College Advice, please.
BluePhoenixHD
Member Posts: 16 ■□□□□□□□□□
Glad I found this site / forums! Anyway, my names Josh, nice to meet everyone.
I was wondering if anybody had any Colleges that they recommend? You see, I have stomach and nerve problems so can not go to a Brick & Mortar College, so would have to go online.
I was considering WGU but I have no prior College experience. This will be my first time going to college. Would need it to be 100%
I want to get better and hope that pursuing a degree will give me a push.
Hoping to find a relatively cheap college, one that Financial Aid can pay for, to tell the truth.
Hope this was the right place to post this. =D
Degrees I am interested in:
IT
Networking
Cyber Security
Web Design
Game Design
Basically anything dealing with computers. =D
Sincerely,
Josh
I was wondering if anybody had any Colleges that they recommend? You see, I have stomach and nerve problems so can not go to a Brick & Mortar College, so would have to go online.
I was considering WGU but I have no prior College experience. This will be my first time going to college. Would need it to be 100%
I want to get better and hope that pursuing a degree will give me a push.
Hoping to find a relatively cheap college, one that Financial Aid can pay for, to tell the truth.
Hope this was the right place to post this. =D
Degrees I am interested in:
IT
Networking
Cyber Security
Web Design
Game Design
Basically anything dealing with computers. =D
Sincerely,
Josh
Comments
CIW Web Foundations Associate
CompTIA A+
Fall 2016: Start PhD in Mathematics [X]
Did not know that was an option. Have also read that WGU has high transfer costs.
Kind of. Kind of difficult to explain. I am trying to get better and wanting to actually go to work, etc.
Yeah, that is an option, although not sure which jobs would work. Besides Telemarketing, I believe.
Did not know about that. What would that consist of, which study materials and how to do it online? Is it true WGU has high transfer costs? Also, how much does it cost to get the certificate?
Daniel,
Kind of hard to explain actually. I want a degree to push myself to be able to go a work place. Oh and thanks for welcoming me. =D
Gbdavidx,
That is certainly an option, not sure what type of job it would consist of though. Telemarketing comes to mind as well as Web Design possible.
Everybody,
This is all new to me, including using and navigating through the Command Prompt, etc. Willing to learn. =D
Their WGU-related offerings are here: Online College Courses - Distance Learning Courses | StraighterLine
Boot Up Your Information Technology Degree - IT Careers | StraighterLine
Fall 2016: Start PhD in Mathematics [X]
Thanks for the links, checked them out. Is $149 worth it for 3 credits, if I finish the assigned course in a month?
Any other colleges that you recommend besides WGU?
Thanks, checked it out. Is $149 for 3 credits worth it? If I finish the assigned course in a month?
Also, does anybody have any other colleges to recommend, besides WGU? Trying to compare colleges, etc.
Now, if you have a lot of free time and push yourself, then something like WGU is a great option as you can pack a boatload of classes per semester and finish your degree quicker. You can get ahead as your abilities and desire permit.
If you want to get a feeling for online classes before committing to anything, you can check out MOOCs such as edX or Coursera.
http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/53985-master-list-b-m-colleges-offering-online-degrees.html
If you don't mind, how does StraighterLine work?? Do you have a certian amount of time to complete the cousres or is it actually at your own pace??
Not too expansive and they have a couple of the majors you mentioned and is fully online. I believe they are regionally accredited.
full sail is another option but they are nationally accredited so may not have as much clout. I do know people and read about people there and though expensive , is a pretty good school.
I personally just started at WGU and like it for the most part. If you got your A+ that's 8 credits.
Start Date: Oct 1, 2013
In Progress: TBP1 WFV1 EAV1 CLC1
Transfered: AGCI GAC1 BVC1 (8 cu)
Remaining: EDV1 BNC1 BOV1 BVC1 CJV1 CIC1 CRV1 CTV1 CUV1 CVV1 CWV1 DEV1 DHV1 DIV1 DJV1 IWC1 IWT1 CJC1 TJP1 TPV1 WPV1 EUP1 EUC1 TXP1 TXC1 TYP1 TYC1 EBV1 CDC1 CDP1 UBC1 UBT1
Yeah, Fort Hays has been helpful and responsive to e-mail.s Not sure if I am that creative towards Web Development though. I used to make websites, not great ones or anything, in High School.
Danielm7,
Thanks, I did! Problem is, a good amount of them offers Master Degrees. Some colleges I got in contact with said that I would need a Bachelor's to even be able to apply.
Xonis1,
Checked them out and sent them a message for more information, etc.
If you're not fussed about whether or not it's a US college, you could look at the Open University, it an accredited University in the UK (this is the link for their international site - outside the EU). Here's the link for further info.
Depending on what modules you choose, there is either an exam or an assessment (eg a large assignment) at the end that's worth 50% of the course marks and the other 50% is based on anywhere from 2-4 assignments.
Currently studying my post-grad with them, hoping to end up with my Masters (if I don't the PGCert or the PGDip will be ok too
There is also the Charles Sturt University in Oz. They have partnered up with Microsoft to offer the IT Masters program.
Not sure if UK degrees are accepted in the US? I mean, other then big name schools, etc. Looked it up though, like if they were, the answer's and question's was pretty mixed.
Also Dakota State University has an online IT program that is reasonably priced.
2020 Goals: 0 of 2 courses complete, 0 of 2 exams complete
It fuzzy in the US, I mean even if you gain your degree in one part of the US it may not be recognised in another part (depending on College or University) as, I believe, the US has regional accreditation rather than national accreditation (like the UK) and in some parts College's or Universities don't even have to be accredited or there is no accreditation process. For example Oregon and Michigan used to keep a list of Universities in the US that they didn't accept, however now a days they use organisations such as Chea.
Anyway, individual Universities outside of the US have to apply to get accredited in the US and the Open University is currently one of two UK Universities that have gained this:
See here.
Apart from that, if one did get a degree from a UK university (or from an education organisation from another country) that didn't have the US accreditation, then I believe you would have to get it evaluated by NACES (the US equivalent of UK NARIC).
Then after all of that, it's down to the prospective employer on whether or not they will accept your degree, but then again, that's the same thing with a degree gained in the US.
Employers are certainly at their own discretion to accept a degree as meeting a requirement. Some will only accept regionally accredited degrees or (in some professions) degrees with certain national accreditation, but more commonly it will come down to the subjective analysis of HR and others involved in the hiring process as to how favorably to look upon a degree.
In general, WGU (from numerous anecdotal reports, mind you) is widely enough accepted by employers that it will certainly provide value as a credential. For OP, based on the situation, I think WGU would make a lot of sense.
Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
In progress: CLEP US GOV,
Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
The main point I was trying to get across (without saying it as people get touchy) was about degree mills (abeit maybe poorly) - institutes whose qualifications aren't worth the paper they're printed on...
You received some decent advice in this thread.
One thing that I would add is that you should consider going to a community college to start, as that may be one of the most cost effective methods available to get your lower level credits knocked out. You would want to consider a community college that has an articulation agreement with the four-year school that you are targeting. (An articulation agreement means that they have agreed in advance to accept that community college's credits for certain courses. In some cases, the articulation agreement means that the Associates degree will be good for the entire two year block of general education for certain majors. You would need to research your target schools, for clarification.)
Also, I would recommend checking out these websites:
CLEP Forum - CLEP Study - CLEP Testing - Study Guide and Strategies
DegreeInfo Distance Learning - online degree forum - The Front Page
They may help you with some ideas about alternative routes to credentials, especially via distance learning.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lewislampkin (Please connect: Just say you're from TechExams.Net!)
Also OP, around good one is University of Maryland University College, especially if you are looking into Cyber Security...
CCNTrainee,
I actually talked to a UMUC representative plus a program adviser for their Cyber Security. Just back to the cost, doubt if I can pay for it.
Instant,
Was thinking of that but don't actually have a community college in my town. It's rather small. XD Anyhow, the only one that is close enough has to have you go to the College some times, so not able to do that.
Is Web Development a good field?
Have you ever worked anywhere before? I am very confused.
IT far from sitting in front of a computer every day. People skills are actually the most important whether you're dealing with a customer or selling something to the CIO/CTO. I would not recommend to ANYONE who has had no prior physical college experience to do stuff online as a replacement.
No, I have not worked anywhere. Although, I did sell stuff in High School for the Camera / class. XD I'm trying to get better with my nerves and things to actually go out and get a job.
Everyone in every role in IT needs people skills.
Going to try.
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Anyone know if Bismark College is more recognized / recommended then Fort Hays? Both offers a Web Development degree. Still searching. =D