My Simple Degree Plan
- Carnal Dancer
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Essentially, the way to earn a worthwhile degree inexpensively, conveniently, and on your own time schedule is to focus on the essentials:
(1) Earn as many transferable credits as possible using alternative platforms & standardized tests. Typically, this is how you'll earn your first 90 credits (freshman, sophomore, & junior).
(2) Finish the degree online at the college you've chosen. Typically, this is where the final 30 credits (senior) are earned.
As I indicated in my last post, I plan to use study.com for (1) & UMPI for (2) & will aim to complete 2 courses in the months I study. Both allow the student to pause the program at no charge to take time off.
Since the expected total cost of the degree is only $7225 (plus inflation), I don't plan to take advantage of every possible cost savings available, but will discuss those in a later post. I chose study.com because it is incredibly convenient: lessons take less than 10 minutes each & are easy to complete on a smartphone (usually just a 5-7 minute animated video & optional 5-question quiz). There is also a pretest (knowledge assessment) in many courses which then lets the student know the lessons that can be skipped to save time (though I still plan to take the optional 5-question quizzes).
Whenever I feel like doomscrolling on X or Facebook I will click on the mini-browser link to study.com on my home screen instead. I'll need to knock out only 5 micro-lessons per day to finish a course per month and only 10 per day for my target progress rate of 2 courses per month. I should mention I prefer the mini-browser as it tells me where to pick up. The app is more primitive & the home page doesn't have this obvious link (I'm on Android so I don't know if the iPhone version has this flaw). The desktop version of the site is virtually the same as on my phone, and when I get to chapter tests & writing assignments I might find the smartphone a little more cumbersome. I'll let you know.
Okay, time to knock out another lesson while I sip on a cup of coffee.