Choosing The Right College or University

Introduction

Once upon a time, students who wanted or needed an inexpensive Bachelor's degree without having to spend 3-6 years (or more) obtaining their degree at a traditional school only had a single path to follow. Following this path, students would take a handful of exams as quickly as possible and get their degree a short time later.

While the basics of that path still exists, modern students have a lot more freedom. Not only are there now more schools to choose from, the subjects are also broader! Gone are the days when students were forced to choose a Liberal Studies/Liberal Arts degree because of a lack of viable credits! However, with expanded options also comes more difficulty choosing which degree (or degrees) to pursue and which school to obtain them from.

There are 5 main schools that are usually recommended on the forum. These are: the Big 3 (Charter Oak State College, Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State University), University of Maine at Presque Isle, and Western Governors University. Lesser mentioned colleges or universities include: Southern New Hampshire University, Peirce College, Purdue University Global.

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
• Pierce 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.

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. Pierce 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), 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 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.

Decision table

Now that you have a better idea of what is possible, the table below can assist in making the final decision:

	COSC	EC	Pierce	PUG	SNHU	TESU	UMPI	WGU
Maximum total transfer credits	114 (95%)	113 (94%)[1]	102 (85%)	135 (75%)[2]	90 (75%)	114 (95%)	90 (75%)	90 (75%)[3]
Required residency credits	6	7	19	45[2]	30	6[4]	30	30[3]
Required minimum RA credits (not counting residency credits)	24	0	0	0	0	24	0	0
Semester Format	Structured semester	Structured semester	Structured semester	Move at your own pace	Structured semester	Structured semester	Move at your own pace	Move at your own pace
Format of courses	Exams & papers	Exams & papers	Exams & papers	Mostly papers	Mostly papers	Exams & papers	Mostly papers	Exams & papers
Proctored Exams	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Deadlines for assignments	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Graded Courses	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Minimum enrollment age[14]	16	16	15[15]	18	18	18	20	18
Accepts international students?	Yes	Yes	Yes?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No[16]
Time to attend school	4 months?	4 months?	8 months	6 months	10 months	3 months	4 months	6 months
Minimum tuition cost[8]	$4679	$4031	$11000[9]	$5600[10]	$9600	$5687[11]	$2800[12]	$3625[13]

Table Notes

1. For some Pierce College degrees, the maximum number of transfer credits is 90.
2. Purdue University Global uses quarter credits instead of semester credits. The 180 quarter credits of a PUG degree is equal to the standard 120 credits that can be found at other schools. A standard class worth 3 semester credits would be worth 4.5 credits if transferred to PUG.
3. In theory, WGU allows students to transfer in up to 75% (90 credits) of its degrees. As a matter of practicality, most students will only be able to transfer in 72-84 credits, due to a lack of viable alternatives.
4. While TESU allows you to transfer in all but 6 credits, costs can actually be lower if you take 16 credits with TESU instead of just 6.
5. All schools require some sort of science. Not all of them specifically require a lab science.
6. Does not include the required capstone/cornerstone courses, where applicable. Capstone & cornerstone courses cannot be completed via exams. All students will be required to write at least two papers for degrees that require capstone & cornerstone.
7. Most of WGU's courses require a proctored exam to complete. A handful of their courses may require papers or projects, but this depends on the degree.
8. Tuition spend assumes that students do not receive in-state tuition (if available). It does not count the cost of credits transferred to the school in question, nor does it take into account financial aid or potentially having to repeat a course. This is because these factors can vary widely from student to student.
9. Some Pierce College degrees have a minimum tuition spend of $20000. This depends on the degree and the maximum number of transfer credits.
10. It is currently thought to be impossible to finish a Purdue University Global degree in fewer than two terms. Most students will likely need 3-4 terms.
11. This cost can be lowered to $4937 by using TESU's flat-rate tuition to complete a single 16-credit-term.
12. Most students need 2-3 sessions to complete their degree at UMPI. However, depending on what courses are being offered, it is technically possible to complete a degree in a single 2 month session for $1400.
13. Tuition at WGU varies slightly depending upon which degree you are pursuing. While it is theoretically possible to complete a degree at WGU in 6 months, most WGU students will likely require between 7-12 months to complete their degree. This doubles the minimum potential cost from $3300 to $6600.
14. Under some circumstances, the enrollment age at COSC and EC can be even lower. You must have a HS diploma (homeschool diploma is fine) or GED to be awarded a degree.
15. While there seem to be no age requirements listed on Pierce's site, the online registration form does not permit birthdays for persons who are younger than 15.
16. Some Canadians are allowed to attend WGU. This is not applicable to all Canadians and does not apply to students in other countries. Students who are active duty in the US Military may attend WGU no matter their global location.