University of Phoenix?

[KooLaid]

So it's official, I'm getting old. I've been out of college for over 5-6 years now and slowed school to a crawl so I could persue that wonderful green dollar in my career at the time. Shortly after, I joined the AF for something new and different. Ended up not having any time to goto college. So now my enlistment is up and I'm stuck with a whole whooping 15 credits or so.

Anyhow, I no longer have the patience to sit in a classroom for 2 years for a stinking associates degree. That is just too long. Maybe fresh out of high school, but I've got REAL bills now and a 2 year old daughter to raise.

After peeking at some of these "schools" that pop up on daytime tv, I decided to sign up for more information. By tomorrow morning I will have signed my last form. Kinda of silly for me to ask for last second information and assistance but anything helps.

What I'm wondering about is schools like "University of Phoenix". Which that one in particular has the same regional accreditation as Arizona State University:
http://www.collegesource.org/displayinfo/profile.asp?institutionid=24253
http://www.collegesource.org/displayinfo/profile.asp?institutionid=14589

My buddy who teaches at the local Community College also says the regional accreditation is good to go. Well the degree I'm looking at is an online Associates of Arts in Business degree. It should only take me a year or less. The cost is about $17,500 roughly. I also plan to persue my bachelors immediately afterwards. Maybe through them too.

It kind of kills my life goal of Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering but is a degree from this place really worth it? Or am I just going to be laughed at?

there is still a reason why i take them seriously enough to even consider though. I know of several individuals who have a degree from the Community College of the Air Force and a degree from University of Phoenix. They do rather well financially and in their careers. I'm not immediately looking for world riches and fame but rather stability.

What do you think about this place? I know it's NOTHING like many of the places alot of you went to college
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17319&highlight=university+phoenix
but this is one of my only reasonable options.

 

[flaminio]

I don't have a lot of respect for the "University of Phoenix". A cow-orker of mine went through their program, and the assignments he was getting was junior high school level stuff. Plus, he was an idiot, so he did bad on them, and yet still got his "degree".

I realize it's the 21st century, and maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think you really can't beat the good ol' brick&mortar schools with real campuses and everything. It'll take longer and be more expensive, but it'll be worth it in the long run. JMHO....

 

[White92]

I agree. From my own experience, as well as friends, these places aren't the greatest for an actual degree. If you're just trying to blow through to get your associates, that's different. I'd do it too. :smile: For example, the lady who lives across the street from me was just hired to teach medical coding at a similar facility. (Not the University of Phoenix) She has never coded in her life, nor has she ever taught anything.

 

[KooLaid]

I don't have a lot of respect for the "University of Phoenix". A cow-orker of mine went through their program, and the assignments he was getting was junior high school level stuff. Plus, he was an idiot, so he did bad on them, and yet still got his "degree".

I realize it's the 21st century, and maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think you really can't beat the good ol' brick&mortar schools with real campuses and everything. It'll take longer and be more expensive, but it'll be worth it in the long run. JMHO....

But how does he do moneywise in comparison to those in the same or near same position that spent their college years at a regular college/university? I really wish I could do the regular old brick and mortar way but it just isn't much of an option for me at the moment.

I agree. From my own experience, as well as friends, these places aren't the greatest for an actual degree. If you're just trying to blow through to get your associates, that's different. I'd do it too. :smile: For example, the lady who lives across the street from me was just hired to teach medical coding at a similar facility. (Not the University of Phoenix) She has never coded in her life, nor has she ever taught anything.

Who would you recommend for starting and finishing the bachelors degree afterwards?

All I know is I really want to get the ball rolling on something better for myself. I mean it'll be my 10 year reunion soon (2 years) and so far I've just been having fun..... well enough anyways......

 

[MJK]

If you want a degree in Mechnical Engineering, that is what you should go do in my opinion.

Start off with night classes and get as much out of the way as you can while working. Then, get as much scholarship $$$ as you can, sell the NSX, get a job on campus that you can study at and get a student loan for the rest. Finish your degree, get a job you can really like and buy yourself a better NSX as a present to yourself for hard work and success.

 

[redshift]

If you want a degree in Mechnical Engineering, that is what you should go do in my opinion.

Start off with night classes and get as much out of the way as you can while working. Then, get as much scholarship $$$ as you can, sell the NSX, get a job on campus that you can study at and get a student loan for the rest. Finish your degree, get a job you can really like and buy yourself a better NSX as a present to yourself for hard work and success.

I agree, don't ever stop chasing what you want and don't sell yourself short. You know that compromising on your goals is just plain apathetic... there is a path to get what you desire... just step outside your comfort zone and take the path of greater resistance; you'll be energized and motivated once you get the ball rolling.

As for UoP, my very good friend got his MBA through them. He's a smart guy and will do well no matter what his credentials are, but if he could do it again, he would not have gone to UoP... he feels the education he got there is "substandard" - partly because of the Apollo Group's necessity to keep their top line growing at its current rate.

 

[Ski_Banker]

As for UoP, my very good friend got his MBA through them. He's a smart guy and will do well no matter what his credentials are, but if he could do it again, he would not have gone to UoP... he feels the education he got there is "substandard" - partly because of the Apollo Group's necessity to keep their top line growing at its current rate.

Totally agree. You get what you pay for, and in the end (ESPECIALLY in business) the degree is less about what you learn and is more about getting a stamp of approval. Night classes from a university is a great idea - you'll be studying online at night either way.

 

[nsxtcy85]

UNOH.EDU has advanced distance learning degree's You can get your MBA in like 2 years or something.

 

[flaminio]

But how does he do moneywise in comparison to those in the same or near same position that spent their college years at a regular college/university? I really wish I could do the regular old brick and mortar way but it just isn't much of an option for me at the moment.

He's just one datapoint, but he was pretty much a screwup before getting his degree, and a screwup afterward. But now with a "degree". It didn't change his salary at all.

 

[saiji]

Ill give you my thoughts from a corporate recruiter.

I browse through thousands of resumes every week and these are the points we look at before we put it in the "send to hiring manager" file.

1) Tenure = Making sure the candidate doesn't jump around companies

2) Education = BA/Mba/phd/ect.

3) Experience...

Most recruiting firms and corporate recruiters tend to pass up the Trade school candidates. I've noticed this when I had to call some the individuals that submitted their resumes and couldn't make it. When I viewed their resumes, I just saw one thing in common. Trade School education.

Unless you are pursuing a masters, I would try to avoid obtaining a BA/BS from a trade school.

Just my thoughts and inputs. I may be wrong, but it's always good to hear inputs from different people. Good luck!

 

[Vega$ NSX]

I have a mech engineering degree and 1 year in my Univ of Phoenix (UOP) MBA program. Here's what I can tell you.

The UOP MBA program is a joke. The classes are about high school level and a good 2/3 of your classmates are complete idiots. The classes are time consuming and expensive.

So why am I still taking classes? Because I'm basically buying a degree. I don't need one and it doesn't do a thing for me in my career. However, when all is said and done I'll have three little letters after my name. It's less of an education, but more of a testament that I've actually spent the time and money to get it done, and the guy next to me hasn't. It's like if there was a medal given out to someone who digs a hole and fills it in over and over again 10,000 times. Is it hard to do? Not really. Can anyone do it? Probably. Does anyone actually do it? Very few and you can be one of them.

So if your motivations are like mine, it's an easy and flexible way to get it done. If you are looking for a challenging, educational, learning experience then you are probably barking up the wrong tree with UOP.

 

[Sulley]

You might consider that the local jc has the first two years of pre-req courses for the mech eng degree available. The jc is also dirt cheap. It would also allow the flexability to work.
These courses are all accepted by UC. You could then finish up the degree right here in town. If you haven't been out to the new campus, I'd recommend a visit.
John

 

[KooLaid]

I really wish and want to do the traditional route for the most prestigiously sourced degrees. However, I'm really limited still by Merced's lack of decent paying jobs and I'm a full time single dad.

 

[redshift]

I really wish and want to do the traditional route for the most prestigiously sourced degrees. However, I'm really limited still by Merced's lack of decent paying jobs and I'm a full time single dad.

This is a stretch, but you might even consider moving to a "cheap" state with a decent public university (Texas comes to mind) if money is extremely tight right now. Maybe you could move close to your parents and they could help with the kids while you knock out your formal education. Most students sacrifice a lot in the short run for their education (income, etc).

Of course I can imagine that you don't want to move your kids around. I suppose the argument can be made that doing what is best for you will also turn out to be what is best your kids in the long run (so Oprah says).

It sounds like deep introspection would would benefit you tremendously at this time in your life. Figure out what you really want out of life (easier said than done). Consider that getting a quick and dirty low-level degree might not be the answer that you may be looking for... I'm not saying that it isn't one possible solution, just allow yourself to consider that it may end up being a hasty decision that turns out bad. Heck, maybe school right now is not really in the cards for you... who knows. I can tell you that I'm also 28 and I have a lot of formal education in engineering (working on my phd right now) and my main source of income does not come from my 9:00 - 5:00 job. I think it is important to know that with our without formal education, you can achieve whatever goal you set - so find that goal and start working your ass off.

 

[sahtt]

I'm going to try to give you a realist perspective.

I currently go to the Univ. of Texas at Austin. It's a good school, a great* public school. Tuition is 3500-4000$ per semester. I work during the summer and christmas to pay my tuition, rent, gas, insurance, and maint. on my motorcycle(s) and car.

Seems a little impossible. It's not, it's just very* difficult. I work 70 hours a week at a decent paying job that would rougly be 40k$ a year if I did it year round, but I only do it about half the year.

Tuition-8k
Rent-4k [12 months 300 month, pretty easy to find in Austin]

That leaves me 8k to eat, gas, etc. but I actually invest most of it to augment my finances and nearly offset my day-to-day costs. I also manipulate my taxes as a student in ways most people cannot, but that 'only' saves me about a grand.

There are lots of people in the 30's and 40's in my classes. I'd say the average 300 person class has at least a handfull. Often they are single moms and bring their kids to class with them.

My suggestion-go to school one semester on one semester off. You can take a little over the regular hours during that one semester and maybe take 1 night class during your "off" semester. Same with the summer session. You can most likely take your daughter to classes during the time she's back from school. It's not unusual, I promise you; as long as she doesn't make any noise.

You should be able to finish in 6 years without too much trouble. You'll need to save a fairly substantial cushion before that time just incase. You can probably also get some financial aid-I'm serious.

One thing I have very little knowlege of is how someone like you gets accepted. I have no idea what credentials you need, as they stopped upping the number of students they accept each year several years back as demand steadily gets higher.

Let me know if you have any specific questions, that 17,500 pays for roughly 2/3 of UT tuition over 4 years. If you take summer courses, it's actually cheaper.

Here's the real kicker-how much are you paying per hour of instruction? How much do you value each hour of instruction? That's where the real worth of a solid 'normal' university compares to a school like Univ of Pheonix.

That being said, Vegas brings up a great point, it depends on your needs.

 

[Ski_Banker]

To piggyback on Redshift's point, I would also add that you need to consider the long term "pain" you might face, to get where you want, without a (decent) degree. Can a high school dropout become President? Potentially...but his road to the White House will be MUCH tougher than someone with more typical credentials.

 

[NSXin702]

I don't know if this will help, but I believe a lot of brick & mortar universities are now offering online degree programs. My wife found a couple Masters programs that were strictly online, if I remember correctly, Texas A&M & one of the Universities in Washington offered such programs. Point is, if you can find a traditional university offering a degree that can be achieved online, you benefit by getting your degree through a respected institution, yet you can still get your degree in your free time, and still work a regular job. Just a thought...

As a college drop out, I respect your aspirations to get your degree. Best of luck...=)

Levi

 

[queenlives]

kool,

during my AF years (71-75) i picked up a few college classes and thought i'd attend full time once i was discharged. i enrolled in USF but found that only barely worked for me for one semester... i got bored and i quit attending.

i've worked my way up the ladder in my field and things have turned out much better than i expected they could. having said that, despite my professional and financial success, tucked away in the back of my mind i've wanted to find a way to earn a legitimate degree without sitting in a classroom.

in today's wall street journal, there was a nice article about earning degrees through online / unorthodox programs. according to wsj, there's an "online-degree clearing house - http://geteducated.com - where you can research / locate programs that may work for you.

the article continued that there are also four accredited colleges that give bachelor's degrees to people who can prove their career experience warrants one. they are:

* thomas edison state college, trenton, nj
* excelsior college, albany, ny
* charter oak state college, new britain, ct
* western govenors university, salt lake city, ut

there's good information about their programs included in the article, so if you're thinking along these lines, find today's journal and read it on page D2.

depending on your life goals and where you are today, wrt degree / no degree / getting ahead, there's a part of me that wishes i'd stayed in school and completed a degree as most of my friends did... but who knows where that path would have taken me; that said, i wouldn't trade a degree and missed the ride i've taken.

regardless of the path, best of luck.
hal

 

[KooLaid]

Thank you all for your input. However, the main deciding factor in this choice came down to the need for money saddly. I opted to sign up for the local community college and filled out my forms for the GI Bill, which will pay just over $1100/month by october. The guidance counselor though is putting me back on the right track to clear up my "fresh outta high school screw up" grades I received when I first attended. Turns out, after I calculate in all my units/hours/credits from other colleges, I should have my Associates of Science in Engineering in less than a year and a half. Then she's going to try to transfer me to the local University here, for enter their mechanical engineering program.

Even though this does feel like the best choice, my financial situation is really going to suffer for quite a while. As if it wasn't already. Maybe things will start getting better soon. Now to make myself succeed, I just need to work on and find that harmony that my life so much needs right now. (Being as single dad w/ a 2 year old daughter going through her terrible 2's, and a girlfriend going through a sorting of her "pre-us" emotions doesn't help much either. Which is also borrowing the nsx for work)