Capella University Question

Grynder

I looked into them a few months back. It was just doing some information gathering and felt pretty good about them. I took a quick glance at the tuition and I remember it not bothering me to much.

I went back today and saw the prices. My program requires 180 credits at $310 a credit = $55800.
Even if I can transfer most of my credits I would still have to take the specialized courses which would add up to about $18000. Does that sound right?
I hope I am missing something, because at those prices Capella would no longer be an option for me

JDMurray

For what degree? And undergrad, grad, or post-grad? And are you transferring any units or waiving any classes?

Unless you have a lot of transferable community college units, I don't think the online prices are for undergrad degrees are very good at any online school. Masters prices are acceptable, and I've not looked into post-grad.

meadIT

If you are good at self study and a fast learner, look into Western Governor's University. With my two A.A.S. degrees and certs, I was able to transfer in 19 out of 32 degree requirements and should be able to finish the other 13 in a year, assuming I can keep up my current studying pace. They charge a flat rate of $3k per 6 month term and you can take as many classes can complete in that time frame.

If you do decide to apply there, PM me and I can give you a referral that will waive your application fee.

LarryDaMan

I don't want to get into a debate about degrees and I do not know the reputation or IT industry outlook on WGU, but...

XtreemeChaos wrote:

I was able to waive 19 out of 32 degree requirements.

Can't you find somewhere that will just hand you the degree? You are waiving 60% of the requirements, what is the point?

If you only just want the paper diploma, get some really nice paper and a great printer at Best Buy and print yourself a diploma! I don't mean to sound crass, but are we not missing the point in terms of getting a college education?

meadIT

LarryDaMan wrote:

I don't want to get into a debate about degrees and I do not know the reputation or IT industry outlook on WGU, but...

XtreemeChaos wrote:

I was able to waive 19 out of 32 degree requirements.

Can't you find somewhere that will just hand you the degree? You are waiving 60% of the requirements, what is the point?

If you only just want the paper diploma, get some really nice paper and a great printer at Best Buy and print yourself a diploma! I don't mean to sound crass, but are we not missing the point in terms of getting a college education?

Ummm....19 out of 32 is just a bit more than half of a degree, which my two Associate degrees transferred into. I instead could have transferred into a school like University of Virginia (articulation agreement) with about the same amount of credits cleared, but my work and family will not allow me to attend classes during the day which is when most upper level undergraduate classes are offered.

Edit: Waive may not have been the best choice of word in my original post. I should have used transferred instead.

LarryDaMan

XtreemeChaos wrote:

LarryDaMan wrote:

I don't want to get into a debate about degrees and I do not know the reputation or IT industry outlook on WGU, but...

XtreemeChaos wrote:

I was able to waive 19 out of 32 degree requirements.

Can't you find somewhere that will just hand you the degree? You are waiving 60% of the requirements, what is the point?

If you only just want the paper diploma, get some really nice paper and a great printer at Best Buy and print yourself a diploma! I don't mean to sound crass, but are we not missing the point in terms of getting a college education?

Ummm....19 out of 32 is just a bit more than half of a degree, which my two Associate degrees transferred into. I instead could have transferred into a school like University of Virginia (articulation agreement) with about the same amount of credits cleared, but my work and family will not allow me to attend classes during the day which is when most upper level undergraduate classes are offered.

Edit: Waive may not have been the best choice of word in my original post. I should have used transferred instead.

Transferring credit is not really the same as "waiving" requirements, so I am sorry if I misunderstood your particular situation.

My point still stands though, I looked into Capella and I could get my Master's Degree in just 7 classes. That doesn't seem right to me. Call me old fashioned, but I would like to learn something while obtaining my "advanced" degree.

dynamik

LarryDaMan wrote:

My point still stands though, I looked into Capella and I could get my Master's Degree in just 7 classes. That doesn't seem right to me. Call me old fashioned, but I would like to learn something while obtaining my "advanced" degree.

Then do what JD did and take all the classes instead of getting them waived. I believe he could have either done something similar, or could have done that if he would have waited a bit and knocked out some other certs. You get what you put into it, no matter where you go. You could completely squander a more traditional education as well.

JDMurray

LarryDaMan wrote:

Transferring credit is not really the same as "waiving" requirements, so I am sorry if I misunderstood your particular situation.

Correct. Transferring units from college classes you've already taken is not the same as having some other experience (certification, job history, challenging the class' final exam, etc.) that is equivalent to taking the class.

LarryDaMan wrote:

My point still stands though, I looked into Capella and I could get my Master's Degree in just 7 classes. That doesn't seem right to me. Call me old fashioned, but I would like to learn something while obtaining my "advanced" degree.

I depends on what you want the degree for. I needed the knowledge, so I took all the required classes, plus an additional class I didn't need to graduate, and without transferring/waiving/challenging any units or classes. I also took only one class (most) quarters so I could focus only on that class and carefully preserve my 4.0 GPA.

Some of my classmates were there only because their employers said they needed a Masters degree to get a raise or to be promoted, and their employers were willing to pay for their entire degree. Their motivation was simply to get a "B" in each class and end up with the paper that would put more money in their paycheck, not more knowledge in their brain. This, too, is a common motivation for attending school in the modern age.

Grynder

I already have BS in Biochemistry and an AA in Networking. I should be able to transfer a few credits towards my Bachelors.

Looking over the curriculum I would probably end up having to take 8 - 10 credit courses at ~ $1800 a pop.

JDMurray

Grynder wrote:

I already have BS in Biochemistry and an AA in Networking. I should be able to transfer a few credits towards my Bachelors.

Never assume that you will be able to transfer any credits. Only the educational institution after reviewing your transcripts will be able to determine what is actually transferable to their programs.

Grynder

I should have said : I am hoping to be able to transfer some credits

darkerosxx

LarryDaMan wrote:

My point still stands though, I looked into Capella and I could get my Master's Degree in just 7 classes. That doesn't seem right to me. Call me old fashioned, but I would like to learn something while obtaining my "advanced" degree.

My MBA program is 10 classes total at a brick & mortar college, nothing waived/transferred.