Help with degree plan for mom

[dfrecore]

So, first she needs to see if it's worth the cost to get the AA.  I have no idea how much your mom makes, but let's say it's $15/hr.  A 10% increase would be $1.5/hr.  Multiplied by 2080 (normal number of hours in a work year for full time employment), that's $3,120 a year.  So it's going to take a year to recoup a $3,000 degree.  Less time if she makes more than that, more time if she makes less.  And, now we get to the cost of a degree.

All of these schools will take your mom's old credits, no problems there.  All of them will take ACE/NCCRS credit, so inexpensive there.

- EC is going to cost $4600.  Too expensive, and you have a capstone.
- TESU is going to cost $4107.  Still expensive, and the price will be going up after 6/30, so it will be closer to $4800 after that.
- COSC will cost $3,300 - a better price, but she won't be able to get her ASBA, it will be a general AA.
- Pierpont is free, but they are taking a LONG time to evaluate credits and get people through graduation.  Still a good bet though.  Your cheapest option by far.
- Patten is going to cost $2100 for an AA in General Studies with a Concentration in Business.  Not bad.

I think her best bet is the Pierpont BOG AAS with an Emphasis in Business.  But I would ask her company if that will work before starting.

If not, then her second best option is Patten.  Again, check with the company.  Leave at least 4-10 courses to complete at Patten, because you're paying tuition for courses, you might as well take as many as you can through them.  But choose ones that are easier, since you want to get through them as quickly as possible, and you have 4 months to do so.  My spreadsheet shows 7 Patten courses, but I just randomly chose which ones, they can all be found elsewhere.

I would take as many courses as possible from CLEP/Modern States if money is an issue.  If money isn't an issue, then I'd probably do Study.com or Straighterline (I would do Study.com but that's just me).  I'd probably sign up for and do College Algebra and Stats through ALEKS now before the courses expire (7/31 I think).  Any other free courses as well, if she wants.

Good luck to her.