Finishing College

Finny

Finny

Well-Known Member
Hello All,

Now at I'm established and somewhat comfortable in the 121 world, I'm looking at finishing up my college degree online. I have about 4 years of college as a Music Performance Major, but my academic performance during that time was pretty abmismal. I've since joined the Army National Guard and have started taking studying much more seriously once I started down my aviation career path.

I've narrowed down my options to either a BA in General Studies from Southern New Hampshire University, or a BS in Aviation from Utah Valley University. At SNHU the greater majority of my credits would transfer over and I would just need to fill in the holes in my general education courses. At UVU, most of my Gen Eds would transfer over, as well as 30 credits for being an ATP holder, but I would end up having to take around 30-45 credits of general aviation courses which would be a repeat of most of the knowledge I've already gained over my aviation education on my own. Both would be cost neutral with the use of my GI Bill.

My goals are to finish with no more student debt, with a 4.0 GPA to offset the bad GPA from my earlier college experience, and to finish as quickly as I can. For those of you that have sat on aviation hiring boards at any level, 91/135/121, what would be your advice on which path to take? I'm leaning more towards SNHU, just because more credits would transfer and I could get my degree completed more quickly. I'm worried however that it will not be a substainial enough degree to show progress and maturity since my last college experience. With UVU, I'd be worried that I'd be bored with the education and that at this point an aviation degree will not help me further my career.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks guys.
 
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Finny, I don't know anything about SNHU but I want to give you a warning about UVU and online universities in general. UVU had a good program but I ended up leaving it and transferring to ERAU. What happened was that I asked an advisor specifically about the ability to do these classes with an airline job and was told no problem, no test proctoring or anything like that. (if you aren't familiar this is a requirement to have a certified test proctor observe you take a test). It turned out to not be true. UVU has quite a few classes that require test proctoring. And usually a window of a couple days to do it. At first I thought I could make it work and did things like take a taxi to a library on a layover during a trip. However if it doesn't work out even once, you can't recover from a 0 on an exam. Just wanted to give you a heads up to research this with wherever you choose, and make sure that it's compatible with your 121 career. Best of luck!
 
Dan208B said:
Finny, I don't know anything about SNHU but I want to give you a warning about UVU and online universities in general. UVU had a good program but I ended up leaving it and transferring to ERAU. What happened was that I asked an advisor specifically about the ability to do these classes with an airline job and was told no problem, no test proctoring or anything like that. (if you aren't familiar this is a requirement to have a certified test proctor observe you take a test). It turned out to not be true. UVU has quite a few classes that require test proctoring. And usually a window of a couple days to do it. At first I thought I could make it work and did things like take a taxi to a library on a layover during a trip. However if it doesn't work out even once, you can't recover from a 0 on an exam. Just wanted to give you a heads up to research this with wherever you choose, and make sure that it's compatible with your 121 career. Best of luck!
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That's good to know. I asked specifically about this and they told me the same thing.
 
I did UVU, it wasn't that bad to get the proctoring done for the Generals. It's a pain in the ass, but it's not too terrible. It's easier than going to school full time.
 
Have you thought about Arizona State's online programs? I can't vouch for undergrad, but I did an MBA through there and the support from both the business school and the Pat Tillman Vet Center was top notch. Very well organized. and quality, content delivery too, plus the ASU name, at instate rates (so covered by the GI Bill).
 
Just about every university offers some kind of online degree these days. Not sure of UVU or SNHU charge out of state tuition fees and if they do it can typically DOUBLE the cost. Look around at schools in your state for online programs. Test proctoring is a PITA. Most classes will give you testing dates when the class starts, so you can do your best to work around them. However there is always the risk of missing one.

And I would pick a degree other than General Studies, It makes you look a bit indecisive, pick a major that you would have an interest in and that gives you something you could fall back on if you had to.
 
Have you looked at Thomas Edison State University? Another online state school in NJ, their student population is mostly military and adult learners with professional experience; they'll give you credit for all of your certificates and ratings and transfer a lot of credits from accredited junior colleges.
I would give em a call and get an evaluation of your existing credits, I'm 2 CLEP exams away from my BS in Aviation Flight Technology (the BS in BS, as I like to call it) and couldn't ask for a better experience
EDIT: as far as test proctoring goes at TESU, most of my classes only had midterm and final exams. If these weren't papers, they were "proctored" online exams where a remote proctor watches your screen/watches you through a webcam while you complete the exam
 
Currently enrolled with UVU. No issues with proctoring so far.

I enjoy that you can blast through classes pretty quick. Spring semester started a few weeks ago, and Im almost finished completely with one class.

I decided to try full semester classes this semester, but they also have block scheduling. If you really want to torture yourself you can go full time for the first half of a semester and full time for the second half. You can really knock them out.
 
This is a good topic, one that I've mulling over lately myself. I have two years left to complete my undergrad in Social Work at ASU. But probably taking a break and or going PT while FT flight training, which starts next month. Trying to decide if I want to finish the original plan of getting the BSW, and then the MSW. All while being a regional FO. Or using what credits I have in conjunction with college credits from my future flight ratings and getting a BS in Aviation Science from UVU or ERAU. Something tells me that a Masters in Social Work which would only take one year to complete (so a total of three years left of school, when including my remaining two years of my undergrad) would look far more competitive/marketable in the future to a legacy carrier. Than just an aviation degree. The problem however is that at ASU, Social Work isn't a 100% online course. It's dual, with the majority online, but some classes mandatory in person. So not sure what to do.
 
Just gonna bump this thread, if your college accepts ACE credit-recommendations:

I found this interesting program run by McGraw-Hill called ALEKS that can help with math credits.

https://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/ace_credit

Basically, you take a short 'placement test' at the beginning of your course to figure out your current grasp of the subject matter. The software figures out where you're at and sets a starting benchmark for you. Go through each section of the course, completing lessons and filling out the "pie slices" (which are different concepts in the course). Once you achieve 70% comprehension, which is gauged by periodic review quizzes, you can go the ACE page and sign up to send a transcript to your university. At TESU, it doesn't affect your GPA, just gives you the credits.
ALEKS is $20/mo, and I believe the transcripts are $40 (haven't finished yet, price is second hand info)

Pretty darn cheap way to pick up some math credits, I'm in the stat course now and it's working quite well. Don't consider myself much of a mathlete, but I feel like I'm actually comprehending it for a change.
Roll through it at your own pace, but the faster you go the cheaper it is. Even a regional pilot can swing that :)
 
Since this has been bumped, I actually found an online program through the University of Minnesota that I'm going to start this fall. It's tailored to people like me trying to finish out their degrees, but work full time. It'll be about 9 classes to finish and I'll graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Multi-disciplinary studies. The greater majority of my upper division music classes will transfer over too. All said and done, my goals are to graduate in 4 semesters part time and to get my GPA from a 2.8 to as high above 3.0 as I can manage. I'm beyond excited to get my degree finished and finally move past the poor performance I had as a younger college student. Not to mention I'll be able to take some really awesome business and leadership classes that will help round out my education.
 
Finny said:
Since this has been bumped, I actually found an online program through the University of Minnesota that I'm going to start this fall. It's tailored to people like me trying to finish out their degrees, but work full time. It'll be about 9 classes to finish and I'll graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Multi-disciplinary studies. The greater majority of my upper division music classes will transfer over too. All said and done, my goals are to graduate in 4 semesters part time and to get my GPA from a 2.8 to as high above 3.0 as I can manage. I'm beyond excited to get my degree finished and finally move past the poor performance I had as a younger college student. Not to mention I'll be able to take some really awesome business and leadership classes that will help round out my education.
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Awesome man, glad to hear it!
9 classes, 27 credits/120? If you kick butt (3.7 avg) would probably just get you over 3.0 at this point, but definitely something to shoot for. Could always try to retake something to drop a low grade if U of M does that kind of thing
Good luck, it's definitely nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel...
 
@Finny well, more for others in a simlar boat:
Uproctor.com is a paid service which has people proctor you from home. You need a webcam, and of course a private room.
I've done a few exams from on the road.

Also, specifically for you Finny, a commissioned officer (not a union officer...) should be able to proctor for you as well. Depending on the school, I've known a few to allow that.

Sounds like your on you way. Congrats.
Edited to add: do your best to get your GPA above 3.0. Most if not all (reputable) Master programs required a GPA of 3.0 or under you have a few $$ lying around in the GIBill account.
 
Now that a BA (or BS) is the basic terminal degree, get one. If, like me, you had an interrupted college experience including some courses while on active duty, finishing the undergraduate degree (thank you, GI Bill!) is very important. You'll find it easier - you are more focused, probably have better study skills, or at least a stronger ability to concentrate. You're also less likely to major in Malted Beverage. I was a better student when I went back to finish the BA, and an even better student when I worked on a Masters on-line in mid-career.

Pick a discipline that you can use in case your medical goes 'poof'. Don't duplicate the flight courses unless you can test around them or get credit for experience. May speed you up slightly (but lots of schools are wise to this, and either make you take them, or pay for them one way or another. Look carefully and make sure your information is reliable here! I think I'd like it in writing, to avoid a deniability problem later on or when that person no longer works at BS-Univ.). The 'general ed' majors are slightly less useful as a terminal degree, but avoid them like the plague if you plan on just about any Grad School. Pretty obvious for Med School, Law School, etc., but you'll be at an avoidable competitive disadvantage here.

Take at least some courses that both count for requirements and are either 'fun' or hit a special interest of yours. Usually not tough to find a literature or art appreciation/history course, or even history / economics & business / etc. Science and math courses are tougher, but could be useful. Avoid weed-'em-out classes (Statistics comes to mind!) unless they are absolutely required, or you know you'll ace them.

Make sure your school is accredited. The institution's accreditation holds for both resident and online. Certification by a professional body in the subject matter can also be important. Talk to some graduates of the program you're considering.

Good luck!
 
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