UMPI or Excelsior

[NBM123]

I need some advice. I have been a SAHM for 16 years and out of school for all that time, until this past September when I was encouraged by my kids to work towards a degree alongside them. I was initially doing this to accomplish a personal goal, but my husband just decided to leave me and I am now in the position of trying to figure out a completely new life. I have zero work experience, as I was married right out of high school, I immediately became pregnant with my first kid, and my ex wanted me to stay at home. I do not even know what kind of job I can get to support me and my kids. I am getting a Liberal Arts Degree as that is the fastest, cheapest route, and I am just trying to check the box of having a 4 year degree to get my foot in the door, as I am finding this is now required for most jobs. I am having difficult deciding between a Liberal Arts degree from UMPI or from Excelsior. What is your opinion on the importance of having a minor in management from UMPI vs. no minor from Excelsior? Also what is your experience with the work load of UMPI classes vs the UL study classes I need for Excelsior? Anyone with experience on what to expect from the cornerstone and capstone from Excelsior?



This is the course work that I have left that would need to be completed for each school. 

UMPI

• Spanish I (Sophia)
  
• Biology 101L (Study)
  
• Advanced Technical Writing (Study)
  
• Creative Decision Making (UMPI)
  
• American Government (UMPI)
  
• Leadership (UMPI)
  
• Human Resource Management (UMPI)
  
• Operations Management (UMPI)
  
• 5 UL courses of my choice (UMPI)
  

Excelsior
***I need 6 UL Arts & Science: These are the ones I heard were the easiest, if there are any others let me know***

• Advanced Technical Writing (Study)
  
• Organizational Communication (Study)
  
• Advanced Business Ethics (Study)
  
• Psychology of Motivation (Study)
  
• Physiological Psychology (Study)
  
• Sociology at Work (Study)
  
• Information Lit, Cornerstone, Capstone (Excelsior)
  

I know that was a lot of questions. I would appreciate any insight anyone could offer. I am feeling completely overwhelmed and could use the extra support. Thank you so much!

[FastTrackDegree]

UMPI seems better for most people. But in your situation, I would do some serious career planning before picking a degree. A general Liberal Arts degree is not optimal for most people without any work experience IMO.

[ss20ts]

I would go with UMPI. I attempted to complete my bachelor's degree at Excelsior, but the advisors are NOT helpful or responsive. It can be quite a bit more than UMPI cost wise as well. You don't need to take classes from Study for UMPI if the new chem lab transfers for the lab science. Spanish is already on Sophia and you can complete almost the entire GEC on Sophia along with several electives. For UMPI you don't need that advanced tech writing course. Not sure what you'd take that for to transfer.

[rachel83az]

I agree; a liberal arts degree for someone who is 34/35 and has no job history isn't going to be the greatest. Without a job history, Liberal Arts may not be sufficient as a "check the box" degree.

My suggestion: start with the FREE Pierpont degree: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC Whether you ultimately go with Excelsior or UMPI, the Associate can at least be a good stepping-stone along the way. And the only cost is the cost of classes from Sophia and ASU Universal Learner.
What kind of job(s) are you hoping to get? Since you mentioned a minor in management, a BABA might be a better fit for your needs than a generic Liberal Studies degree.

[dfrecore]

I think that either option is a good one. But honestly, I think THE fastest option is your best option at this time - you need that degree ASAP. I'm guessing that UMPI will be the better choice. Worse comes to worst, just taking Spanish and a lab science at Study.com before the term starts is a great option - you could honestly just apply now, and be ready to start the Spring 1 term and go with what you already have.

[NBM123]

I would go with UMPI. I attempted to complete my bachelor's degree at Excelsior, but the advisors are NOT helpful or responsive. It can be quite a bit more than UMPI cost wise as well. You don't need to take classes from Study for UMPI if the new chem lab transfers for the lab science. Spanish is already on Sophia and you can complete almost the entire GEC on Sophia along with several electives. For UMPI you don't need that advanced tech writing course. Not sure what you'd take that for to transfer.

With a military discount, Excelsior will end up being about $400 cheaper. The only reason why I have the Advanced Technical Writing course on there was that I could fit one more UL course from an outside source for the 90-credit transfer. I already have Business Law finished and I am planning on taking the Principles of Marketing CLEP test, which should both come in as UL. I figured that doing one less UL class from UMPI would be better. Maybe not? Any idea how long we will have to wait to find out if Chem Lab is accepted? If I were to try to sign up for next semester at UMPI, I doubt it will have gone through by then. And I have no idea how long Spanish would take, as there are 5 touchstones, and I would be starting from scratch as I do not know any Spanish.

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I agree; a liberal arts degree for someone who is 34/35 and has no job history isn't going to be the greatest. Without a job history, Liberal Arts may not be sufficient as a "check the box" degree.

My suggestion: start with the FREE Pierpont degree: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC Whether you ultimately go with Excelsior or UMPI, the Associate can at least be a good stepping-stone along the way. And the only cost is the cost of classes from Sophia and ASU Universal Learner.
What kind of job(s) are you hoping to get? Since you mentioned a minor in management, a BABA might be a better fit for your needs than a generic Liberal Studies degree.

I graduated with my BOG degree from Pierpont on Dec 9th, so I have that done. I honestly don't know what kind of job I am hoping for. I know that I do not have any interest in business. Business law, intro to business, principles of management, financial accounting, and all of those business-related classes were awful. Unfortunately, remote work is most likely the only thing I could really do. I have MS and am severely immunocompromised, which leaves me limited due to the ongoing pandemic and other health issues. If I were to catch Covid, I could be completely incapacitated, as a simple cold has landed me in the hospital before. 

I had planned on getting my kids through their degree, slowly work on mine, and then eventually work on writing children's books once my kids were doing their own thing, but now that I am on my own, my dream of being an author is out the window (for now), as I need a steady income. I just have no idea where to even begin.

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Does anyone have experience with UMPI vs Study classes? Or experience with completing the 3 required courses from Excelsior. What is the difference in time and effort to complete? 

For Excelsior, I would 9 classes left: 6 UL course from study and then the required 3 from Excelsior. 

For UMPI, I would have 12-13 classes left: Lab Science and Spanish (possibly both from Sophia, if they approve), and creative writing, American Government, leadership, human resource management, operation management, and 5-6 UL courses from UMPI.

[rachel83az]

What about UMPI's BA Poli Sci/History, BA English/Journalism, or BA Criminal Justice degrees? Since you mentioned wanting to be an author, perhaps the BA English would be more to your interest than a business degree. It'd also be a subject degree, which would be arguably better than a BALS.

UMPI classes are generally finished with a single paper or project. Study.com UL classes tend to require 2+ papers plus the quizzes and the exam. Even if you like writing, the SDC courses tend to be a lot more work than the UMPI ones. Though, there are exceptions with the UMPI courses.

[NBM123]

What about UMPI's BA Poli Sci/History, BA English/Journalism, or BA Criminal Justice degrees? Since you mentioned wanting to be an author, perhaps the BA English would be more to your interest than a business degree. It'd also be a subject degree, which would be arguably better than a BALS.

UMPI classes are generally finished with a single paper or project. Study.com UL classes tend to require 2+ papers plus the quizzes and the exam. Even if you like writing, the SDC courses tend to be a lot more work than the UMPI ones. Though, there are exceptions with the UMPI courses.

What upper level classes from UMPI seem to be the easiest? I heard Dr. Zaborney's poli sci & history classes are pretty good as he apparently doesn't add a lot of "fluff" to his courses.

[indigoshuffle]

What about UMPI's BA Poli Sci/History, BA English/Journalism, or BA Criminal Justice degrees? Since you mentioned wanting to be an author, perhaps the BA English would be more to your interest than a business degree. It'd also be a subject degree, which would be arguably better than a BALS.

UMPI classes are generally finished with a single paper or project. Study.com UL classes tend to require 2+ papers plus the quizzes and the exam. Even if you like writing, the SDC courses tend to be a lot more work than the UMPI ones. Though, there are exceptions with the UMPI courses.

What upper level classes from UMPI seem to be the easiest? I heard Dr. Zaborney's poli sci & history classes are pretty good as he apparently doesn't add a lot of "fluff" to his courses.

What's going to be easier for someone else might be difficult for you and visa-versa. What gets your fire burning? What are you passionate about? Do you follow politics closely and have strong opinions about the democrats, republicans, or the president?... Then you go with political sciences. Do you want to be a writer? Then go with English. Want to go into law enforcement? Then try criminal justice. What excites you will likely be your "easiest" classes and will not feel like work. You want to finish your degree with as little friction as possible, I get it, and I totally understand. But you live once, so you want it to be a meaningful and enriching experience, not just "easy." Just my $0.02.