Educational woes.
March 21, 2012 4:59 PM Subscribe
I reached my financial aid limit at college because I spent four years taking classes in order to "find myself." I took time off to figure out what I wanted, and now I'm working two jobs to pay to go back. Can you recommend some regionally accredited online schools that aren't too costly?
Right now my plan is to attend APU, but that's $695 per 3 credit hour class. I want to make absolutely sure there isn't an alternative - regionally accredited, entirely online, and offers an undergraduate legal studies (not criminal justice) program.
Right now my plan is to attend APU, but that's $695 per 3 credit hour class. I want to make absolutely sure there isn't an alternative - regionally accredited, entirely online, and offers an undergraduate legal studies (not criminal justice) program.
Thomas Edison State College
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 5:18 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 5:18 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
Are you pursuing another school because you maxed out at your current institution? If your school was anything like mine, you can petition to get financial aid beyond the limit. Consider that what you hit is as a "soft" limit and if you petition the financial aid office, they can approve more financial aid up to a "hard" limit. Typically they will have you meet with an advisor who will help you map out a graduation plan and the classes you need to take to graduate. I would suggest you contact the financial aid office. Good luck!
posted by loquat at 5:19 PM on March 21, 2012
posted by loquat at 5:19 PM on March 21, 2012
The university of Illinois Springfield offers lots of (apparently) very good online courses, and they have a bachelor's program in legal studies. They also have an entirely online masters program in legal studies, if that's relevant. It's not clear if you have some sort of degree already.
posted by leahwrenn at 5:38 PM on March 21, 2012
posted by leahwrenn at 5:38 PM on March 21, 2012
Best answer: $695 for a three-credit class is a good price; I doubt you'll be able to beat that at any of the online schools (University of Maryland University College is $500/credit for non-Maryland residents; Edison is $400/credit on an a la carte basis; U of I Springfield is over $500/credit for non-Illinois residents).
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:47 PM on March 21, 2012
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:47 PM on March 21, 2012
What kind of limit did you reach? Was it a "satisfactory academic progress" limit? Or did you max out your federal loans and pell grant? If the former, then talk to your current school or future school about possibly appealing to extend your eligibility. If it was the latter, then you may need to pay out of pocket.
Sorry if that doesn't answer your question, but maybe it will help a little bit.
posted by Think_Long at 6:14 PM on March 21, 2012
Sorry if that doesn't answer your question, but maybe it will help a little bit.
posted by Think_Long at 6:14 PM on March 21, 2012
Check the big universities in your state and see if they have an online extension. For a lot of them, the tuition is about the same for residents and if you have a lot of pre-reqs out of the way, it may save you some money.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 6:27 PM on March 21, 2012
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 6:27 PM on March 21, 2012
I guess to expand on my previous answer:
Exactly how many credits do you have left to complete your degree at your current school? Exactly how much will that cost, and what's the possibility of extending your financial aid timeframe?
Many schools will take your credits as transferable, but they will still have a minimum requirement for the amount of credits you need to complete at their institution for you to get a degree from them. If that's the case, you may be better off just finishing your current degree for less credits at a higher cost.
Discuss your options with your current school's academic adviser. Do the math. If it truly makes sense for you to finish your degree elsewhere, then talk to the other school's transfer admissions offices - but I'd be surprised if after 4 years, even without much direction, you didn't make it pretty far along in your degree plan.
posted by Think_Long at 6:39 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
Exactly how many credits do you have left to complete your degree at your current school? Exactly how much will that cost, and what's the possibility of extending your financial aid timeframe?
Many schools will take your credits as transferable, but they will still have a minimum requirement for the amount of credits you need to complete at their institution for you to get a degree from them. If that's the case, you may be better off just finishing your current degree for less credits at a higher cost.
Discuss your options with your current school's academic adviser. Do the math. If it truly makes sense for you to finish your degree elsewhere, then talk to the other school's transfer admissions offices - but I'd be surprised if after 4 years, even without much direction, you didn't make it pretty far along in your degree plan.
posted by Think_Long at 6:39 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
Don't have experience with online universities, but a few ideas:
Are you considering an online university because it'll probably be the cheapest, or do you have other reasons? I ask because I go to a CUNY school (City University of New York), and tuition is $641 per three-credit class if you take four classes, and $427 if you take six classes. For part-time students, it's $645 per three-credit class. These are all cheaper than what you mentioned, and my school offers many night classes, has a very good law department, and gives all the benefits of a physical location (including career counseling, health and wellness center, gym, pool, library, textbook rentals, computer rentals, and computers labs--not to mention all the other fun freebies you get on campus).
Also, there are plenty of scholarships that students can easily get if they just apply. I found one through The Foundation Center that covers half my tuition, and have also won money through a few CUNY-wide essay contests thanks in part to the tiny pool of people who actually take the initiative to write something.
Sorry this post doesn't directly relate to your post, but I thought you or someone else might benefit from knowing about these other possibilities.
posted by melancholyplay at 6:53 PM on March 21, 2012
Are you considering an online university because it'll probably be the cheapest, or do you have other reasons? I ask because I go to a CUNY school (City University of New York), and tuition is $641 per three-credit class if you take four classes, and $427 if you take six classes. For part-time students, it's $645 per three-credit class. These are all cheaper than what you mentioned, and my school offers many night classes, has a very good law department, and gives all the benefits of a physical location (including career counseling, health and wellness center, gym, pool, library, textbook rentals, computer rentals, and computers labs--not to mention all the other fun freebies you get on campus).
Also, there are plenty of scholarships that students can easily get if they just apply. I found one through The Foundation Center that covers half my tuition, and have also won money through a few CUNY-wide essay contests thanks in part to the tiny pool of people who actually take the initiative to write something.
Sorry this post doesn't directly relate to your post, but I thought you or someone else might benefit from knowing about these other possibilities.
posted by melancholyplay at 6:53 PM on March 21, 2012
Response by poster: Think_long, that's a great suggestion but my former school is brick and morter. I'm looking to stick with online schools so I don't have to cut my work hours. Also, to the person who suggested Edison, that was my pick before APU! When I went to register they told me I had to pay for the entire year up front.
posted by Autumn at 6:55 PM on March 21, 2012
posted by Autumn at 6:55 PM on March 21, 2012
Also, to the person who suggested Edison, that was my pick before APU! When I went to register they told me I had to pay for the entire year up front.
You don't have to, but paying for credits a la carte is extremely expensive. Enrolling for the year is a much better value.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:33 PM on March 21, 2012
You don't have to, but paying for credits a la carte is extremely expensive. Enrolling for the year is a much better value.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:33 PM on March 21, 2012
Although if you want to get your degree from Edison, you might have to be an enrolled student. I was assuming, perhaps wrongly, that you needed to fill in a few credits to get a degree from your prior institution--at the institution where I used to work, people often did that with a la carte Edison online courses, but they were getting the degree from us.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:35 PM on March 21, 2012
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:35 PM on March 21, 2012
Think_long, that's a great suggestion but my former school is brick and morter. I'm looking to stick with online schools so I don't have to cut my work hours.
But have you looked into the possibility of taking online courses (either through your current brick and mortar, or elsewhere) and transfer those credits back to your original degree? This is the last I'll say, but I speak to a lot of students who waste credits by completely transferring out of a program into a new one when they didn't actually have to. Anyway, just making sure you look into all your options.
posted by Think_Long at 8:40 PM on March 21, 2012
But have you looked into the possibility of taking online courses (either through your current brick and mortar, or elsewhere) and transfer those credits back to your original degree? This is the last I'll say, but I speak to a lot of students who waste credits by completely transferring out of a program into a new one when they didn't actually have to. Anyway, just making sure you look into all your options.
posted by Think_Long at 8:40 PM on March 21, 2012
Have you graduated already or do you just have a mishmash of courses and credits (I think the limit is >120?) that are disqualifying you from federal aid?
I ask because I was in that situation when I came to my current school, but my advisor explained if my credits could not be counted to my chosen major I could get a waiver that would allow me more financial aid until I earned the necessary credits to finish. I transferred over stuff that would help with pre-reqs for higher courses and gen ed requirements, and got a waiver that said the rest was useless to me. You may want to have a talk with an advisor at a local state school about this possibility.
If you got your bachelor's and are going for a second though, my only suggestion is to look into online courses offered by local community colleges.
posted by Anonymous at 10:19 PM on March 21, 2012
I ask because I was in that situation when I came to my current school, but my advisor explained if my credits could not be counted to my chosen major I could get a waiver that would allow me more financial aid until I earned the necessary credits to finish. I transferred over stuff that would help with pre-reqs for higher courses and gen ed requirements, and got a waiver that said the rest was useless to me. You may want to have a talk with an advisor at a local state school about this possibility.
If you got your bachelor's and are going for a second though, my only suggestion is to look into online courses offered by local community colleges.
posted by Anonymous at 10:19 PM on March 21, 2012
Can you take courses at your local community college, and then transfer them back to your home institution to be counted towards a major? If not, does your school have a create-your-own-major or modified major option?
I say this because few people graduate from online universities. Many of them, such as University of Phoenix, are designed to rake in as much money as possible from students before they drop out.
posted by nikayla_luv at 4:40 AM on March 22, 2012
I say this because few people graduate from online universities. Many of them, such as University of Phoenix, are designed to rake in as much money as possible from students before they drop out.
posted by nikayla_luv at 4:40 AM on March 22, 2012
Response by poster: I haven't graduated already - just have a random assortment of credits. When I spoke to my school about financial aid they said that I'd reached my $ limit as a dependent student. My Mom made too much for me to qualify for any grants, so the limit is in loans. Hope that helps!
leahwrenn, it's American Public University.
posted by Autumn at 6:27 AM on March 22, 2012
leahwrenn, it's American Public University.
posted by Autumn at 6:27 AM on March 22, 2012
I am looking for a place to finish my degree (although, in Computer Science). Arizona State is ~$400 per credit hour. I just found a program in my field at UMass that is a little cheaper. I don't know if you're going to beat $695 per class.
posted by getawaysticks at 6:30 AM on March 22, 2012
posted by getawaysticks at 6:30 AM on March 22, 2012
University of Alaska Fairbanks has a Center for Distance Education, which offers distance delivery courses for a total of maybe $262+15 for a 3-credit 300/400 level course, and a bit less for 200-level or less. A fast google Says they have an associates in paralegal studies and I believe there's a bachelors in criminal justice. I don't know if there's a legal studies track in the justice BA, and I'm not sure which courses in the two programs are offered distance.
posted by leahwrenn at 1:37 PM on March 24, 2012
posted by leahwrenn at 1:37 PM on March 24, 2012
Oh, I see. I was over 23 when I returned to college, so I qualified as an independent student and was judged differently for financial aid based on that fact. This may have also been why they were willing to give me more leeway given I had extra credits. Also, the waiver process was suggested to me by my major department adviser, not my financial aid adviser--the department adviser basically sorted through my credits with me, wrote a letter, and I took that to the financial aid office. I doubt a financial aid officer would ever bring that option up.
Anyway, depending on how old you are now it would probably be worth it to wait until you're 24 and save up money until then. It would also give you more time to look for scholarships. I totally understand the impetus to Go Back Right Now once you've found your passion, but college is expensive enough without getting any financial aid.
nikayla_luv brings up a good point: many public schools (even private) tend to have partnerships with local community colleges where credits earned at the CC transfer directly over to the larger university. If not a direct partnership, they usually at least can tell you which CC classes transfer in as what university courses. You can knock out pre-reqs at a CC and go to a university when you're old enough to no longer be a dependent.
posted by Anonymous at 9:16 AM on March 25, 2012
Anyway, depending on how old you are now it would probably be worth it to wait until you're 24 and save up money until then. It would also give you more time to look for scholarships. I totally understand the impetus to Go Back Right Now once you've found your passion, but college is expensive enough without getting any financial aid.
nikayla_luv brings up a good point: many public schools (even private) tend to have partnerships with local community colleges where credits earned at the CC transfer directly over to the larger university. If not a direct partnership, they usually at least can tell you which CC classes transfer in as what university courses. You can knock out pre-reqs at a CC and go to a university when you're old enough to no longer be a dependent.
posted by Anonymous at 9:16 AM on March 25, 2012
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posted by deezil at 5:12 PM on March 21, 2012