Penn Foster then Master Data Science?

[Sunnydaze]

4 classes in 3 months is very slow for UMPI. You'd need at least 10 classes from UMPI, which would mean it'll take you at least 4 sessions (8 months) to finish at UMPI. That would cost you at least $5600. If you're going even slower, you're potentially looking at 10-12 months ($7000-$8400) for a UMPI degree. Granted, that is still cheaper than a Penn Foster degree, but Vle045 is correct that this may not be the best approach for you.

And I really, really don't think you'll be able to finish a Penn Foster degree in only a few months. They estimate that it'll take at least 2 months per semester, but the average is 6 months per semester. If you look at the total cost breakdown, you'll need AT LEAST 4 semesters. But it could be more, depending on how many of your credits they'll actually accept as being valid towards the degree of your choice. (Looking at what you already have, I'm not sure there's a lot of overlap with what Penn Foster wants.) It looks like you'd also need to take 40-60 exams per semester. If you're not able to finish a WGU degree in one term, there's no way that you'll be able to finish a Penn Foster degree in less than several years.

With the pace you're going, I really think that Excelsior is going to be the right choice for you. You'll be able to fill out most of your credits with Sophia, Davar, and Coopersmith. Davar and Coopersmith are flat-rate: you pay the same amount whether it takes you 1 month to study their courses or 6 months. You could then finish up with courses from SDC.

Excelsior should be slightly cheaper than Penn Foster AND significantly faster. If you were to start from scratch right now, you could get an Excelsior degree with fewer than 40 exams. An entire Penn Foster degree apparently has several hundred exams! Plus an unknown amount of papers. If you're looking for a shortcut, Penn Foster isn't it.

Thanks for the replies. I Will look into Excelsior and in the meantime work on obtaining a Pierport AAS. I Skimmed the site and a few threads about it. So hopefully, Ill be on time for the next graduation. That's the perfect milestone for me since most jobs require at least an AAS and also I need a win after all this time! Lol