Online College Degree

[navygirl0118(Brandon's Wife)]

I'm considering trying to get an online Bachelors degree in either Health Sciences or maybe Healthcare Administration. I was just wondering if anyone else has gotten a degree from an online school or is thinking about it too. I've heard mixed opinions about it. I'm not sure if having an online degree would be looked at the same by employers as a degree from a university. Any help/advice would be appreciated!

 

 

Thanks!! :)

 

[Val-ACD-(ship 12 div 034)]

Greetings, Online degrees are very acceptable nowadays and give you versatility with the ability to study at your pace.   My daughter went through College Plus and now has 83 college credits.  She will be graduating from Thomas Edison College with a business marketing major and possibly an art major.  She just turned 18 today and has saved alot of money doing this.  CLEP tests and Dantes tests sure shorten the path to college and enable you to get credit for material you can study on your own or already know pretty well.   Check out the College board website for info on CLEP tests.   There is much info on accelerated distance learning through online colleges on the College Plus website too.    I wish you much success.

[NF Mom]

So the question remains, after she graduates from Thomas Edison College, will going to school online hurt her ability to get a good job ???

[BunkerQB]

I would recommend going to a community college, then transferring to a regular accredited 4-year university to get your bachelors. Employers never think of degrees from online colleges legit except for specific trades (some electronics, dental assistance, medical transcribers, etc.). If you can get a degree - besides, you will be young only once - get the collegian experience - live as close to the university as possible - participate in campus life. I have two sons 26 & 22. The sailor graduated from a 4 year university, then went OCS. Young son going to college for a degree in petroleum engineering. The university town - the whole atmosphere is something you should go through WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG!

[BunkerQB]

Thanks Nuke Wife for reinforcing. It's one thing to hear it from an old mom like me but when you hear it from a young woman it mean so much more. I know I would never give up my fun, fun, fun college years for anything in the world. There is just one time in your life to be going to college, have some intellectual freedom and still be "supported" by parents and society. The most inquisitive period of your life will be when you are between 18 to 24 (plus or minus a few years). I have done hands stands to make sure my two sons have had this opportunity. I am saying that it will work out for everyone but if you can, do the college route. You may find out things about yourself that you never even thought of.

There will be people who will say - you don't learn anything in college you can't learn with real life on the job training - for a small percentage - that is absolutely true. However, going to college is not just about preparing for a job later on. It is about opening your mind up. I know some of our military people will go to college after finishing their military service with the GI bill - that is fine - it a just reward for service to our country - but the college experience will be different because the ex-military man/woman will have been in the real world - the wide-eyed-innocent-lens will be too clear, too real.

navygirl, I hope this all makes sense. We are supportive of whatever decision you make.

[NF Mom]

Do you have a two year degree now, or are starting from just a high school diploma ?

[NF Mom]

Traditional four year Universities, both State schools and Private, provide standardized statistics on Employment in the targeted jobs after graduation.  Have you investigated those for both Online and Traditional Schools you are considering ?

[NF Mom]

Many regions of the United States have academic agreements between the Four Year Universities and the Two Year Colleges.  Usually all public colleges and and all public universities are party to these academic agreements.  Private University participation is usually more limited.  These academic agreements normally include accepting an "academic transfer" degree from members who are 2 year colleges as meeting two years of requirements at the four year college.

 

This is a pretty big deal, and was not the norm a few decades ago.

 

Do the online colleges you are considering also have such transfer agreements ?

[NF Mom]

Have you looked into online classes at traditional two year colleges and four year Universities?

Some institutions allow you to take up to 80% of your credits online and give you a traditional degree that does not indicate you even took online classes.  It is just a traditional diploma.

[NF Mom]

Queen Bee's point about working backward from the job you want to figure out how best to get hired - based on which University you get a degree from.

 

Of course this assumes that you actually know what you want to do, many people start down a path and discover they do not really like the subject matter.

 

 

[NF Mom]

 

If you are not absolutely sure you know what career you want to dedicate your life to, then...

 

An academic transfer degree with guaranteed transferability to any Public University might be a better approach.

 

Does a specific online, non-traditional colleges,  offer such guaranteed transferability???  These are things you would need to contact the four year Universities and the Academic Agreement administrator to determine.  You should not trust your future on  representations from the online college.

 

Traditional two year colleges ( community colleges ) may offer online classes and fully transferable credits.

 

Some schools are total ripoffs which just want to get 10s of Thousands of dollars in Federal Grants and Federal guaranteed loans from you and have you, not them, be responsible for paying it all back.  I suspect the percentage of these may be higher among non-traditional online colleges.

 

People really do borrow $50,000 dollars from the U.S. government to obtain a degree that is only good for a minimum wage job.  It happens.

[NF Mom]

All of these suggestion are related to planning.  Execution also counts.

 

The best degree from the best school does not guarantee any thing if you just barely scrape by and end up with a grade point average that will eliminate you from even getting an interview for most jobs.

 

But on the other hand, how old will you be in four years if you do not get a four year degree ???