Please help me map out a good degree path and navigate fin aid.

[rachel83az]

Although covered by multiple tuition reimbursement plans, PUG is a lot of writing. A LOT. Each credit that you take at PUG is at least one paper or project, sometimes multiple papers/projects. It's not for everyone. Some people like it, but it's important to go into the program with open eyes so you know what you're getting into. Not minding writing doesn't always mean that one is open to doing quite that many papers for their degree.

UMPI's Project Management degree could be a good choice for someone who is interested in IT. It's not strictly IT-related, but it's fast, cheap, and you can use TADA/Coursera to help show employers that you have sufficient IT knowledge. If you qualify for financial aid, a degree from UMPI can be free or you might even get money back. While financial aid doesn't normally cover Sophia, getting money back would help offset the cost of paying for Sophia out of pocket.

Finally, instead of TESU's IT or BSBA CIS degrees, what about their BA Comp Sci? Comp Sci and IT aren't the same, but a Comp Sci degree could certainly be carried over into a career in IT. Assuming that the "Golden State Guarantee" program will still be active next year, I would say that you can spend the next 6 months or so accumulating credits from Sophia and Coursera so that you qualify for it in the spring.

If you do want to go this route, I would apply for TESU ASAP ($50 application fee) so that you aren't hit by any unfortunate changes if they decide to change the catalog on July 1st.

In the meantime, you can get the FREE Pierpont BOG AAS. 3 credits in Communications - take Visual Communications from Sophia. 6 credits in math/science - take College Algebra and/or Environmental Science and/or Human Biology (it looks like you have 6 credits of Statistics, but I'm not sure if Pierpont will count them all). 3 credits in Social Sciences - covered with Psych 101 and/or Sociology 101. 3 credits in Computer Literacy - Should be more than covered.

At Pierpont, the IT Support Professional Certificate should be worth either 12 or 15 credits (depends on if they've updated since the certificate was renewed). Google Data Analytics should be worth another 12. Assuming the worst (12 credits for IT Support Professional + 12 credits for Data Analytics + no transfer of Basic Statistics), that's 51 credits. Add 3 credits from Visual Communications + 6 credits of math/science and you're at 60 total credits. Maybe snag the free IBM Cybersecurity certificate from TADA to 100% be sure that you've got at least 60 credits. Collect your BOG AAS for $99 (for Sophia) plus the cost of your existing college transcripts.