I want to Go to College

Super

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I cant exactly go to classes so I have to do everyhting over the interent or correspondace and Clep, I am thinking about this place http://www.grantham.edu/

It seems really military freindly and I want to be a Marine Officer! "Few Have the Power, Marine Officer!" Thats what they say anyways!! Can you guys tell me what you think about this place and can I get some Advice on mabey some other things to look at? I dont want to go through life without a degree. I know I need one to get to were I want to be. And this is a start. Any tips or anything would awesome!Thanks for everything

Supra
 
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OMG, you really want to be a zero?

Hey, what's the most dangerous thing in the world?

A 1st Lieutenant with a compass and a map.

So you thinking of being a lifer? If so, not a bad move, as least financially. The last time I saw the payrates, 20-something years ago, an O-3 made more than a top
enlisted man. Doesn't really seem fair, but that's the way it is.

At least you'll be getting your butter bars with an enlisted man background. I always found the best officers to be the ones that were prior enlisted. It should really be a requirement that all officers serve at least 2 years in the enlisted ranks.

Don't know much about the online colleges and to what degree the military will accept them, but it's a great idea to start on your degree while in the Corps. I still kick myself in the ass for not doing that. But I was too busy on I&I -- Intoxication and Intercourse.

Semper Fi
 
I have yet to meet a poor officer who was prior-enlisted. Grantham looks ok, but check their accreditation closely. I am not familiar with DETC.

The key to online education is self discipline. You manage your own time and assignment deadlines. I finished my B.S. online with the University of Maryland in 2000. My wife is finishing her Masters through a combination of classroom and online courses with Central Michigan University. Online learning is great because you can set your own schedule and generally only have due dates from the instructor once a week. What you need to look for is a college with 5-8 week semesters. It will be a huge time saver as a regular semester is 12 weeks.

You'll likely only be able to take two classes per semester (working full time; the military is like working two jobs sometimes). If you do not have many college credits, go to the education center on base and check out the CLEP and DSST tests. Go ahead and take any test that has a 60% passing rate or better. You will probably pass and receive college credit for the course. Do this for all the lower-level classes you can. Here are a couple of links to review and check some of the more reputable schools that advertise in the Marine Corps Times (just make sure you check accreditations):

http://www.apus.edu/amu/ ...I am curently in a full-time MS program (not here) and my advisor teaches at AMU...
Strayer ...Strayer offers a $399 military tuition assistance program (on top of Marine Corps TAP)
Here is the DANTES catalog: http://www.dantescatalogs.com/DEDC/DEDCNav.asp
 
http://www.tesc.edu/

This place is a 30-year-old distance learning school in the State capitol of NJ known as Trenton. It might be your cheapest route. It is part of the public college and university system in NJ and run by the state. So it is as real as Rutgers, TCNJ, Rowan, or William Paterson. They go out of their way to give you a degree. They take CLEPS, Dantes, TECLEPS (their own Cleps), and AP I believe. They even have this thing called portfolio learning in which you use life experience to fill in place of classes or exams that you have performed in real life. Like accounting in your dad’s grocery store a few summers back as an example.

You have to be 21 to enter this school for some reason; I believe you have to be classified as an adult learner. The site is a real bitch to navigate through, but well worth it. I think you MIGHT even get a few credits thrown your way for being in the US Military. But I am not 100% sure of this.

Make sure whatever school you join takes which exam by credit program and what topics too.

Here is a listing of what courses they offer by the different means of delivery.

http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/listallc.php?type=PA

http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/listalltecep.php

http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/listallc.php?type=GS

http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/listallc.php?type=EP

http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/listallc.php?type=OL

Here is a listing of the degrees they offer on the undergrad level.

http://www.tesc.edu/prospective/undergraduate/degree/

Here is the list of majors that they offer for your certificate, associates, or bachelor degree.

http://www.tesc.edu/prospective/undergraduate/areas.php
 
Snake, it seems that Thomas Edison has not been held in high regard by the military community. Yeah, they will "go out of their way" to give (operative word) out a degree. That is the problem. They used to have the reputation as a degree mill. As a young enlisted soldier I actually avoided TE for this very reason. I do not doubt their accreditation is valid, though.

For career military folks needing a degree simply for promotion, TE may work out fine. I'm not so sure when it comes time to brag about it on a resume. Most soldiers I know that went through TE and then retired, secured a good job based on their military background and not their TE degree (the degree was simply a block check). Regents University is another that is in this category. Name and school reputation do carry some weight, although not as much as in the past (30 years ago).

I don't mean to sound negative about TE to anyone who has had a good experience with the school. I'm just giving my input based on what I know.
 
No problem man. I only know of it now, the distance learning model is decent. Even community (county) colleges use them now. I have zero idea how a military application works these days to the school.

I heard Edison is more for working people who are a few semesters short of a degree. I believe the average age of a student there is like 47.

Persoanlly I believe brick and mortar schools look best on a resume. If you already have a degree and need a second one in a semi-related field. Edison may be another decent choice.

I do know that schools like one of the Carolina (state run) Unis offers there on exams for credit. I think University of Ohio or something similar does the same deal. Plenty to pick from, just do some research. I guess spend an evening with "distance learning" and google and you'll find several good choices for any situation.
 
Yep, you're right about the loan issue. Another one that is not really brick and mortar, but has growing respect is the University of Phoenix. They are rather expensive, but very flexible.

Snake, are you military or prior military?

I guess Supra bagged out of this thread. If you stick you head back in, I know of many military folks that attended the University of Hawaii while stationed on Oahu. Maybe they have a flexible program and I hear UH is rather cheap.
 
No military for me. Just a way overeducated slacker close to 30.

To me education is cool. I believe that the most affordable route is usally a deciding factor for most. preplanning is really were you don't get saddled with massive debt. In NJ, I went to my local community (county) college. I hoarded up all my credits and took the maximum I could to my state university. We have articulation agreements between the county schools and the state colleges. I needed 120 credits to graduate with a bachelors and I took 88 with me. Tuition at the county college is a third the cost of what the university charges. So all I needed was 11 classes at 3 credits a piece at the uni.

When I graduate I don't want to be hit with really crazy loan debt. I will move out, get a job, and don't want to pay $400 or more a month. In my state, if you attend a college in state, you can get a grant for aid if you qualify. I assume other states work that way too.
 
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