What did your families think?

[BrighterFuture88]

So, I discussed with my Mother the route I am taking for obtaining my degree and with her being somebody with a Masters from a good institution, she tried to claim that I’m not earning a legitimate degree since it isn’t being handled the “traditional way”.  With going through that lovely conversation, it made me wonder how many of you — especially those of you who have earned your degree(s) through this process, have experienced family or friends that thought taking accelerated & at-your-own-pace courses was junk?

[davewill]

My immediate family saw what I did to get my degree and don't feel that way at all. I honestly don't offer anyone else (this includes my mother) details they don't need. To them, I simply finished my degree online. When I DO meet someone who is genuinely interested, I'm happy to explain more.

[natshar]

Yeah same. My parents don't see too much value in an online degree in general. But they are ok with my choice of doing it online. But they aren't really happy about it, but it is my life.

I'm actually considering doing the traditional B&M route and giving up TESU to finish my degree (long story, but it might actually be quicker and cheaper or about the same). Of course, my situation is different than most peoples as everyone elses. It all depends on what works best for you. My parents really want me to do the B&M route, but I'm still not sure.

A degree from the big 3 will not be enough for medical school or law assuming you only used alternative credits for your degree. And if money and time are no issue at all then probably the traditional route makes the most sense. But most of the people on this board, lack either time and/or money to purse the traditional path. If you are young there are a lot of benefits from connections from going to a University if you can afford it of course.

[MSK9]

A degree from the big 3 will not be enough for medical school or law assuming you only used alternative credits for your degree

I'm not going to derail this thread and I'm not trying to call you out, but this statement is not necessarily accurate. 

Medical schools will not accept alternative credits for science pre-requisites (nor should they); that much is true.

I've had no problems whatsoever with my Bachelor's degree being from Thomas Edison State University. I've verified its legitimacy with 20+ medical schools (both allopathic and osteopathic) in the United States (a list can be found in another thread).

To answer the question of the thread:

I've been fortunate that my family has been very supportive; school pedigree and methods of completion never mattered to them.

[natshar]

A degree from the big 3 will not be enough for medical school or law assuming you only used alternative credits for your degree

I'm not going to derail this thread, and I'm not trying to call you out, but this statement is not necessarily accurate. 

Medical schools will not accept alternative credits for science pre-requisites (nor should they); that much is true.

I've had no problems whatsoever with my Bachelor's degree being from Thomas Edison State University. I've verified its legitimacy with 20+ medical schools (both allopathic and osteopathic) in the United States (a list can be found in another thread).

Yes I know. What I was referring to was someone who earns a degree through TESU using only alternative credits for all courses including sciences. In order to go medical school, a student must take at least some graded University coursework in the Sciences, whereas some big 3 students on this board don't have any of that at all. Those students would not be able to go to law or medical school or other professional schools without taking additional coursework.

I'm glad you found success in medical school with your TESU degree. I saw your thread and I'm quite impressed.

[Supermind]

There might actually be a way around lack of graded credits: You use the percentage scores earned on study.com exams and calculate your own grades and cumulative GPA based on TESU’s grading scale. Of course, while this might not have the ‘legitimacy’ of TESU grading your courses, it equips you with something that you could use to explain your situation to the admissions departments in Grad schools. Princeton University has a page on their website, which provides guidelines on how to calculate your GPA on your own, if it is not mentioned on your transcript. So, I am supposing they are open to consider situations like mine, should I choose to apply.
I was also browsing on Google yesterday, and was surprised to learn that several ‘proper’ universities in the US and worldover allow their students to attempt a variety of courses, which will only feature on their transcripts as ‘Credit/No Credit’. Apparently, one can have a max of 30 such credits on their transcript. This option is made available so students can explore different interests without having to worry about hurting their GPA.
While all of this might offer a ‘thin’ chance of making it to the Grad School of your choice, I think it is worth trying. If one can effectively represent their situation in their Essay, and why they had to go down this route, but how it does not really mean that they are academically weak and incompetent, I think their explanations might be considered.

[Stoic]

If you're 25+ worrying about what people think about your undergrad degree you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of failure. The more I look at it, the more that it does not matter. Even if you were to lets say get a Bachelors from Stanford at 25-28 years old, then you wouldn't even be able to get an internship at a good company without going extra hard to get it. At that point you probably could've gotten the internship with a TESC degree, because they hired you based on other factors. You gotta move on with life and achieve some type of physical and emotional independence and create some value, that's the only thing that matters.

[dfrecore]

A degree from the big 3 will not be enough for medical school or law assuming you only used alternative credits for your degree. And if money and time are no issue at all then probably the traditional route makes the most sense. But most of the people on this board, lack either time and/or money to purse the traditional path. If you are young there are a lot of benefits from connections from going to a University if you can afford it of course.

I KNOW there have been people who had a TESU degree with entirely alternative credits (no GPA, not even a capstone back a few years ago) that got into Law schools, so this is not a true statement.

I also don't think your med school statement is entirely accurate.  I know of at least 2 people that had degrees in computer science who were accepted at med schools conditionally, and had to spend some time getting their lab sciences done.  So if they could get accepted, then I'm sure a TESU degree is also an option.  Yes, you'd have to go get those lab sciences done, but hey, at least you know you're spending the time and money on those AFTER you've been accepted.

---

Regarding my family, the only ones that mattered were my husband, who was completely supportive, and my kids, who honestly could not have cared less (for those who are doing this to "show" your kids something, they don't really care). I don't think I ever even told anyone except maybe my mom as I was going along, and she didn't care much either except to encourage me to keep going. WHERE I got it was not even discussed. I just said "online" and she was like "alrighty then, have at it."

Spend far less time thinking about what others think or say, and more time figuring out what's right for you. In this, and just about everything else in your life. I have found that there are a few people in your life who will encourage and support you in what you do, and also tell you the truth if you're being an idiot. Find a few of those, and don't even discuss important things with the rest.

[BrighterFuture88]

If you're 25+ worrying about what people think about your undergrad degree you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of failure. The more I look at it, the more that it does not matter.  Even if you were to lets say get a Bachelors from Stanford at 25-28 years old, then you wouldn't even be able to get an internship at a good company without going extra hard to get it. At that point you probably could've gotten the internship with a TESC degree, because they hired you based on other factors. You gotta move on with life and achieve some type of physical and emotional independence and create some value, that's the only thing that matters.

Haha, I’m not even concerned in the slightest other than the moment I tried to explain it to her.  I just thought it was an interesting perspective and was curious if anyone else has experienced something similar.

[Stoic]

If you're 25+ worrying about what people think about your undergrad degree you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of failure. The more I look at it, the more that it does not matter.  Even if you were to lets say get a Bachelors from Stanford at 25-28 years old, then you wouldn't even be able to get an internship at a good company without going extra hard to get it. At that point you probably could've gotten the internship with a TESC degree, because they hired you based on other factors. You gotta move on with life and achieve some type of physical and emotional independence and create some value, that's the only thing that matters.

Haha, I’m not even concerned in the slightest other than the moment I tried to explain it to her.  I just thought it was an interesting perspective and was curious if anyone else has experienced something similar.

They grew up during the time that a degree actually meant something. Alongside with that the perception of the brand attached to it. That has all changed and now in days you could educate yourself with mooc’s and Amazon. There was barely any difference between the courses I took at Harvard extension and the mooc offered on edx for the same classes. You could learn the same thing both ways, a free way and for $. That wasn’t the case back then and information was closely guarded and isolated to certain type of universities. At this point knowledge is everywhere and we are just checking in a box with our bachelors. That is unless you’re going into law, engineering (except computer science) or medicine. At that point you will want to have some big brands in your resume to increase your trust in the eyes of your potential customers. But if you’re going for business or some degree in the humanities. No one will care. And it’s not about learning more or a better education because with moocs and virtually any book available on kindle there’s no excuse to become an expert on anything you want. If I want to learn computer science I could self teach myself with the best and most up to date books in the subject and use moocs on the side to compliment my learning. Going to some brick and mortar college and sitting down will delay the process by years. Plus once you’re working and coding or being a barista at Starbucks no one will care if you went to Stanford or TESC. They just want their app coded or their coffee.