Low Cost, Self Paced Colleges that grant Financial aid??

[zenurez]

I had a question that I'm sure the wonderful people on this forum can give me some great input.

I have two years unused of the American Opportunity Fund. I'm looking at Graduating this year or next from TESC. So TESC expenses will come to roughly $3500 for the "enrolled options" and "graduation fee".

Using my taxes this year as an estimate, I could get $3700 back in refund or deductions for spending $4000 (or more) on qualified educational expenses. Anything I spend over $4000 I pay out of pocket, so the less I spend the better.

One of the qualifying criteria of the AOF is that I have to be enrolled at least part time (6 credits) for one semester at a qualified educational institution. In a nutshell, it has to be a degree granting institution and also be able to offer financial aid (Penn Foster doesn't qualify).

So I'd like to find the least expensive option that meets the following criteria:

1) Self paced online where I can complete classes on my own time and preferably faster than a semester
(This rules out Luna where you have to video conference all the classes)
2) Low Cost per credit
3) Offers "financial aid" and is "degree granting" to qualify per IRS guidelines

So far my best three options I've found based upon my research are:

1) Attend my local community college where tuition is $161 per credit or $805 for six credits. I can take a weekend class that basically is 6 days over 3 weekends. I'm guessing books are around $150 per course. So total cost to meet the requirements would be $1100

2) Take classes at American Public University. $250 per credit, $1500 for six credits, no books or additional fees required. They offer 8 week classes that you can basically enroll in at any time.

3) Take two classes at Thomas Edison State College. $229 per credit or $1374 for six, plus cost of books. I don't know how much books cost at TESC but I'm going to assume $100 each which brings me up to the same price as APU and APU's lead time for registering for classes is a bit shorter (at least I think it is).

Although it would be nice if the college offered classes relevant to Business Administration, its not necessary. If I fail some exams, I might have to do them as a class, but right now, I'd be happy learning pottery as long as it met all the above requirements.

So what other colleges should I consider looking at?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!
:hurray:

[rebel100]

CSU-Pueblo fits all of your criteria. Undergraduate Degree Program > Division of Continuing Education > Colorado State University-Pueblo

You can also consider a consortium agreement wherein you matriculate (enroll) in a degree granting program at one of the big three but take classes at a less expensive school such as your CC. I did this by enrolling at Charter Oak and taking a single class each semester there, while taking the rest of my classes at CSU-Pueblo to meet the full time PELL Grant requirements. All courses except those taken at COSC were self-paced. Not every school will do this, and you have to work to get things situated, but it is possible. Consortium Information - Charter Oak State College

[benjenkinsv95]

I go to TESC and I was able to get 5 books for this semester for about $350. Granted, the TESC bookstore charges about $700-800 for all of those books, but if you pick the books up off of Amazon it is much cheaper. None of my books are rentals, most are used, and 1 or 2 were new.
Just thought I'd mention that. By the way, all of my books are math/computer science books, in case that makes a difference in price somehow.
If you went with rentals you could probably get the books even cheaper, but I wanted to hang onto my books as I will probably use them as a programmer.

[sanantone]

Do you plan to transfer to TESC or two of the other Big 3 regardless? If not, then Western Governors University is an option. There are self-paced programs that are also being offered at Northern Arizona University, Capella University, University of Wisconsin, and Bellevue University. I was going to mention Patten University, but they don't participate in Title IV.

[Westerner]

Just so you know, books for TESC courses do not have to be expensive. The books for 5 of my classes cost less than $100 combined. The book for one class cost $60, but after finishing the class I found I could have gotten an ealier edition that cost $5 instead. Really look into getting those older editions--for most liberal studies classes (I'm not sure about the technical/math/science classes), they don't have to be the super expensive latest versions!

[zenurez]

Thanks Rebel100! That is a fantastic resource. When I tried to lookup CSU Pueblo in the past I mistakenly looked for "online" courses because the link to the page wasn't working on the day I tried it.

CSU-Pueblo fits all of your criteria. Undergraduate Degree Program > Division of Continuing Education > Colorado State University-Pueblo

You can also consider a consortium agreement wherein you matriculate (enroll) in a degree granting program at one of the big three but take classes at a less expensive school such as your CC. I did this by enrolling at Charter Oak and taking a single class each semester there, while taking the rest of my classes at CSU-Pueblo to meet the full time PELL Grant requirements. All courses except those taken at COSC were self-paced. Not every school will do this, and you have to work to get things situated, but it is possible. Consortium Information - Charter Oak State College

[eyrobinson]

Don't forget Empire State College!

[zenurez]

Don't forget Empire State College!

I am enrolled with them to do a free portfolio assessment for Saylor's Small Business Management course. However, I am unclear if PLA's will contribute towards achieving "enrolled" status part time. Living out of state, tuition would be $343 per credit. However it would be doable if I could enroll in one course AND use PLA to meet my "part time" enrollment requirement of 6 credits. I'll have to look into this. Thanks!