What are UMPI courses like?

[guessilldoit]

I'm 17 and am graduating this school year. I just found out about UMPI and I think it fits me really well. I'm homeschooled, so online learning works for me. I'm a Maine resident and near the poverty line, so I should be able to afford it. I think my dad or older brother would be willing to help with any fees I have as they are more well off than my family and want me to go to college. I want to be a history teacher and all of the courses I would be taking sound very interesting to me. The 8-week sessions also work for me, because I can definitely handle two/three courses at a time compared to five for 16 weeks even if it is the same workload at a faster pace. I am planning on taking CLEP US History I and II, CLEP American Government, and DSST Astronomy at the end of this school year for final exams for a few classes. If I am confident enough, I'll also take CLEP Western Civ I. I also have a course that should transfer and cover English Composition I.

I am just curious about what the courses are like? The only college course I have taken was ENG 100 College Writing with the University of Southern Maine and it didn't go very well because of the harsh transition to online and, at the time, I didn't have a good computer or good internet and so I couldn't join any calls which cost me a lot of participation, but I did end up earning the credits. Are the courses difficult to navigate? How available are professors to help? Are there any courses I should avoid and just take on Sophia or Study.com? Is there any way I could earn the degree in less than three years (I'm a part-time cashier and I dislike the job a lot)? I'm willing to take some Sophia or Study.com courses before enrolling.

Thank you for any and all help. I am just very excited and nervous to find out about this. I was going over degree plans from other colleges and I was very nervous it would cost me over $20k and put me in debt, but this is very affordable.

[jch]

Unfortunately for you, the UMPI yourpace program requires that you have at least two years of work experience after high school completion. You won't be eligible for admission to the yourpace program. I'd recommend that you focus now on acquiring credits through CLEP via modernstates and some of the other sources on this forum.

[Ideas]

Oh, I just saw the post above. Maybe you can go to WGU.

[bjcheung77]

Hmm, yes, continue with Sophia.org and Study.com - I would suggest going for a local community college associates first though... and laddering that up to a CBE degree at Brandman (soon to be UMASS), UMPI, WGU or a Big 3 degree such as a COSC, Excelsior, or TESU Bachelors.

[dfrecore]

I think if you're low-income, you'll be able to get a Pell Grant, and actually take courses at a school for free, and that's what you should do. Figure out where you can go inexpensively and enroll and take courses there. Your local CC if it's cheap, or an inexpensive online option if not.

I'd consider taking additional CLEP exams through ModernStates.org (once you pass the free online course, you get a voucher to take the CLEP exam for free, and then you submit the testing center fee receipt for reimbursement and they mail you a check - so CLEP's are completely free).

I would also consider taking Sophia courses if you can afford $79/mo for a few months, and take as many courses as you can.

I'd look at COSC as an option - they have a few history courses, including UL non-western history, and their overall degree is inexpensive. I'd also look at COSC, as they have more history courses, and their courses aren't much more expensive than COSC's if you're going to take at least 12cr there (and you should).

Between CLEP, Sophia, and Pell Grants, I think you can get your degree VERY inexpensively.
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There's an inexpensive RA school that has a history degree, and possibly accepts ACE credit. Sterling College Online is only $145/cr, so $435/course, and that would be huge bang for your buck for a Pell Grant - it would go a lot further than any of the Big 3. This would be a great option to take UL HIstory courses, including non-western which is required at many schools. This school might be a great option if your local CC is more expensive than $145/cr.

SNHU and UMGC also accept ACE and have History degrees.
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One other thing to consider, as a young person without a career yet: think about getting a job at a company that pays for a degree. For instance, Papa John's will pay 100% if you go to Purdue Global. Now, they don't have a history degree - but they do have plenty of other courses you will need no matter where you end up. Walmart will pay 100% or else reimburse up to $5250/yr at a host of colleges. Starbucks, Taco Bell, Target, Verizon, Chipotle, BofA, etc. all have tuition assistance plans. If you need to work anyway, you may as well choose a place that will pay for college for you. Just a thought.

[natshar]

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One other thing to consider, as a young person without a career yet: think about getting a job at a company that pays for a degree.  For instance, Papa John's will pay 100% if you go to Purdue Global.  Now, they don't have a history degree - but they do have plenty of other courses you will need no matter where you end up.  Walmart will pay 100% or else reimburse up to $5250/yr at a host of colleges.  Starbucks, Taco Bell, Target, Verizon, Chipotle, BofA, etc. all have tuition assistance plans.  If you need to work anyway, you may as well choose a place that will pay for college for you.  Just a thought.

Some ideas:

Taco bell tuition reimbursement starts from day 1 of working there. They offer full tuition at select schools and up to $5k a year at others. And you can also combine it with government aid with pell grant if you choose one of the $5k programs. You only need to work 20 hours a week for this benefit. Many of the schools they offer full tuition at accept ACE credits like sophia, and study.com. (SNHU, UMGC, Brandman, etc)  I don't know if history is one of the options.

Starbucks gets you a degree from Arizona State University online 100% covered costs. You are eligible after 90 days and only need to work 20 hours a week for this. ASU does not take ACE like Sophia but they do take CLEP and DSST tests. So you could knock out many of your gen eds with CLEP and DSST. Also, ASU is 7 week long courses and if you go year round you can finish quicker than 4 years easy. Also Arizona State University Universal Learner is a way to get ASU credits for cheap and they offer a few math classes that are self-paced but end up as real ASU grades on a transcript.

UPS pays really good like starting $15/hr in some places. They offer $5k a year to school with a total of $25k and your eligible on day 1. The shifts are short and can work around college schedules. I know a lot of people who did UPS and college at the same time.

You do need to be out of HS two years for UMPI yourpace as others mentioned.

[dfrecore]

Some ideas:

Also, ASU is 7 week long courses and if you go year round you can finish quicker than 4 years easy. Also Arizona State University Universal Learner is a way to get ASU credits for cheap and they offer a few math classes that are self-paced but end up as real ASU grades on a transcript.

Just to clarify for the OP, ASU/UL (formerly ASU/EA) does not qualify for Pell Grants, so if you're going to use that, this is not a great option.  You have to enroll at a regular college full-time for the most benefit from Pell.

[bjcheung77]

Financial Aid is great for you since you're starting off, so Pell Grant/Fin Aid would pay for a majority if not the entire degree. I highly recommend going to the community college route first to get yourself some Regionally Accredited courses under your belt for easy laddering to a Bachelors. Use CLEP/ModernStates.org for your first year free (or more) while taking a few RA courses. Then you can do the remainder using Sophia.org/Study.com for a Big 3 Bachelors!

[natshar]

Some ideas:

Also, ASU is 7 week long courses and if you go year round you can finish quicker than 4 years easy. Also Arizona State University Universal Learner is a way to get ASU credits for cheap and they offer a few math classes that are self-paced but end up as real ASU grades on a transcript.

Just to clarify for the OP, ASU/UL (formerly ASU/EA) does not qualify for Pell Grants, so if you're going to use that, this is not a great option.  You have to enroll at a regular college full-time for the most benefit from Pell.

Good point. ASU Universal Learner does not qualify for Pell. 

However, regular ASU online does and someone were willing to work for starbucks while attending ASU it would be all covered at no cost to them.