WGU, Capella or Something Else?

[cleeevus]

Your Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Your Age: 35
What kind of degree do you want?: BA Healthcare Administration
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 0
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0
Any certifications or military experience?: Certified Nursing Assistant (2009/2010) trade school 
Budget: variable- but would like to pay as little as possible after employer reimbursement. 
Commitments: Work (2x12 hr shifts per week), 3 kids+ spouse 
Dedicated time to study: 20 hours a week? Potentially more
Timeline: The sooner the better but would be happy with 2-3 years. Hopefully less. 
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: My employer is partnered with Capella and University of Phoenix which allow for completely free tuition (with credit limits per year). Outside of those two I receive 5-20% discount at most AZ universities as well as $5,250 annual reimbursement. Degree must be healthcare/ hospital related.

Extras: High school drop out (tested out/ obtained my G.E.D.) just never cared enough to pay attention in school but can do well when I want to (CNA school, Real Estate School, excel at any job). I prefer test taking over projects and long, drawn out requirements. Mostly looking to take advantage of this great benefit from my employer and prove to myself that I can do it. Bonus motivation from my sophomore teenager who likes to use the "you didn't even finish school" excuse when I am pushing for better effort.

Based on what I’ve read here I am leaning toward completing as many credits as possible through Sophia & Study.com and then transferring credits to Capella or WGU but would love to hear any and all recommendations you might have! Thank you. 

[Vle045]

Go for the free tuition. I think some will have negative things to say about both schools. But I’d suggest Capella. As a student, you get Sophia included for free. So you can plan to take your gen eds on sophia easily. That will save you time. Sophia course can sometimes be completed in a matter of days and the “tests” are all open book. You can’t beat that.

For what it’s worth, one of the best school psychologists I worked with get her degree at Capella.

[bjcheung77]

@cleeevus, Welcome to the board, great intro post with the addendum and template, I suggest you get the freebie from TESU. With that tuition assistance of $5,250 and your Sophia.org, Study.com and previous credits, you can opt to do the BSBA Healthcare Management... You can get an additional associates or two thrown in as well, if you need, extra business related certs as well... With that tuition assistance, you can further the education at the Masters level afterwards at Capella or U of Phoenix, I suggest the undergrad at TESU or UMPI as they're public/state universities.

[cleeevus]

Go for the free tuition.  I think some will have negative things to say about both schools. But I’d suggest Capella.  As a student, you get Sophia included for free.  So you can plan to take your gen eds on sophia easily.  That will save you time.  Sophia course can sometimes be completed in a matter of days and the “tests” are all open book.  You can’t beat that.  

For what it’s worth, one of the best school psychologists I worked with get her degree at Capella.

Thank you! The completely free tuition through Capella partnership is definitely appealing.

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@cleeevus, Welcome to the board, great intro post with the addendum and template, I suggest you get the freebie from TESU.  With that tuition assistance of $5,250 and your Sophia.org, Study.com and previous credits, you can opt to do the BSBA Healthcare Management... You can get an additional associates or two thrown in as well, if you need, extra business related certs as well...  With that tuition assistance, you can further the education at the Masters level afterwards at Capella or U of Phoenix, I suggest the undergrad at TESU or UMPI as they're public/state universities.

Thank you for the warm welcome and for your reply! I appreciate your input. Will look into those options now.