Sophia Credits - to Quick AA or BA?

[jembig]

I have utilized the Free courses at Sophia over the last few months and have accumulated a lot. I also have 10 RA units that are 10-15 years old. Never earned any sort of degree due to starting a family.

I have looked into all the Big 3 but I do not think it will work out for me due to the Residency Fee at Thomas Edison and the changes at COSC which do not favor me.
Can I just look into Pierpont BOG Associates or the Union Plus offer? I prefer not to be in a regular semester schedule due to my having to work many hours and might have to take on another job. My goal is to maintain employment since I have been in this job for 10 years and never got a raise because I do not have any sort of degree. I might get laid off since they are now focusing on keeping ones that have some kind of degree or more marketable. I know I might have limited options but just checking to see if anyone has some ideas.

[cerich67]

First, WELL DONE! I have eng comp 2, macro and art history 2 left to complete at Sophia having done the rest but fundamental courses. It's been challenging and time consuming but totally worth jumping in with the AWESOME oppurtunity that Sophia has given us.

With 10 credit Hours from an RA you will be 2 short for Pierpoint. You can get those cheap if you MOVE FAST from ASU with a $99 course. (https://ea.asu.edu/courses).

You can then get the Pierpoint Associates and that will be a big relief for you workwise.

I really would encourage you to think about plugging away at a Bach degree. If the TESU residency fee and the COSC 90 hr limit are stopping you, look closely at Excelsior. It's the least expensive of the big 3 from what I have read. I went with TESU because I like the "University" at the end of the name and my business partner with a BA, BS. MBA, MS and MD said that I can pay for a BSBA thru our company as it's "business" but if i wanted a BALS to cough it up. So, I REALLY hurt my head with Stats and Algebra. . Logically it doesn't matter but as i am originally from Canada, in my head only Universities offer Degrees.. :-). But seriously, you are ~84 credits hours towards a bach, you can do it.

Maybe, possibly, look at the one term at WGU path, If they take most of your credits towarsd their degree, you should manage them, you managed the Sophia in the same time!

[jembig]

First, WELL DONE! I have eng comp 2, macro and art history 2 left to complete at Sophia having done the rest but fundamental courses. It's been challenging and time consuming but totally worth jumping in with the AWESOME oppurtunity that Sophia has given us.

With 10 credit Hours from an RA you will be 2 short for Pierpoint. You can get those cheap if you MOVE FAST from ASU with a $99 course. (https://ea.asu.edu/courses).

You can then get the Pierpoint Associates and that will be a big relief for you workwise.

I really would encourage you to think about plugging away at a Bach degree. If the TESU residency fee and the COSC 90 hr limit are stopping you, look closely at Excelsior. It's the least expensive of the big 3 from what I have read. I went with TESU because I like the "University" at the end of the name and my business partner with a BA, BS. MBA, MS and MD said that I can pay for a BSBA thru our company as it's "business" but if i wanted a BALS to cough it up. So, I REALLY hurt my head with Stats and Algebra. . Logically it doesn't matter but as i am originally from Canada, in my head only Universities offer Degrees.. :-). But seriously, you are ~84 credits hours towards a bach, you can do it.

Maybe, possibly, look at the one term at WGU path, If they take most of your credits towarsd their degree, you should manage them, you managed the Sophia in the same time!

Thanks! I like “University” title to but 3k residency waiver just won’t work for my budget. I can barely make ends meet. 

I thought ACE credits are considered are considered Regional Accredited?

[P226mem]

I thought ACE credits are considered are considered Regional Accredited?

my understanding (could be wrong on this)
Universities and colleges can be "regionally accredited". ACE credits are not courses taken at a "university of college" so they aren't eligible to be RA.

[jembig]

I hope Sophia offers another great deal after this one. Really helped a lot of people during these hard times.

[rachel83az]

Thanks! I like “University” title to but 3k residency waiver just won’t work for my budget. I can barely make ends meet. 

Unfortunately, 3k for a degree is exceedingly cheap. Personally, I would do the Pierpont BOG first by getting an ASU class or two (check the Pierpont requirements to make sure that you've actually filled out all the credits in each required area; I think Sophia does this, but I'm not completely sure). ASU classes are relatively easy, as far as traditional learning goes. If you did Sophia, I think you can do ASU. Most courses appear to be laid out so that you don't need to do super well on the final so long as you did well on the weekly assignments. Astronomy, I only needed something like 5 questions correct to get a C grade. Western Civilization, I think I'm set up to pass even if I get no questions correct on the exam. Human Origins, I should only need a couple of correct answers in order to pass. Sign up for multiple classes that start on the 18th and drop the ones that won't fit your needs. Depending on how you feel about math, precalculus is self-paced and you can start on that one right now.

I'm not sure Union Plus would work for you. It appears to be a traditional semester program through Central State University. If it is, if you qualify for aid, you might as well use that aid to complete a degree at TESU rather than Union Plus. You only need 16 credits to satisfy the residency requirements.

74 credits from Sophia (I think) + 10 RA credits + 3 ASU credits = 87 credits. That leaves you with 33 credits that need to be taken to finish your degree. If you take 18 credits with financial aid (6 classes), that leaves you with a deficit of 15 credits. Just 5 classes away from a degree. TEEX Cybersecurity gives you 10 credits for free. Now you're 2 classes away from a degree. The Institutes free 3 credits ethics course might or might not count; some people have said that TESU no longer accepts it, others say that they do. Saylor and OnlineDegree aren't necessarily the best choices but they are exceptionally cheap.

This would mean that, with aid, a degree from TESU could cost:

$050 - Application fee
$298 - Graduation fee
$099 - ASU course (which you need anyway for Pierpont)
$018 - Two OnlineDegree exams (Two Saylor exams would be $50)
------
$465 ($497 with two Saylor exams)

Of course, if you don't qualify for the full Pell Grant, you could wind up having to pay the overage out of pocket. Hopefully, someone else who knows more about how Pell Grants work can chime in.

Disadvantages of TESU: You would have to pay the few hundred dollars. You would still have to do at least one traditional semester.

Advantages of TESU: More degree choices. Should be able to graduate more quickly than with Union Plus/Central State University. I don't see Central State University's ACE credit policy - they are certainly not a Sophia partner, so it's unknown what courses they'll even take; unlike TESU which will accept most Sophia credits.