Hey thanks you guys for giving my daughter that information. I wanted to support her decision but really would rather her go to a brick and mortar school. There is a junior college 15 minutes away and 2 Cal State U 15 minutes in two other areas only 15 minutes away.

Thanks again for that info everyone and the links too!

**edit**

I feel the same way about it. Z tried to run that by me, and I gently, yet firmly, nudged him towards IRL school.

IMO, it's just way to easy to procrastinate w/online schooling.

But you'd be AMAZED at the grants and scholarships you can apply for online. It's so much easier to do than it was 20 (ahem) plus years or so ago.

She originally wanted to attend the junior college 1st and then it switched to the online thing.

DD17....This is momma. Maybe you might consider going to the junior college for a bit while you decide??


Funny thing guys, the job she just got is in the bookstore at the junior college.

**edit**

FWIW I knew a Stanford grad student working on their Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics who started out in a community college.

I agree with everyone who recommends against online schools for careers such as law, medicine, engineering, etc. I cannot stress that enough. Absolutely. Definitely. For all the reasons mentioned, especially (1) accreditation and (2) life experience. Learning with study groups, being able to interact with your professors, gaining the experience, the maturity, the training in how to *think* in your chosen career, is invaluable.

Education experts speak of two types of training/teaching and learning. There's the training where you learn the facts you need and the methods of performing in your chosen career. There's also being trained or indoctrinated in "how to think like a _________." You may be able to learn facts from an online course or from reading a textbook. But you need to learn "how to think like a lawyer" in order to *succeed* in your career.

One use for online studies is if you already have a master's degree in something and need additional course credits for your job, or something. Another use is if you live in a rural isolated place and are enrolled in a bricks and mortar accredited institution that offers *some* distance learning courses, that can save you driving in every day so that maybe you only have to drive in MWF. It should not take the place of the entire curriculum.

Just a few months ago a colleague of mine was involved in exposing a huge scam operation involving an online "university" that was basically just taking people's money and "selling" them a degree that wasn't even worth a Happy Meal. Please, caveat emptor.

**edit**

**edit**

This is possible, but very rare. He must had the qualification to get into Stanford in the first place but chose a community college instead and did very well while he was there or he was at the very top of his class in addition to some extraordinary achievements while and after high school.

IIRC I think he went from community college to a state university, maybe in Colorado? for his undergrad (B.S.) degree; then he went on to Stanford grad school for his Master's and Ph.D. The Ph.D. would be the equivalent to a J.D. I believe. And yes, of course he would've had to excel at least at his undergrad university in order to be accepted into Stanford. He started at the community college to save money, prolly taking courses like the general education requirements.

ETA: I don't mean to sound like I'm arguing, I just now noticed the tone might sound like that! I think you are in a great position to give excellent advice to DD, especially with your experience in law. I'm just intending to support and reinforce what you are saying!

Quick T/J...


BA alert

I completely and utterly disagree.

I work for one of the largest engineering companies in the world and do quite a bit of hiring.

Throughout my career I have hired a number of very outstanding and talented RCGs (Recent College Graduates) from "on-line" colleges. U of Phoenix On-line is one I consistently look to.

I target nothing but 4.0 GPA or better and they have all excelled in their careers here. A couple of them have received promotions each and every year of their career.

On-line colleges can turn out equivalent talent to Brick and Mortar. To discount them is a disservice to the on-line academic community.

Jo

T2LDD,

I would encourage you to look into Charter Oak State College. It offers a very good way to get an accredited four year degree in just about anything online, and it is a legitimate college in Connecticut.

You can get your degree by taking their online courses. OR, you can take courses from your local community college, submit your transcripts to Charter Oak, and accumulate them at Charter Oak, and then at the end get the degree from Charter Oak. What you do is get the degree plan at the start from CO, and work with them to lay out the coursework you would need - and take the courses from wherever you want. And you can save a BUNDLE!!! because you can take the courses from wherever they are the cheapest for YOU! Then, when you finish each course, you submit your certificate or transcript back over to CO. They keep the transcripts for you. As you work your way through, you keep in touch with your counselor, and then in the end, you wind up with your diploma.

And YES, you can attend a local university and be enrolled at CO at the same time, accumuluating courses at DOUBLE THE SPEED. It is really worthwhile to take a look at this plan - it worked for my daughter.

No, I don't work for them. But yes, we were satisfied with pricing, financial aid, ease of enrolling, and most of all - the people were accessible, helpful, friendly, and were really there for my daughter and me EVERY TIME WE CALLED. They emailed and wrote and called US! Not once did the state university do that, and my daughter attended four and half years - but CO where she went ONE SEMESTER, well, we knew those folks by name.

Call them. You can check out everything you need to know - and I mean EVERYTHING, for FREE, online. They hide NOTHING - and this proves their legitimacy. You can visit the campus in Connecticut, across the street from their sister university.

Worth checking out.

SB

CO is accredited by the same unit that covers Harvard University.

It is a bricks-and-mortar college, and is a state college in Connecticut. It began as a university for the non-traditional student back in 1974, long before the Internet. They really built themselves on nursing and business degrees, but now do everything - four year degrees in everything from teaching to music to business to sound engineering.

The concept is that you can attend the local community college in your area and get coursework there. You can take online courses from the state colleges or universities in your state at the same time. You can also take coursework from any other place - for example, if you were a nursing student, you would be taking coursework from certain certified nursing agencies perhaps, which issue certificates of completion for specific competencies after you have proven your abilities for passing specific testing for doing certain tasks in nursing. Then, you submit these certificates or transcripts back to the college. After you accumulate the necessary number of coursework hours in the plan for graduation, you are then given your degree - and it does not matter if the courses were taken from Charter Oak or Harvard, or Waxahachie Community College, or any combination thereof. Just that the hours were passed and accumulated in the appropriate classes needed for the degree as specified by the college's requirements for graduation - just as the state of Connecticut requires.

There are other colleges that do the same thing - this one is the one that we found. The price was actually CHEAPER than the Texas state college that my daughter was attending. It actually cost us $1200 per semester less for out of state tuition in Connecticut than it did for IN-STATE tuition in Texas. Go figure.

And, my daughter applied for an used her financial aid.


You will not be able to be determined as "independent" from your parents unless you are separated from your parents legally as an emancipated minor by the courts for financial aid. The laws determining this are hard and fast. You must be 24, or married, or there are other certain circumstances which form the basis of "independence" under the rules. Look them up - Google "FAFSA" - to find out what they are.

And do it quickly! The earlier you get your FAFSA filled out and turned in, the better. The early bird gets the worm on financial aid. And apply for every single scholarship you think is out there - you never know. I actually got a scholarship I didn't know existed, and then got a grant, from the university I attended. Someone gave the university money to fund me just based on my grades - an anonymous donation. Go to the university and ask for help - those folks are dying to help you, and this is the time of year to get the help. It's the downtime right now. Two weeks from now, they will not have time to answer the phone or pee.


SB

It was a threadjack (going off topic from your thread for a moment).

It was info for some others on your thread, that they will understand and has absolutely nothing to do with you or your family. But was important for them to know.

(So sorry)

MB Mods are awesome!



T2LDD...No more threadjacks from me.

{{{SMB}}}}

[size:14pt]no worries[/size]

GEEEZZ im soo glad i joined MB you guys are helpful...
so i have a community college about 15 min away.. so you guys are saying i can go there but at the same time i think i can do online courses as well.....
hmmmm sounds like a plan.
But im still not sure what it is exactly what i want to do.. i know i should know by now, but things have changed..

first i was going to work under my dad and he was going to have his own business...and i was going to get my major in business and management... " well he went KOO KOO" so plans changed..

Second like i told you all before i've always had a dream of becimg a lawyer.. i love arguing and defending myself.. or the person doing the right thing.. i think it would be making me alot of money and it would be fun..

so i'm not exactly sure what i should do.
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got alot of thinking to do...

either way ill have to get my AA first so i have a while to think about what i want to major and minor in.[/color]
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