I have been trying to choose the best college around that will benefit me when I get out of the Coast Guard. I am trying to pursue a degree in Business Administration and I am having a hard time choosing.

I had been out of high school for 14 years and finally decided to pursue a degree. I ended up choosing Grantham University, because truthfully, they were the ones that really pursued my interest and helped me make a decision. I deternimed why they were so persistent.

Since finding out the difference between regionally accredited and nationally accredited, I have discontinued my enrollment through Grantham because they are nationally accredited and found out that no one will accept their credits. Fortunately, I only took a few courses and have decided to pursue a regionally accredited college or university.

I have narrowed it down to several schools and I am looking for opinions or advice on these schools to make my determination. The schools are Excelsior, Thomas Edison State, St. Leo, and AMU. All are regionally accredited, but it seems like some will take more credits than others. For example, as per my Unofficial Transcript from the CG Institute, I get 39 credits through Excelsior and only 18 through Thomas Edison. This is where I have a hard time determining which college to choose.

I don't really want to settle for Excelsior because I'm closer to obtaining a degree than Thomas Edison, but I have heard nothing but positive things from Thomas Edison and St. Leo that make it a tough decision. It's all coming down to which school is more recognized throughout and will make it somewhat easier to obtain a job once I retire. I don't want to get a degree that won't be seen as valid through any employer.

Sorry for the long e-mail, but I have been busting my head trying to make a decision so that I can make the right decision. Thanks in advance.

there have been a couple of discussions on this very topic here is one,

http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2500094620001/m/9030088771001

I would recommend you take whatever CLEPS you can before you start school. They are free and either of the colleges you ask about will accept them.

I completed a Business Degree from TESC. I found TESC easy to work with.

I'm at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. You're doing the right thing by looking at accepted credits. I concur with the previous post to knock out some CLEPs and DANTEs. That may allow you to get to the upper level courses a bit sooner.

Congratulations on your determination. T/A is huge benefit and simple to use. I'm looking at Penn State for my Masters later this year. Met a shipmate recently who's taking distance courses from Harvard. These program's are truly limited only by one's determination.

FFJ

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y

You're lucky because you are looking at Business Administration. There are ALOT of schools that offer online degrees with this, and I wouldn't be so quick to settle on one that has a name commonly associated with being an online school. Also, look at the cost. Depending on how quickly you would like to get your degree, some schools may be better for you than others. For instance, at AMU it would take you three and a half years just to get an associates if you were starting fresh, simply because of their cost.

I would suggest you sift through www.dantescatalogs.com and the resources at petersons.com and find the school that meets your time/monetary constraints, has a program that interests you, and if you can find one that is part of the soccoast program then you may be better off because you can get a degree at a decent school but mix and match your courses at different colleges to match your needs and interests.

I have taken courses at AMU, and they were so easy I am ashamed to have wasted my money there. I've also taken courses at Thomas Edison and, out of the the seven schools I have taken distance learning courses at, they were the hardest. The cheapest option for some courses for me has been Dallas County Community College because I am a Dallas Resident so the courses only cost me $76 for a three credit course. You might look at schools in your resident state also.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/spec-business

That is the list of the best colleges in the nation for business. Since Business Administration is such a common degree graduating from a top tier college will put you on top of all those that graduated from mediocre schools.

I often am in the hiring team at my job. When we holding 60 resumes we have to cut it down to the 5 we plan to interview we first eliminate those without a college degree or with a degree from an on-line school. On-line schools may be accredited but they don't look that well on a resume.

If you want to remain in a specific location and not attend one of the "top ten" schools then look into your state college. I know Massachusetts and Wisconsin offer free tuition to all veterans (and you can pocket the GI bill and use it toward rent)

Pretty amazing that Stanford isn't on that list, as well as a couple others I would have expected to see......or is that list just schools offering on-line work?

quote:

Originally posted by CGveteran:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/spec-business

That is the list of the best colleges in the nation for business. Since Business Administration is such a common degree graduating from a top tier college will put you on top of all those that graduated from mediocre schools.

I often am in the hiring team at my job. When we holding 60 resumes we have to cut it down to the 5 we plan to interview we first eliminate those without a college degree or with a degree from an on-line school. On-line schools may be accredited but they don't look that well on a resume.

If you want to remain in a specific location and not attend one of the "top ten" schools then look into your state college. I know Massachusetts and Wisconsin offer free tuition to all veterans (and you can pocket the GI bill and use it toward rent)

"Don't look that well on a resume"

You...and your hiring team may want to rethink your practices after you do some research on how difficult some online degrees are and what accredited means.

Just my .02

This is where I'm afraid of choosing a college that employers will see it as an illegitimate degree. That is another reason for my post. I am afraid that if I pursue a degree through the schools that I mentioned, even though they're reputable, the employer will not consider it if its not from an ivy league school.

I can understand the way some companies think, if you didn't go to a reputable school, but I also think they can look into the experience of the individual and not just where the degree was obtained. I know with all the diploma mills out they're just waiting to take your money and the reason for a company to cringe at the degree. But if you have a degree from a recognized regionally accredited scholl and throw in your years of experience in the military; shouldn't that make you at least qualified for an interview instead of not considering you at all?? For all you know, that person with experience and a degree will turn out better than the person that just went to school and has zero experience.

Thanks to everyone that has posted and thanks for the advice.

I worked in the civilian sector for 30 years and did a LOT of hiring.

When you have one opening and 50+ resumes you need to make some arbitrary decisions to cut the number down to something reasonable.

For a start, I never ruled someone out because they did not have a degree. When we developed our job descriptions and qualifications for the job I always made sure that the following statement was included: "College degree or equivalent experience"

Obviously if you are loking for an Electrical Engineer you want someone with a degree, but there are many other jobs that don't necessarily require the degree.

We would look at the 50 resumes and a good number would automatically be ruled out for a variety of reasons. If I was looking for a Configuration Management expert and had a resume that had zero bearing on that job it was round filed. If the resume was poorly written, and littered with grammatical and spelling errors, it was tossed.

You can't expect a company to know exactly which on-line schools are good vs diploma mills. When applying, include a cover letter with your resume and be sure both are pertinent to the job you are applying for.

Many companies now use computers to perform key word searches, so include a section (or separate page) on your resume that is nothing but key words.


A degree no longer means a person is educated. For many it just means they put in their time at school long enough to graduate.

By the same token, military experience may add zero value to the candidate depending on the type of job they are applying for.

quote:

Don't look that well on a resume"

You...and your hi

quote:

But if you have a degree from a recognized regionally accredited scholl and throw in your years of experience in the military; shouldn't that make you at least qualified for an interview instead of not considering you at all??

It depends on the job. If you are applying as an financial analyst and you were a GM the skills are not relevant. Also in terms of leadership civilian leadership and military leadership are two completely different things.

When we receive 50 or so resumes we only have time to interview a couple of people. Also the majority of those in civilian/private sectors are civilians that don't know anything about the military. Some even look down at military service which is such a shame.

Hi all,

I used TA go get an undergrad degree and am now one course away from finishing a Master's degree (both from Florida State). I'm currently serving as the ESO at my unit and often counsel our members to look for 3 things when choosing a school:

1. Flexibility. Does the school offer the types of courses (in-class, correspondence, online) that work with your current schedule/deployments.

2. Affordability. I always recommend looking at schools in the member's state of legal residence. You can usually get in state tuition. TA covers up to $250/semester hour (max $4,500/yr). I've seen some members paying up to $450 per hour for an associate's degree through an online college. Maybe that's the best decision for some, but all schools are in business to make money and their recruiters/marketing team shouldn't be making the decision for you.

3. School Recognition/Resume Effect. The reputation spectrum runs from Harvard to Diploma Mill U. It's a balance to find something in the middle. Does the school have a football/basketball team? That usually means good recognition. Maybe it's not fair, but potential employers will make certain judgement calls based on the school you list on your resume. With a little research, most members can find a state school in their home state that offers online courses and in state tuition.

One good link is http://www.geteducated.com . With a little research, you should be able to find a great school that works for your needs.

Good luck,

MRK

My 2 cents: There are quite a few brick and mortar schools that offer online degrees and are military friendly, too. Florida State, Old Dominion, University of Maryland, etc. Just consider finding a school as research.

Even if the state does not offer in-state tuition, ask the Bursar's office if there is a contracted rate for USCG or military; it is usually under the TA cap.

University of Maryland University College

quote:

Originally posted by YNGirl81:
University of Maryland University College

I am about to receive my AA from Coastline and I have been looking into the UMUC. They are familiar with Coastline CC and will make an easy transfer into their program. My question is, are they a part of the University of Maryland or when I graduate will the diploma say something else?