What's the deal with NAU?

[atmoex]

I'm interested in learning more about Northern Arizona University but unfortunately I can't find enough information.  Has anyone completed an undergraduate degree with them? Are the courses exam or coursework based? I'm torn between UMPI and NAU.

[rachel83az]

I know at least one person here has done some NAU schoolwork. I don't remember if they mentioned whether it was mostly exams or papers. Unlike UMPI, NAU accepts almost no ACE credit. Even CLEP exams are a bit dubious and may not be accepted (for all degrees). Unless NAU has a must-have degree for you, I wouldn't recommend them as an option over UMPI.

[atmoex]

I know at least one person here has done some NAU schoolwork. I don't remember if they mentioned whether it was mostly exams or papers. Unlike UMPI, NAU accepts almost no ACE credit. Even CLEP exams are a bit dubious and may not be accepted (for all degrees). Unless NAU has a must-have degree for you, I wouldn't recommend them as an option over UMPI.

Interesting. I thought they accepted ACE credits. I need 60 RA credits, I want to do Business or IT/CS as stated in the other topic. I think I'm going for UMPI BA Business then. Just wanting to make sure, I can complete Sophia.org ACE credits as a non-American and transfer them to UMPI, correct? Thanks!

[rachel83az]

They SAY that they accept ACE credits, but the list of those credits that NAU actually accepts is from, like, 5 years ago. At least. Half the places no longer exist. They only accept something like 1 or 2 classes from StraighterLine.

If you really want IT, I would suggest Purdue Global instead of NAU. They're very ACE-friendly and give you a TON of credit for things like an AWS certificate. dfrecore knows more about that, though. Nothing wrong with Business, either, if that works for you.

And, yes, there is no issue completing Sophia credits if you're an international student. We have many international students who have completed Sophia courses and then transferred them to UMPI and other schools.

[atmoex]

They SAY that they accept ACE credits, but the list of those credits that NAU actually accepts is from, like, 5 years ago. At least. Half the places no longer exist. They only accept something like 1 or 2 classes from StraighterLine.

If you really want IT, I would suggest Purdue Global instead of NAU. They're very ACE-friendly and give you a TON of credit for things like an AWS certificate. dfrecore knows more about that, though. Nothing wrong with Business, either, if that works for you.

And, yes, there is no issue completing Sophia credits if you're an international student. We have many international students who have completed Sophia courses and then transferred them to UMPI and other schools.

Thank you for the information! I'm not dead set on a particular major at this point. I'm fine with business. To be honest, since I plan on applying to grad school as well, I mostly care about:

1) "prestige" of the university, it should be a traditional school (not online-only)
2) in which I will be able to complete 60 RA credits in an affordable price and relatively fast,
3) and in which I will be able to transfer 60 ACE credits

Based on the information this amazing forum has, I think UMPI is the best choice. I am willing to sacrifice cost (within a reasonable range) if it's for the name of the university, but I also wouldn't want it to take more than two years total to complete, so if there are any other universities that meet the criteria, please feel free to recommend!

[rachel83az]

In that case, I think UMPI is a good choice. It's a reasonably upper-mid level traditional school. The whole YourPace thing is pretty new. They'll definitely allow you to transfer in 60 credits. Actually, if you're planning on taking 60 credits at UMPI anyway, maybe transfer in the full 90 and then add on another concentration to get to 60 credits. For instance, Marketing + Management & Leadership.

[atmoex]

In that case, I think UMPI is a good choice. It's a reasonably upper-mid level traditional school. The whole YourPace thing is pretty new. They'll definitely allow you to transfer in 60 credits. Actually, if you're planning on taking 60 credits at UMPI anyway, maybe transfer in the full 90 and then add on another concentration to get to 60 credits. For instance, Marketing + Management & Leadership.

This is a great idea. Thank you!

[dfrecore]

They SAY that they accept ACE credits, but the list of those credits that NAU actually accepts is from, like, 5 years ago. At least. Half the places no longer exist. They only accept something like 1 or 2 classes from StraighterLine.

If you really want IT, I would suggest Purdue Global instead of NAU. They're very ACE-friendly and give you a TON of credit for things like an AWS certificate. dfrecore knows more about that, though. Nothing wrong with Business, either, if that works for you.

And, yes, there is no issue completing Sophia credits if you're an international student. We have many international students who have completed Sophia courses and then transferred them to UMPI and other schools.

Thank you for the information! I'm not dead set on a particular major at this point. I'm fine with business. To be honest, since I plan on applying to grad school as well, I mostly care about:

1) "prestige" of the university, it should be a traditional school (not online-only)
2) in which I will be able to complete 60 RA credits in an affordable price and relatively fast,
3) and in which I will be able to transfer 60 ACE credits

Based on the information this amazing forum has, I think UMPI is the best choice. I am willing to sacrifice cost (within a reasonable range) if it's for the name of the university, but I also wouldn't want it to take more than two years total to complete, so if there are any other universities that meet the criteria, please feel free to recommend!

It's difficult for me to see how someone can ask for "prestige" alongside "affordable" and "fast" and "accepts 60cr of ACE." If you're just saying you don't want online only, that's not really "prestige" as much as it is your personal preference (which I get).

UMPI will be your best bet as not online-only (although they may see that you've never lived in Maine and figure it out); and is affordable IF you're fast.  With wanting to take 60cr there, that's certainly not going to be as fast and affordable as you can make it though, so you may want to bring in more credits if that's your ultimate goal - I'd bring in 90cr+.

[ss20ts]

Why do you want to take 60 credits at a college? You can transfer in up to 90 credits at UMPI.

[atmoex]

They SAY that they accept ACE credits, but the list of those credits that NAU actually accepts is from, like, 5 years ago. At least. Half the places no longer exist. They only accept something like 1 or 2 classes from StraighterLine.

If you really want IT, I would suggest Purdue Global instead of NAU. They're very ACE-friendly and give you a TON of credit for things like an AWS certificate. dfrecore knows more about that, though. Nothing wrong with Business, either, if that works for you.

And, yes, there is no issue completing Sophia credits if you're an international student. We have many international students who have completed Sophia courses and then transferred them to UMPI and other schools.

Thank you for the information! I'm not dead set on a particular major at this point. I'm fine with business. To be honest, since I plan on applying to grad school as well, I mostly care about:

1) "prestige" of the university, it should be a traditional school (not online-only)
2) in which I will be able to complete 60 RA credits in an affordable price and relatively fast,
3) and in which I will be able to transfer 60 ACE credits

Based on the information this amazing forum has, I think UMPI is the best choice. I am willing to sacrifice cost (within a reasonable range) if it's for the name of the university, but I also wouldn't want it to take more than two years total to complete, so if there are any other universities that meet the criteria, please feel free to recommend!

It's difficult for me to see how someone can ask for "prestige" alongside "affordable" and "fast" and "accepts 60cr of ACE." If you're just saying you don't want online only, that's not really "prestige" as much as it is your personal preference (which I get).

UMPI will be your best bet as not online-only (although they may see that you've never lived in Maine and figure it out); and is affordable IF you're fast.  With wanting to take 60cr there, that's certainly not going to be as fast and affordable as you can make it though, so you may want to bring in more credits if that's your ultimate goal - I'd bring in 90cr+.

You're right, I can't have it all. However, please note that I also stated that I would sacrifice cost for the name of the university. Also, replace "prestige" with "well/better known".

I plan on doing the degree (60c ACE, 60c RA) within 12 months. Is this unreasonable?

Why do you want to take 60 credits at a college? You can transfer in up to 90 credits at UMPI.

Because I want to make my application more competitive by having more graded courses.