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+--- Thread: Cal State vs The big three (/Thread-Cal-State-vs-The-big-three)
Cal State vs The big three - Rustydroid - 10-07-2018
I was wondering what you guys think of the following options that I have regarding where I go to school. Thanks to a lot of the things that I read here and to some advice provided by some of the members here I decided to go back to college. I was unaware of this but I was still eligible for the GI bill after my time in the service. I did some college back in the days but dropped out.
I decided to go back to school and my original plan was to finish my degree in one of the big three. I went back to my local community college and chugged away at classes towards my degree and to be eligible for a BAH stipend.
At the moment I'm 7 units away from an Excelsior Associate in Electromechanical technologies after they reviewed my transcript from college and the Navy. I'm also almost done with my associate in business administration from the community college that I'm attending. Thomas Edison has so far given me around 60 units and that's going to go up to 72 or so after this semester.
Now I spoke to my counselor who seemed happy to tell me that next year I could transfer to Cal State Fullerton to complete my degree. However in June next year my GI Bill expires. I think I might be able to afford it between my job paying for some and financial aid. Cal State Fullerton is also very close to my house.
Where I need help making a decision is wondering if its worth attending that Cal State Fullerton or just finishing my degree at one of the big three. Cal State Fullerton is not exactly a top tier school but is well known around the area at least better known then Thomas Edison or Excelsior.
I'm also undecided whether I should do a concentration in accounting or management. My goal is to eventually get promoted to a management position at my current job. With accounting I could get it done maybe but I also have the option of looking at a new career.
One of the big deciding factors for me is whether I'll be able to pass Business Calculus which Cal State Fullerton requires while Thomas Edison is fine with college algebra.
Thanks in advance for any input or advice given.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - Life Long Learning - 10-07-2018
2019 Rankings
California State University--Fullerton is ranked #221 in National Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.
#221 in National Universities
#167 in High School Counselor Rankings
#126 in Top Public Schools
#45 in Engineering Programs At schools where doctorate not offered
#172 in Business Programs
Cal State Fullerton will always be better well known than both Thomas Edison or Excelsior around the Nation. All things being equal (sounds like it is in your case) I would take a CSU-Fullerton degree over the Big 3. I say this and I am a huge fan of the Big 3. If it is close to you-you will always feel more of a relationship with CSU-Fullerton than a Big 3 college.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - davewill - 10-07-2018
Since it sounds like you'll be going part time, I would think that the Big3 route would go much quicker that Cal State.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - dfrecore - 10-07-2018
I live in CA, and while that school is well-known, I don't think it's super highly regarded. So no one is going to say "wow, you went to CSU Fullerton!?! That's amazing!!" It's not a bad school by any means, but it's just not impressive (most of the CSU's aren't BTW, and I'd still be more than willing to send one of my kids there, so I'm not dissing them). You also have to think that you may not always live right there, in which case it will mean even less.
My advice is to go to whichever school you can get done with most quickly - when you already have a career, then where you went to school matters less and less, while having a degree and being eligible for a promotion matters more and more. So the sooner, the better.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - MNomadic - 10-08-2018
I think it would depend upon if you find value in doing B&M classes vs online/alternative/test out classes at the big 3? I don't think it matters as much where you get the degree from(since none of the schools in question are ranked/prestigious ) as it does how you want to get it.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - Johmford - 10-09-2018
Are you going to ever get a masters?
If no go to CSU Fullerton.
If yes go to TESU, or other, and knock out the easiest bachelors and then go get a Masters from a school whose format fits yours learning style.
For your situation the LAST school you go to is going to be the most important factor in your raise/promotion.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - cookderosa - 10-09-2018
In my opinion, once you're outside "the list" of about 100-200 colleges that "anyone" would know- everything is equal except for those who can get mileage out of their local college's brand name. That only works if you're planning to stay local for the next decade or so and your local college's reputation is neutral or good.
Edit that I love jjsafari's suggestion - and don't automatically assume you won't get a masters- I think most of us here said that once upon a time lol. But, speed and cost are factors, and IF you think that the business calculus class could potentially mean you not graduating, that's HUGE. Math was a factor in choosing 2 of the 3 colleges / degrees my kids have pursued.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - dfrecore - 10-09-2018
Math was a deciding factor for me as well. If it was between a school where I had to take even Precalc (like EC's BSBA) then I wasn't going to do it. For that factor alone, I also chose not to look at any of my local colleges (also CSU's, and also require Business Calc for the BSBA). So it was between TESU, COSC & WGU.
I ended up with TESU over COSC due to the fact that I had a lot of CC courses to bring in, and they had the fewest UL requirements (plus that pesky science and science + lab). And TESU over WGU because I had a lot of my GE's done, and it was cheaper/faster at that point to do TESU (I think I was about 75% done with the degree by the time I got serious).
I placed zero emphasis on the name of the school.
RE: Cal State vs The big three - sanantone - 10-10-2018
There are so many good schools offering master's programs online, you might as well save time and money by finishing your bachelor's at one of the Big 3. #221 is so low that it almost doesn't matter. It's almost in the same category as the national universities that don't have their rank published because they're in the bottom quartile.