Editing College Comparison (section)

= First Questions = 
== What type of degree do you want? ==

Many people choose a Liberal Studies/Liberal Arts degree under the assumption that this will be the fastest & easiest degree. While this can be true to some extent, the truth of the matter is that it can be just as cheap and as fast to get a more meaningful subject degree instead of being forced into a Liberal Studies/Liberal Arts degree that might not be as useful for your career. ('''Note:''' there is nothing wrong with a Liberal Studies degree if that is what you ''actually want''. The issue lies with choosing Liberal Studies because you think you ''have'' to.) The degree you want will determine what schools are options. Some degrees are only available at only one or two schools (Mathematics, as an example), while others (like Business) may be available from multiple schools.

Also of note is that just because a degree is offered at a particular school, this does not mean that it is easy, fast or cheap to obtain. For instance, TESU offers several Bachelor's degrees that have to do with flight or flight mechanics. If you don't already have a license or licenses to fly planes, these are going to be prohibitively expensive degrees to obtain. The degrees listed below are ones that can be obtained relatively easily & cheaply by anyone who puts in the work to do so:

* '''Charter Oak State College''' - BSBA (business, multiple concentrations available), General Studies (Liberal Studies) with various concentrations, Psychology (maybe).
* '''Excelsior College''' - BSBA (business), Liberal Arts, History, Natural Sciences (maybe), Social Sciences, Psychology
* '''Peirce College''' - Accounting, BSBA (business, multiple concentrations available), Criminal Justice, Health Information Administration, Healthcare Administration, Human Resource Management, Information Technology, Paralegal Studies, Liberal Studies, Org. Leadership & Management, Technology Management, Human Services Leadership
* '''Purdue University Global''' - Analytics, Business Administration, Cloud Computing, Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity, Healthcare Administration, Information Technology, Nursing (RN-to-BSN)
* '''Southern New Hampshire University''' - Business Administration, Computer Science, General Studies (Liberal Arts), Psychology
* '''Thomas Edison State University''' - Biology, BSBA (business, several majors/concentrations available), Computer Science, Criminal Justice (kind of), English, History, Liberal Studies, Mathematics, Psychology
* '''University of Maine at Presque Isle''' - Accounting, Criminal Justice, History & Political Science, English - Professional Communication & Journalism, Business (multiple concentrations available), Liberal Studies (multiple minors available)
* '''Western Governors University''' - All WGU degrees can be obtained easily and cheaply (compared to more traditional schools) by students with prior knowledge. They offer multiple degrees in the fields of Business, Health & Nursing, IT, & Teaching. Programs to enter the professions of nursing and teaching require extended in-person placements.

== What is your budget? ==

This can be the biggest driving factor for most students. If your budget is only $9,000 but the degree you want will cost around $10,000, you may have to choose a different degree or a different school. For most students, UMPI is going to be the cheapest way to go because it's possible to finish a degree there for under $5,000. Peirce probably going to be one of the more expensive options, costing up to $20,000 for some degrees. The others are going to fall in between, at $5,000-$10,000 depending on the degree chosen.

== Do you have prior RA credits? ==

RA credits are credits that are obtained from a Regionally Accredited college or university. These do '''not''' include Continuing Education credits (CUs or CEUs), CLEP exams, or AP exams. COSC and TESU both require students to have at least 30 credits from a Regionally Accredited source. If you don't have them, don't worry. There are [[Sources of Credit|inexpensive ways]] to obtain the needed credits. This can add additional time & expense to your degree. But, depending on the degree you want, this can still be significantly cheaper and faster than getting the degree from another school.