Where can I get more education, inexpensively?

November 23, 2013 7:32 PM

I already have one bachelor's degree, and now I have all the time in the world, and a desire to learn even more. Which state offers low-cost or free-cost bachelor's degree programs, and can you just get into your car and go? What are my options for getting more education, inexpensively?

I know that from just about anywhere, I can pay $40 a month for some broadband Internet access, and that I would have access to more Berkeley/Stanford/Salman Khan/MIT OpenCourseware than I will ever be able to work through.

Get myself a Library Card for free, and do all my note-taking and homework in 25-cent 70-page spiral bound notebooks from TARGET or WALMART. But

Are there foreign countries hungering for people who know English, could I do the flip of an H1-B visa, and work overseas at a college and simultaneously get more education?

I keep hearing that it's only the USA that puts their people through crippling student debt. Is higher education in other countries a much better deal?

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Note: For anyone wondering what's my current bachelor's degree in, and why don't I go to grad school: NOPE. I want to start over, doing something else.

posted by shipbreaker to Education (15 answers total)

I think Sweden still has some free English-language degree programs (both bachelors and masters-level).
posted by three_red_balloons at 7:38 PM on November 23, 2013

P.S. Check http://www.studyinsweden.se/
posted by three_red_balloons at 7:38 PM on November 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Which state offers low-cost or free-cost bachelor's degree programs, and can you just get into your car and go?

At the risk of saying the obvious, state colleges only charge in-state tuition to long-term residents of that state. People who move to a state with the goal of attending college there are specifically excluded from the set of long-term state residents. They are charged the much higher out-of-state tuition rate. This distinction is set up to prevent exactly what you are proposing to do, namely, consuming cheap, high-quality, state-subsidized education.

It's not completely clear whether you're only looking for options that lead to some kind of license or degree. Are you?
posted by Nomyte at 8:18 PM on November 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

At the risk of saying the obvious, state colleges only charge in-state tuition to long-term residents of that state.

Except for Minot State University, among the most affordable schools in America for out of state residents. Live the (frost-covered) dream!
posted by StrikeTheViol at 9:17 PM on November 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

People who move to a state with the goal of attending college there are specifically excluded from the set of long-term state residents.

Eh, the residency requirement is typically only about a year, and you absolutely can move there in order to go to college. You just have to wait the required residency period first.
posted by Sara C. at 10:38 PM on November 23, 2013 [2 favorites]

Also - community colleges are often considerably cheaper than state universities, much more supportive towards non traditional students, and if you plan well, offers classes that can be transferred to a university.

I very highly recommend looking into your local Community Colleges to see what they offer.

(I'm currently a Computer Science/Math student at North Seattle Community College\Seattle Central Community College. Yes, I'm going to two simultaneously. It's complicated.)
posted by spinifex23 at 11:04 PM on November 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah - forgot to add this. If you choose to go the Community College route, make sure you make an appointment to talk to an adviser first, to talk about your goals and aspirations and dreams. It's be bad to sink time and money into a series of classes blindly, just to find that they won't transfer to a 4 year institution. I did exactly that, and it helped immensely.

At my comm. college, for instance, there's two different programs for computers: Computer Science, and Information Technology. On the surface to someone who doesn't know any better, they're almost the same. But the Comp Sci track is the only one that's transferable.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:55 PM on November 23, 2013 [2 favorites]

New Mexico Highlands University is cheap. This page lists some low out of state tuition places.
posted by plonkee at 12:16 AM on November 24, 2013

Brigham Young University is very cheap, even for non-Mormons. Tuition rates: here
posted by smalls at 1:05 AM on November 24, 2013

Best answer: Get a (any) job at a college that lets employees take classes. Get your degree while making money.
posted by beyond_pink at 6:57 AM on November 24, 2013 [5 favorites]

I was able to get cheap in-state tuition for a limited number of credits immediately at Portland State University after moving to Oregon, and it didn't interfere with getting residency. I bet this is true other places as well.

Also, getting paid to go to grad school is amazing. It's hard work, but still an awesome opportunity to consider after you get some post bac work in your new field.
posted by momus_window at 7:02 AM on November 24, 2013 [1 favorite]

Also, the out-of-state tuition issue can be avoided at some schools that offer tuition exchanges or reciprocity programs with other states. For example, I know from helping my niece with college applications this year that several Kansas schools will offer in-state tuition to Texas residents.

Here are some of the programs that offer same or reduced tuition for out-of-state residents: Academic Common Market, Midwest Student Exchange Program, and New England Regional Student Program.
posted by megancita at 7:13 AM on November 24, 2013

If you work full time for a university/college for over a year, generally they'll let you take courses for free in your spare time. Though you do have to pay fees and taxes on them.
posted by vegartanipla at 8:11 AM on November 24, 2013

Is higher education in other countries a much better deal?

Even international tuition is much cheaper at many Canadian universities if you're really able to relocate anywhere. McGill (and I'm guessing a few of the other flagships) raised prices for international students a lot recently, but tuition for 1 year of a BSc at Concordia, for ex, is only $8K/year for international students.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:47 PM on November 24, 2013

The Education section in a recent New York Times had a cool series of articles about innovative schools that let you get super cheap or free degrees, mostly online.

The Value in a Free Degree
WHEN it opened in 2009 to some media fuss, University of the People was a free-culture concept in a competitive, proprietary universe. It charged no tuition and was open to anyone who could do the work. Professors volunteered their time. Now, four years later, the first students are reaching graduation, raising a question no R.O.I. calculator has yet sought to answer: What is a free online degree worth?

Degrees Based on What You Can Do, Not How Long You Went
FLEX DEGREES
Online self-paced programs, based on demonstrating competence in required skills and knowledge.

For Profit and People
Patten (with online and on-campus programs) and New Charter (online only) are part of a low-cost wave that has emerged in the last year in response to the hue and cry over college affordability.
posted by forkisbetter at 10:34 AM on November 25, 2013 [3 favorites]