recovery addict looking for degree planning help

[galileom]

Please help, anyone. Looking for the easiest route. I am somewhat homeless. Currently have a support system. Suffer substance abuse for many years. In recovery right now. I don’t have the biggest confidence when it comes to school.

I’m not too familiar with the top 3. Been talking with WGU but I feel finishing their program might take a lot more than a year. Spoke with UMPI. I like that I could transfer more credit with them compared with WGU. I really like Sophia Learning. Would like a place that except the most Sophia credits as possible.

Your Location: California, United States  


Your Age: 38


What kind of degree do you want? I want a Liberal Arts degree with possibly a minor in education. Feel that might be the easiest path.                                                                                                                                                 
Any certifications or military experience? None                                                                                
Budget: Qualify for financial aid.                                                                                                    
Dedicated time to study:  Can study full time but might need to get a job soon.                                                                                              
Commitments: Living on some savings. Can currently commit full time but my saving is running out. Would probably need to work soon to support me. Not married or have children.                                   
Timeline: Quickly as possible but would rather have an easier path. Was considering getting a degree from Pierpont BOG AAS. Work a bit to save money and then get back to finishing a bachelor degree. 

SOPHIA:
CALCULUS
INTRO TO STATISTICS
COLLEGE ALGEBRA
COMMUNICATION AT WORKS
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
 
STUDY.COM
BIOLOGY WITH LAB
 
COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
ENGL 100 FUND OF COMPOSITION 3.00 
J 101 INTRO/ADMIN OF JUST 3.00
ECON 101 PRINC OF ECONOMICS 3.00
PSY 205 DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH 3.00
PSY 101 INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY 3.00
NGL 101 READING/COMPOSITION 3.00 
HIST 108 POL/SOC HISTORY U S 3.00
MATH 130 ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA 4.00 
ARTC 70 COMPUTER GRAPHICS 3.00
POLI 1 POLITICAL SCIENCE 3.00
ARTS 40A SCULPTURE 3.00
PHOT BEGINNING PHOTO 3.00 

I really abuse my brain. It takes me a lot longer to study. I used to own a business in the twenties and early thirties. When that failed, my life spiraled out of control. Right now, would like to get any bachelor’s degree to get a decent job with benefits. I use to work a lot with children in summer camps. Have several summer camps connections, I just need a degree.  Any advice would be much appreciated.

[bjcheung77]

@galileom, Welcome to the board! Hey, you may want to continue with UMPI if you've already started correspondence with them. They're one of the main universities we recommend here due to them accepting 75% of alternative credit transfer.  

Having said that, you may also want to take a look at this partnership, to get a competency 'project/work' based degree at SNHU / Gateway U... https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...e-Provider

UMPI WIKI Link, check out Education or Management Minors: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

[dfrecore]

I'm voting for UMPI - with as many credits as possible from Sophia before you enroll. I also think that you may want to get those Sophia credits now, get a job, and then settle into it and get a good schedule going before enrolling anywhere, just so you're steady when you start school.

Things to take at Sophia:
Intro to Ethics
Art History I or II
US History I or II
Sociology
Spanish I
Any other courses you want to take up to 35cr for electives (your Elementary Algebra will probably not transfer in).

At that point, you're ready to enroll, and will have everything you need towards the GEC and the max number of credits possible to transfer in. You can then take any minor that you want. I've heard that Education is more work than some others, so you may want to look at Management instead.

[rachel83az]

I'm also going to second UMPI for a Bachelor's degree.

So, for the Pierpont degree... https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC

You need:

• 3 credits in Communications - Met with English Comp and/or Communication at work
  
• 6 credits in Math/Science - Met with Calculus, Algebra, Stats, Biology, and/or Environmental Science
  
• 3 credits in Social Sciences - Met with Psych classes
  
• 3 credits in Computer Literacy - MAYBE met with Computer Graphics; Sophia's Intro to IT usually recommended
  
• 60 or more credits in total - Not yet met. 2 classes short.
  

Since you already need more Sophia for UMPI, take 2 quick classes there to get your total up to 60+ credits. I would probably do Introduction to IT and also do Greek Philosophers. (Greek Philosophers makes Intro to Ethics easier.)

You can also get some FREE credits through The American Dream Academy: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera The Google IT Support Professional certificate is pretty easy. I am not sure about the Google Project Management certificate, but many have been able to finish that one quickly and it is probably the most relevant to your desired career path. 

I don't know how tight money is for you right now, but I would definitely recommend starting with the Pierpont degree ASAP. You're most of the way there already. If you start now, you should be able to make the December graduation. It will take just a little bit longer to get the UMPI degree.

[LevelUP]

UMPI is a good choice. If you passed Calculus, you can pass any college course. So that degree is yours for the taking.l 

Since you run your own business for a period of time, it makes sense for you to go for a business degree over a generic liberal arts degree.

[bjcheung77]

Thank you so much for responding to my post (recovery addict looking for degree planning help). It meant a lot.

You all recommended UMPI as a good choice for me. Aside from ENGLISH COM II which I am planning on taking at UMPI. To meet the 90-credit transfer, can I take any Sophia classes? Do you know if there are any classes from Sophia I must take? Management Degree or Educational Studies. Hope to hear from you. Thanks again.

Yes (only take Sophia.org courses that can transfer into the degree), you can take more Sophia.org courses that go towards the UMPI degree of your choice.  But first, you should finish your Pierpont BOG AAS, once done, continue with the UMPI bachelors degree by taking your Sophia.org courses remaining.  If you need to "know" which courses are going to transfer into UMPI, follow the WIKI links in the posts above, actually, I'll just link you below...

My recommendation, invest in a second monitor for multi-tasking and reviewing course content.  You really need to create a spreadsheet for reference and tracking purposes, I suggest you do the UMPI BLS MIS (or if you prefer with another minor or two as well) since you can ladder that up from the Pierpont BOG AAS.  Here's an example spreadsheet: 300/400

So, for the Pierpont degree... https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC 
UMPI WIKI Link, check out Education or Management Minors: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI
You can also get some FREE credits through The American Dream Academy: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera The Google IT Support Professional certificate

[galileom]

Thanks!! everyone for commenting. I'm planning on taking

Art History I or II
US History I or II
Sociology
ACTFL language exams for Spanish
Project Management
Micro Economics (completed Macro)
Business law

That should put me at 90 unit credits or very close to it. Enough to begin applying to UMPI. I am so close yet so far from getting into UMPI.

[ss20ts]

Thanks!! everyone for commenting. I'm planning on taking

Art History I or II
US History I or II
Sociology
ACTFL language exams for Spanish
Project Management
Micro Economics (completed Macro)
Business law

That should put me at 90 unit credits or very close to it. Enough to begin applying to UMPI. I am so close yet so far from getting into UMPI.

You've got time! You have until December 27th to get these all completed as that's the next application deadline. That's the deadline to apply for the session beginning January 17th. So you really have got some time to get these courses and exam completed. You can also complete Spanish on Sophia if that saves you time and money!