_Learn
3) Sign up for (TADA) The American Dream Academy and complete all their offerings (ones for ACE credit, it's for the cert/experience/knowledge) Link: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera

2 months Sophia.org: $99+$99
CSM Learn: $39
FREE TADA/Coursera - again, only work on ACE TADA options
FREE CLEP/ModernStates.org - if you need any courses to transfer
Subtotal: $237 (Amazingly affordable, a years worth of credits right there!)

1) Do the Pierpont BOG AAS with a minor of your choice, it can be Info Systems or something, the cost is just transcripts.
2) Take all the ACE recommended credit from Coursera/TADA, these will be used for both Pierpont and SNHU/TESU/UMPI/WGU requirements
Steps to get the BOG AAS on WIKI: Pierpont C&TC | Work on the ones that are TADA only: Coursera

3) After you have finished the Pierpont BOG AAS with emphasis and the Coursera/TADA certs for ACE credit, apply to SNHU/TESU/UMPI/WGU.
-Make sure to complete the Sophia.org courses such as Spanish I and also Study.com courses that go towards UMPI.
-When applying to UMPI, add the AALS as a second program (and forget the AALS).

At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide if the Pierpont BOG AAS with emphasis is worth the ROI/Value, I know both are.
They are well worth it as you get the AALS free without doing any extra work, and the BOG AAS for the cost of transcripts.

When you're done with these in a few months, update me and your final batch of courses will be through Study.com - Although not free, these will be $200/month for 2 courses, and for extra exams a month, $70/each.  To finish off the degrees, your last requirements are the residency courses from the institution you decide to go with.

*Side note* I always recommend 3 things, Certs, Degree, Experience. I suggest UMPI BLS MIS over SNHU/TESU/WGU, but just in case, you should decide after you complete your Sophia, CSM, TADA ACE credits.  Here's an example UMPI BLS spreadsheet with a triple minor: 300/400 level

[rachel83az]

Since you want a Computer Science degree, I would not suggest UMPI. They don't currently have a Comp Sci degree. I would absolutely NOT get the Liberal Studies degree. It's not anywhere close to what you want. It won't be applicable to most AI/CS Master's degrees that you might want.

That leaves SNHU, TESU, and WGU.

WGU is okay if you're fine with taking lots of exams. Unfortunately, the biggest downside to WGU is that you don't get a GPA. All of their courses are pass/fail. This is usually not a problem, but it can be for some grad schools. If you have an idea of what grad program might interest you, whether from somewhere like Georgia Tech or elsewhere, I would contact them to see if they would be fine with a WGU degree. It's usually not a problem, but it can be and you don't want to cut yourself off from a Master's because you got the "wrong" undergrad degree.

TESU would probably accept most of what you already have. For the most affordable option, you would want to take at least 16 credits from TESU itself. (A 16-credit flat-rate term is $4778. Only taking the minimum of 6 credits at TESU costs an extra $2000+.) While most of your remaining credits would be ungraded pass/fail from Study.com & Sophia, the 16 credits at TESU combined with your previous community college credits should give you enough of an overall GPA to satisfy most grad schools. Students have definitely been accepted to good grad schools with TESU degrees.

Finally, we have SNHU. You are limited to 90 credits in transfer, the rest of which must be taken at the school. These remaining 30 credits would cost almost $10k in total. But, grading is apparently relatively easy, so you'd have a really nice GPA to show to prospective grad schools. Unfortunately, you can't accelerate SNHU, so it'd take another 1-2 years to complete those 30 credits. This is probably not what you want.

We have degree plans available for all 3 schools, if you want to take a look.
WGU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:WGU
TESU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap
SNHU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:SNHU

Whatever you do, stop taking courses that overlap. I see you have Calculus I listed twice. Don't take English Comp or Algebra again, you already have it.

[ss20ts]

I agree with rachel. I have completed the BLS with MIS and PM Minors at UMPI. Neither minor prepares you at all for working in Comp Sci. Not even a little. If you already have the knowledge and are working in field, that's one thing. If it's a new field to you, it doesn't prepare you for it. You mention cloud. Have you worked on any AWS certifications? There are several certificates on Coursera that may benefit you as well.

[bleedingpurple]

Since you want a Computer Science degree, I would not suggest UMPI. They don't currently have a Comp Sci degree. I would absolutely NOT get the Liberal Studies degree. It's not anywhere close to what you want. It won't be applicable to most AI/CS Master's degrees that you might want.

That leaves SNHU, TESU, and WGU.

WGU is okay if you're fine with taking lots of exams. Unfortunately, the biggest downside to WGU is that you don't get a GPA. All of their courses are pass/fail. This is usually not a problem, but it can be for some grad schools. If you have an idea of what grad program might interest you, whether from somewhere like Georgia Tech or elsewhere, I would contact them to see if they would be fine with a WGU degree. It's usually not a problem, but it can be and you don't want to cut yourself off from a Master's because you got the "wrong" undergrad degree.

TESU would probably accept most of what you already have. For the most affordable option, you would want to take at least 16 credits from TESU itself. (A 16-credit flat-rate term is $4778. Only taking the minimum of 6 credits at TESU costs an extra $2000+.) While most of your remaining credits would be ungraded pass/fail from Study.com & Sophia, the 16 credits at TESU combined with your previous community college credits should give you enough of an overall GPA to satisfy most grad schools. Students have definitely been accepted to good grad schools with TESU degrees.

Finally, we have SNHU. You are limited to 90 credits in transfer, the rest of which must be taken at the school. These remaining 30 credits would cost almost $10k in total. But, grading is apparently relatively easy, so you'd have a really nice GPA to show to prospective grad schools. Unfortunately, you can't accelerate SNHU, so it'd take another 1-2 years to complete those 30 credits. This is probably not what you want.

We have degree plans available for all 3 schools, if you want to take a look.
WGU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:WGU
TESU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap
SNHU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:SNHU

Whatever you do, stop taking courses that overlap. I see you have Calculus I listed twice. Don't take English Comp or Algebra again, you already have it.

I started taking Calculus again because I took that in 2008! I know WGU said they would not accept it, so I took it again at Sophia. If SNHU or TESU will take old credits like that, then, that would make things faster and easier. It took me 21 days to get through calculus again!
I appreciate the TESU and SNHU info! If I get the job, it might be that SNHU would be a better option. Yes, I had been checking out that Georgia Tech masters degree!


I have a lot to think about and more research to do! I'm starting to lean away from WGU.

[rachel83az]

TESU will accept most older credits. It's very rare that they do NOT accept older credits. They don't care about the age of gen eds, but they may care about some courses that would go in the AOS. Even then, they still accept (IIRC) up to half of the AOS credits as being older than however many years. You don't have enough credits to worry about that.

I don't know about SNHU for sure. I don't see anything about it on their site. You could contact them to ask. https://www.snhu.edu/admission/transferring-credits

[bleedingpurple]

I agree with rachel. I have completed the BLS with MIS and PM Minors at UMPI. Neither minor prepares you at all for working in Comp Sci. Not even a little. If you already have the knowledge and are working in field, that's one thing. If it's a new field to you, it doesn't prepare you for it. You mention cloud. Have you worked on any AWS certifications? There are several certificates on Coursera that may benefit you as well.

I do have a little work experience, in IT and data analytics, both as old as my credits. I am currently not working and have been a stay at home mom for too many years.

I'm very good with Excel. I have spent most of this year taking Coursera courses, but did not know some had ACE credits. I've learned Python, machine learning basics, R, SQL and some others I can't immediately recall. I signed up for Coursera Plus, so I wanted to maximize my learning. I have not taken any AWS courses yet. I signed up for the free Microsoft Azure fundamentals, from Microsoft and it doesn't look difficult. They sent me a link with more exam prep and how to get a voucher for a free certificate. 

I have been wanting to take the cloud courses on Coursera, but then I decided to stop and concentrate on only credit worthy courses so I can transfer them to a degree. My time is running out! (So I can use the 0% CC)

Would the UMPI degree get me a job in a relevant field?
The jobs I've seen specify a STEM degree or specifically a CS degree, even if it's just an entry level help desk position.  Would that degree be considered a STEM degree?

I'm not against getting multiple degrees, especially if I have a good job to pay for them 

[rachel83az]

No, the BLS with MIS is absolutely not a STEM degree. It is a Liberal Studies/Liberal Arts degree. At best, it is a management degree; a business-lite degree. It's not a bad choice for students who are looking for a degree like that, but it is a bad choice for students who want to use their degree to continue on to a STEM Master's degree.

Coursera certificates/specializations being worth credits is a new thing. The Google and SAS certificates are both included in Coursera Plus and are worth credits. Depending on which school you decide to go with, it might or might not be worth pursuing any of these. Since you completed the Google IT certificate in 2022, you can get credit for that. (Or you might already have credit and not realize it; did you get the Credly badge?) The Google Analytics certificate would definitely be worth it if you went to TESU. I'm not sure if it'd be worth it for SNHU; I'm not super familiar with the SNHU degree plans.

[bjcheung77]

What are your commitments besides kids, school, work?  How much energy, time can you put into your studies a day? Since WGU was mentioned, you can go for their Accelerated BSIT/MSIT... The more energy, time you have, the more I would recommend PUG or WGU for a BSIT/MSIT combo.  You should start accumulating credits that will go towards your degrees with ACE options such as Sophia/Study.com

This is my suggestion, a one and done option, PUG or WGU BSIT/MSIT combo using their CBE program, you can get one after the other and also since you mentioned Coursera/Google, you can take the W3School PHP and the Coursera/Google certificates on route to the degree as they will grant credit towards their degrees offered.  Review the links below for the appropriate degrees that interest you for PUG or the WGU link earlier...

At the moment... It really won't matter if you decide on PUG/WGU, SNHU, UMPI, or another degree at the undergrad level as they all will take a max of 90 credits (75%) towards their degree, so I would start with the Sophia.org/Study.com combo of alternative credits I mentioned.  You can then decide on a simple UMPI BLS MIS option or a PUG BSIT, then ladder to the PUG MSIT, or do the WGU Accelerated BSIT/MSIT.

You have some certs and experience; you're just missing the degree.  Continue with all ACE offerings on Coursera... It's a mix/match approach to maximize each to make your application stronger for jobs... CS may be your first choice, but since you mentioned Cloud, Cybersecurity, IT, etc, this should be considered as well.  For a cost, ease, speed perspective, PUG/WGU combo may just be your ticket...

PUG Exceltrack: https://www.purdueglobal.edu/student-exp...-learning/
PUG Credit for IT Certifications: https://www.purdueglobal.edu/alternative...ion-exams/
PUG Wiki: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:PUG

[bleedingpurple]

What are your commitments besides kids, school, work?  How much energy, time can you put into your studies a day? Since WGU was mentioned, you can go for their Accelerated BSIT/MSIT... The more energy, time you have, the more I would recommend PUG or WGU for a BSIT/MSIT combo.  You should start accumulating credits that will go towards your degrees with ACE options such as Sophia/Study.com

This is my suggestion, a one and done option, PUG or WGU BSIT/MSIT combo using their CBE program, you can get one after the other and also since you mentioned Coursera/Google, you can take the W3School PHP and the Coursera/Google certificates on route to the degree as they will grant credit towards their degrees offered.  Review the links below for the appropriate degrees that interest you for PUG or the WGU link earlier...

At the moment... It really won't matter if you decide on PUG/WGU, SNHU, UMPI, or another degree at the undergrad level as they all will take a max of 90 credits (75%) towards their degree, so I would start with the Sophia.org/Study.com combo of alternative credits I mentioned.  You can then decide on a simple UMPI BLS MIS option or a PUG BSIT, then ladder to the PUG MSIT, or do the WGU Accelerated BSIT/MSIT.

You have some certs and experience; you're just missing the degree.  Continue with all ACE offerings on Coursera... It's a mix/match approach to maximize each to make your application stronger for jobs... CS may be your first choice, but since you mentioned Cloud, Cybersecurity, IT, etc, this should be considered as well.  For a cost, ease, speed perspective, PUG/WGU combo may just be your ticket...

PUG Exceltrack: https://www.purdueglobal.edu/student-exp...-learning/
PUG Credit for IT Certifications: https://www.purdueglobal.edu/alternative...ion-exams/
PUG Wiki: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:PUG

My husband has decided to pick up my slack with home duties during this time. The work commute would be about 45 minutes each way, so, that would cut down my time significantly.

I had been able to study 13-18 hours a day, but only if I could cycle between different classes. Concentrating on one class, I can't do for that long, especially something intense like Calculus.

My time is also limited, as far as payment goes. If I cannot pay for the school on 12/31/2022 or before I will not be able to attend at all. I would need to finish courses (from Sophia, study or somewhere else) from now to mid December, or whenever the final date is to apply and transfer credits.

I had thought about the accelerated Bachelor/masters IT degree, but I'm not sure I could complete it in 6 months.

I'll check out the links. Thank you!