Sophia vs SL vs SDC, etc

[rbellak@gmail.com]

I have been taking courses through Sophia and have found them to be pretty easy to get through. At a glance it looks like SL and SDC have a wider variety of classes available. I'm trying to take as many courses as possible through these sites before beginning at TESU and was looking for feedback on what to expect from courses on the other sites.  Are they comparable to Sophia, more difficult, etc.?

As always, thanks for the gift of your collective wisdom.

[rachel83az]

It depends on what degree you're going for. Sophia fulfills most of your GE requirements. SDC and SL can usually fill in the rest, depending on the degree. Some people find SDC courses to be pretty easy, others less so. SDC is usually preferred over SL, but it again depends on the person and the class(es). Don't forget to check out the review of the individual courses here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...YOUR-input

[rbellak@gmail.com]

Thanks for the quick response. I’m working on my BSBA-CIS. The format of the Sophia classes has been fantastic so far with their policies of open book milestones and minimal papers to write. I understand this will offend the sensibilities of some users of this site, but my goal in obtaining a degree is just obtaining an accredited piece of paper. I have 20+ years experience and have only returned to get my degree because I have lost out on job opportunities without it.

Do you know if, in general, the format of SDC similar to that of Sophia?

[MNomadic]

Thanks for the quick response.  I’m working on my BSBA-CIS. The format of the Sophia classes has been fantastic so far with their policies of open book milestones and minimal papers to write.  I understand this will offend the sensibilities of some users of this site, but my goal in obtaining a degree is just obtaining an accredited piece of paper. I have 20+ years experience and have only returned to get my degree because I have lost out on job opportunities without it.

Do you know if, in general, the format of SDC similar to that of Sophia?

The format of most SDC courses is to have about 100ish lessons(on average) comprised of a 5-10 minute video and 5-10 minute multiple choice quiz. You get multiple tries on the quiz(so it's usually a good idea to keep taking until you score 100%). At the end of the course, there is a proctored, closed book final. Some classes(upper level, english composition and computer science mostly) have 1-4 assignments as well.

It may seem daunting to have so many mini lessons but for the most part they are quick and easy. Many people just read the transcripts quickly before taking the quiz or watch the video at 1.5-2x speed. SDC also has an app which is convenient for doing lessons during spare moments throughout the day.

[jsh1138]

Study.com has an app. That makes it much much easier to do courses with than the other two.

Also at Study.com material you take in History 101 (for instance) fills in all the other History courses that have that same material. So that makes it way faster to do classes too

I personally found Straighterline to just be so awful that I never finished any of the courses I bought from them. There's no UL there either. Sophia is cheap right now so I would do all you want from them and then do whatever else you need from Study.com

[bjcheung77]

I've been advising people to do the Sophia.org/Study.com combination ever since Sophia started their special deals earlier in March, I've not advised anyone to use any other provider, even StraighterLine which was where I got most of my credit. Sophia popped into first place by leaping StraighterLine and Study.com...

Basically for lower level credit, Sophia.org has the majority you need, you can get a few more from InstantCertCredit and/or Davar, the majority of the upper level credit is usually from Study.com, again with one from InstantCertCredit and a few from Davar. I would go for mainly these providers, maybe even throw in Saylor.og

[CableGuy98]

Thanks for the quick response.  I’m working on my BSBA-CIS. The format of the Sophia classes has been fantastic so far with their policies of open book milestones and minimal papers to write.  I understand this will offend the sensibilities of some users of this site, but my goal in obtaining a degree is just obtaining an accredited piece of paper. I have 20+ years experience and have only returned to get my degree because I have lost out on job opportunities without it.

Do you know if, in general, the format of SDC similar to that of Sophia?

rbellak,

Totally get where you're coming from... I have the tech job but need the tech degree to advance (so much for that criminal justice degree).. to add to what the others have already said, it depends on you, your learning style and your degree requirements- 

I wouldn't wait too long to apply to TESU, while you may not have a lot of credit to transfer in at the moment, you definitely want to apply and lock-in your program year (requirements do change from time to time)...  

You'll likely find yourself pulling credit from multiple sources/institutions- as a CIS major, Study.com will benefit you greatly due to the larger number of IT/CS courses they offer and your progress is counted concurrently across similar courses thus saving you time as you progress. 

With the app, there's pretty much zero excuse to not make progress on your course- it's a total win/win. My only advice would be to develop a plan for Study.com because it can get expensive pretty quickly... they do occasionally run 50% off for a yearly subscription, or $25/50.00 off referral discount instead of the $200 bucks a month college accelerator plan, but with whatever option you decide, have a plan for the courses you need vs want to save time once you're on the clock. To get college credit, you have to sign up for college accelerator at some point.

I took advantage of the Sophia freebee's earlier this year- the folks at Sophia are amazing- use them for whatever you can, but also surf around- Arizona State University has the "earned admission" program https://ea.asu.edu that allows you to take instructor guided and self-paced courses at a reduced rate (was much more reduced until last month- kind of hoping they reverse course), OnlineDegree.com (more similar to Sophia) also has some courses that will be useful to you.

Hang in there my friend- it'll be frustrating at times, but equally rewarding as you get closer to meeting your goal.
 
Wish you the best in your studies-

[SteveFoerster]

Sophia is cheap right now so I would do all you want from them and then do whatever else you need from Study.com

My thoughts exactly. 

Also, FWIW, three of my kids are doing courses through these providers now, and all three prefer Sophia.org to SDC, although they don't mind the latter. None of mine have used SL.

[jsh1138]

I just personally couldn't stand Straighterline. Some people here love them and hate SDC and that's fine, but if you're going to do like 20 classes with one or the other you will do them much faster with SDC because of the fill-in and the app. I have done plenty of courses at lunch or in line at the bank or whatever with Study.com and you just can't do that anywhere else. It's also really nice to log and and find out the class you need is already 2/3's completed because you did other classes in the same area previously. You don't get that anywhere else either.

That's not even going into the amount of UL credit Study.com has, or how many hundreds of courses they offer for credit. I just am a big advocate of SDC because it lets you do so much stuff so quickly. But if you just need 3 courses to knock out your core classes then it might not be the best place to go. Just depends.

[dfrecore]

Out of the 3, Study.com is the only one with UL courses, so you're going to have to finish through them no matter what you choose.

I personally would do Sophia for cost/ease for all GE & Free Electives, and then switch to Study.com for Business Core & AOS. That way you make the most of the overlap of courses.