school - quickest way to an associate's degree?

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my little brony

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Oct 15, 2004
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without resorting to some cheesy unaccredited diploma mill?

I have about a year (end of fall 2007 semester) to pile up another 45 credits onto my transcript and/or get some of kind of Associate's Degree from an accredited school. Obviously this would mean going to school full time and hoping I get enough in student loans to supplement whatever paycheck I can muster from dropping to a part time basis with my company but I want to know if it's even possible to accomplish something like this or if there are any other options available to me.

University of Phoenix: I hear mixed things about it. Is it a diploma mill? Seems to be accredited but I want to make sure. Anyone here gotten a degree from them? Is it really possible to do everything online and still get a degree? I don't mind going to classes at all - in fact I kind of need the structure of an actual class to succeed - but I need as much flexibility as possible and I know I have the discipline for online courses.

I'm currently enrolled at CLC (College of Lake County), a local junior college. I'm stopping by this weekend to find out what I can do about taking as many classes as humanly possible. When I find out more I'll update this and it may open the door to other suggestions or options I haven't thought of.
 
I went to UoP. In some ways it can be a degree mill, but it wasn't for me. If you're good at speaking and writing papers, the school will be a breeze. I wasn't, so by the end was able to take away some good experience. The online courses are waaay more expensive than the physical classes that I took, which is ironic.

Keep in mind, you'll have 1-2 papers due every week for almost every class. I'm gald I went so I could learn how to write and present effectively.

edit: And yes, its nationally accredited.
 
The big question of course is whether whatever college you choose later will accept your Associate's credits towards a Bachelor's. And whether or not you think you will want a higher degree later, it won't hurt to at least leave that door open in the meantime. Just go to a real local school. Community colleges are cheap and are perfect for obtaining Associate's degrees.
 
It would be rough but I don't see why you couldn't do 15-18 hours a semester and still work full time because you don't want to lose your health benefits.

One semester I took 12 and worked full time... you'd just have to take 12 credits over a summer, which would suck.

I don't see how you could do it in 2 semesters
 
Sarcasmo said:
The big question of course is whether whatever college you choose later will accept your Associate's credits towards a Bachelor's. And whether or not you think you will want a higher degree later, it won't hurt to at least leave that door open in the meantime. Just go to a real local school. Community colleges are cheap and are perfect for obtaining Associate's degrees.
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The other big allure to UoP is convenience. I had plenty of people that worked at the University of South Florida (and could go to classes for free) in my classes. That said, I'm kicking around the idea of going to the University of Tampa for my grad degree.

edit: You edited your post. Its okay to say its a degree mill. :p
 
Sarcasmo said:
The big question of course is whether whatever college you choose later will accept your Associate's credits towards a Bachelor's. And whether or not you think you will want a higher degree later, it won't hurt to at least leave that door open in the meantime. Just go to a real local school. Community colleges are cheap and are perfect for obtaining Associate's degrees.
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A nationally accreditated school's credits will work towards or transfer into another accreditated school without problem as long as they are normal courses that both schools have. Calculus I will transfer just the same as from the brick and mortar CC down the street as it would from university of phoenix. The stuff that won't transfer would be things like advanced roman sex orgy 4489. It might be sociology credit at School A but won't transfer to school B because B doesn't have that course offered.

Basically you need to assess if you need the flexibility of online courses and if you can afford them (they are typically more expensive). If not, an accreditated Comunity College is the way to go IMO. the University System of Georgia accepts almost all credits from University of Phoenix and recognizes them as a school of exellence.
 
Considering most summer terms don't really offer 15 hours worth of classes you really need without overlapping times and such, I don't see how you could do it either. Plus, in my experience summer terms are always for the shit classes only a few people need, like Poetry 1 or Home Economics for Midgets Who Like Independent Movies.

I squeezed 18 hours into a single term once while working full time and being a single dad, and I came thiiiiis close to taking my own life. To do that thrice would have ended poorly.
 
fly said:
edit: You edited your post. Its okay to say its a degree mill. :p
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A degree mill is a place that you send them money and some crap papers you wrote and you get a degree no questions asked. Typically those schools are unacreditated. U of P is not that way at all. They have a site near savannah and I know a couple of the faculty there, they are not pushovers and require a lot from their students. Expect to work for it if you enroll there.
 
fly said:
edit: You edited your post. Its okay to say its a degree mill. :p
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kekekeke

I didn't want to imply that I know more about it than someone who actually took courses through it, since I never did.
 
Sarcasmo said:
The big question of course is whether whatever college you choose later will accept your Associate's credits towards a Bachelor's. And whether or not you think you will want a higher degree later, it won't hurt to at least leave that door open in the meantime. Just go to a real local school. Community colleges are cheap and are perfect for obtaining Associate's degrees.
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At this point I don't care as much about the degree being accepted by another school as I do about getting those credits in the time I mentioned. It wouldn't hurt but at the moment the only people I give a damn about accepting this degree is the USMC.

fly said:
edit: You edited your post. Its okay to say its a degree mill. :p
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When I hear the term diploma mill I think of an unaccredited school who's diplomas won't be accepted by anyone.
 
theacoustician said:
Wouldn't all this completely depend on what you're trying to get your AA in?
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good point, U of P does not offer the broadest selection of AA degrees.
 
Floptical said:
http://www.nd-center.com/
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shit dawg, for that matter i have degree printing software that i use to import our graduates every term. I can make up a university and change the report file so it comes up another school. Anybody want a degree from ERage Univeristy?

Edit: this post is a joke, i don't want to get fired :shifty:
 
theacoustician said:
Wouldn't all this completely depend on what you're trying to get your AA in?
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Absolutely don't care. Everything else being equal I'd like to do something I'm interested in but I'm more concerned about doing something easy enough to get this done by the end of next year. If I don't meet that sole requirement I am kinda screwed.

Floptical said:
http://www.nd-center.com/
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:lol: pretty sure the DoD will spot that a mile away :p
 
Can I ask what the point is? Obviously you want into the USMC, but why are you under such a strict timeline?
 
FlyNavy said:
Absolutely don't care. Everything else being equal I'd like to do something I'm interested in but I'm more concerned about doing something easy enough to get this done by the end of next year. If I don't meet that sole requirement I am kinda screwed.
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Maybe you can explain why exactly you need the AA then. Since you're looking at about 60 hours to get an AA, you're going to have to take 3 straight 20 hour semisters. That's not exactly easy. It will damn near impossible if you also need to work full time while you're going to school.
 
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