Community College or Online College

Mar 16, 2009 at 5:03 PM
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I'm contemplating going to University of Pheonix or a community college before I lose the money for college that I earned in the Army. Should I go to a community college, or an online college? I don't have a lot of time, so I'm leaning toward an online college like University of Pheonix Online.

Here's a college wiget from the company I work for:

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going to University of Pheonix or a community college...

that's a pretty broad question. how much time you have to use up your benefit? a year, two? what kind of degree are you considering, 2-year, 4-year? do you have already-earned college credits you can apply towards a degree?

many "regular" universities have moved more and more of their classes online even up to having some degrees that can be completed entirely online.

I am admittedly biased because I help University of Phoenix with its marketing, but I highly recommend it. Very flexible, small classes (not big lectures), excellent faculty who work in the fields they teach, and many, like yourself, who served in the military.

Your local state university should have some good online programs and courses. I took a really cool one I liked alot and learned alot. And you get real university credit.

I agree with @Geology Byotch--there are a lot of online courses available through state universities, which gives you yet another option. Can you try them all?

Check out Foothill College, a traditional California Community College. I have taken about 65 units there, it is very cheap, and they are pretty into online classes. They may have a whole lotta credits now online.

They have a great transfer program. Believe it or not when I was there for the 2nd round (during dot-bomb) they had a transfer route into Carnegie Mellon's M.S. Software Engineering program, from the CMU CS Dep't, ranked #1 in the nation for grad programs by "U.S. News & World Report". So, although I already had a 4-yr undergrad, I actually went from a two-year college to grad school.

Forgot the link to Foothill.

Also CLEP tests if accepted (get the details) you can rack up some credits with some studying and a test. The state school recommendations above also look good.

You can also consider the below do your research and see if the formats are a good fit. These days I would not be able to attend a physical school for an undergraduate degree due to work and life. If I had the time the experience is good it really is coming to terms with what you can commit to and what you want.

Ellis of NYIT a bit different now that it split off from NYIT, but you can get a regionally accredited degree. Different format than UOP.

http://ellis.nyit.edu/

Thomas Edison

http://www.tesc.edu/

University of Phoenix is way overpriced,

University of Phoenix is way overpriced, I graduated from there with a B.S.I.T this year and regret how much I paid when I could have done the online thing with some reputable schools in my area a fraction of what they charge. UoP is a rip off. I *HIGHLY* recommend going elsewhere, or forgetting the degree. I've done well in I.T. for years as a software engineer. I've learned more from networking with people, and developing with other developers, than I would from any of these online schools. Plus, if you've reached the level of "software engineer", much of the education you're going to get from these schools is going to be watered down in comparison with what you've already learned on the job. They get you in the habit of writing papers and going through all the motions of a student working to get that degree, but ultimately its just a big hassle. I could have done alot better things with my freetime (and money). If your job already demands alot of your time (i.e. an occasional project requires a 60-65 hour work week to meet a deadline), you'll be hating having to rush home or drop everything at work to participate in the online discussions for "participation points", which have to be turned in before midnight (Phoenix, AZ time) to count for the 4 days (minimum), plus contribute to the team paper... or else a team member may report you as MIA and cause you to fail to class.

If you're a good software engineer, you don't ever need the degree. If you're not, then get it - maybe it'll open a door. If you have some great projects under your belt, that you can discuss in an interview, along with some good samples, you're all set.

At some interviews I had a few years ago, I mentioned University of Phoenix Online, and two seperate interviewers said, "Oh.... my wife's doing that...." and rolled their eyes..... If you mention a local college, don't even bother stating on the resume that you did it "online" - it will look just fine without that detail.

Community College or Online College

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