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James,
As the author [noted, prospective students should consider their career plans before devoting time and money to a specific school or program, virtual or not. For example: I’m employed by a global Fortune 10 company and there is a list of colleges and universities whose degrees are not sufficient as hiring criteria regardless of accreditation. It is a good bet other large companies have similar policies. Ditto for graduate degree programs. Depending on the school, bachelor degrees from online schools or virtual universities may not be accepted for matriculation. If the student plans to pursue a graduate
degree they should make sure their intended grad school will accept their undergrad degree.

I’m not knocking virtual schools, my Bachelor’s degree was obtained 100% online as will my graduate degrees.

Obviously if the student is just getting a Bachelor’s degree for the sake of getting a degree, plans to work for smaller companies, or be a serial entrepreneur, which school issues the degree does not matter. However, everything comes with a price, and you get what you pay for. Choosing the wrong virtual university could mean having to go back and get a second Bachelor’s degree before getting that job you covet or continuing on with your education. – John T. in Michigan

Mr. Rawles,
My son came up with another method for keeping college costs down that I don’t recall having seen before: he talks instructors into letting him skip courses.
He was homeschooled, so had no official record of what he’d learned. When he started college through the Running Start program (open to homeschoolers, as well as regular high school students, and another great way to save money!) at age 15, he met with his future calculus professor and talked him into letting him skip the first quarter of that subject. Later on, based on his grades in more advanced courses that required the one he skipped, he was given credit for it–at no charge!

He has since talked other teachers into waiving courses that were officially required for classes in specialized subjects he wanted to learn, picking up any knowledge he truly needed from the prerequisites as he needed it for the courses he wanted to take. He didn’t get credit for any of the other classes he didn’t actually take, but did save the money and time he would have been spent taking them. That’s important both because of the time and money needed to take the unwanted courses and because it can be difficult to fit classes into your schedule that are only offered every year or two.

This tactic is also helpful if you don’t do your full degree at the same school. Your choices are limited if, as a newly-transferred junior, you want to take classes that require a course that students at your new school usually take as freshmen. It can be hard to mesh in to a new school’s program, but there are obviously ways around it, and you can save money doing so! – Nancy L.

Hi Jim,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while but this is my first time writing in. Excelsior College is great for people who need a flexible way to get a degree. I actually got my undergrad nursing degree through them. This option is only available to those with prior healthcare experience, which I had. I was formerly a home birth midwife with a certification through the North American Registry of Midwives. They accepted this credential to enter their program, and gave a number of credits for earning this credential. They accepted all my transfer credits from previous work, and I wound up only needing to take the 7 nursing exams, plus a microbiology exam. Now I had a prior degree in another field, but their flexibility for people of many different backgrounds is well-known. I moved across the country halfway through my degree, and since it was not a residential program I didn’t have to change schools. This has been a godsend for people in the armed forces, who move all over the place. I liked them so much, I’m going back to Excelsior for my Master’s in Nursing. The Masters programs are different. Rather than being exam-based, you take classes online with a group of other students. Anyway, my experiences with this school have all been positive. I’m not an employee of the school, or connected in any other way than being a student with them. Oh, a final bonus of this school is that you can generally spread out your degree earning over many years, making it very doable to work full time while earning a degree with them.
Andrea

Mr. Rawles,
I recently read your “Patriots” novel and loved it, and have been reading and learning from your SurvivalBlog daily since then. I’ve been following the topic of alternative and low cost routes to obtaining a college degree and wanted to contribute another option that your readers might be interested in.

Harvard University’s Extension School offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a variety of fields in a non-traditional format. The benefits of this school include:
– Non-traditional admissions policy: This is my favorite aspect of their programs. Classes are open-enrollment, meaning anyone can register for most courses without undergoing any kind of application process. Admission to degree-granting programs is based on your performance in several classes rather than your performance on standardized tests or in prior schooling. There are no SATs, GREs, or other tests required for admission (except an English proficiency test if you’re not a native English speaker). And there are no transcripts required. You simply take 3 courses at the school, including a writing course, and if you pass them all with a B- or better and GPA of 2.5, you will be accepted upon applying to the degree program. The classes are very challenging, so rather than trying to weed out unqualified applicants based on previous transcripts and tests, you get a trial by fire, proving in the actual courses that you’re up to the task.
– Low cost: Most undergraduate courses there cost less than $1000, so a full 32 course undergraduate degree costs considerably less than one year of school in many traditional 4 year colleges.
– Flexible scheduling: Courses are offered on both weekdays and weeknights, so it’s easy to schedule school around work.
– Flexible location: Many courses are available online, and for the undergrad degree, only 16 credits (4 courses) are required to be taken on campus. So if spending several years in the People’s Republic of Cambridge or elsewhere in the congested Northeast doesn’t fit your survival plans, you can knock out the on-campus requirement in a single summer.
– Excellent education: Courses are taught by a combination of full-fledged Harvard professors and part-time instructors who are professionals that have real world experience in the subjects that they teach
– Diverse student body: Classes are filled with students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, most of whom are working part or full time jobs while in school.
– A degree from Harvard: Very nice to have on your resume, no matter what you think of “elite” ivy league education and faculty. 🙂

My wife and I both worked at Harvard for a few years so we could take classes at the school for free. I took classes both at the Extension School and in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (where traditional undergrads and grads take classes) and can confirm that the Extension School classes are as challenging and of as high quality as the “regular” classes. My wife managed to get a masters degree in English from the Extension School while working full time, and has found the education invaluable, and her degree essential in helping her get job interviews and ultimately in landing her first job as a middle and high school English teacher.

We no longer work at Harvard and have no financial interest in the success of its programs, but we both spread the word about this little known “back-door” to a Harvard education because we believe it’s such a great value and opportunity for anyone who wants to further their education in the fields of study that they offer.
Regards, – Luke V.

For many, the cost of a college education can be prohibitive; however the necessity of having a degree can be crucial when a job seeker is looking for work. Oftentimes, a college degree is used as a discriminator in the hiring process. Those with years of experience and talent may not even be considered for a position simply because they haven’t “filled in the blocks” required by a human resources department. Even if the degree is in an unrelated field, it is usually enough to get a person through the initial hurdles of the interview process.
However, even the costs of a local community college may be prohibitive to those who have to work and support a family – cost both in money and time. This was the situation I was faced with just a few years ago; however there is a solution.

In my hunt for a better and cheaper way to obtain that necessary sheepskin, I discovered the Bain 4 Weeks web site (I have no personal affiliation or compensation) which described the efforts of one woman who obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in just four weeks. While initially skeptical (think: diploma mill), I examined her method. Utilizing the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and other college-level examinations, she was able to complete her four-year degree in just four weeks.

While I didn’t have an entire month available to dedicate to testing out of college credit, I did use the same principals to accelerate my degree completion while working full time, taking care of a family, and spending my evenings at home rather than in a classroom. In fact, I can proudly say that I was able to complete the entire degree with never having to set foot in a classroom. This method enabled me to adjust my education schedule to my life schedule. At some points taking a test a week for a couple of months was no problem; at other times, I was reduced to taking one test a month.
Perhaps a quick explanation of the CLEP program is in order. These exams are recognized by most accredited universities. These tests allow an individual to receive college credit (typically three to six credits) for specific subjects and cost $70 per exam. The first-year exams are six credits each for the five subjects (English, Math, Social Science and History, Humanities, Science) and will provide the typical test taker with 30 semester-hour credits. This means that the first year of college would cost $350. Imagine an entire year of school for less than the price of one class at a community college.

There are both paper and computer-based versions of the test available. They can be scheduled at many local colleges (paper versions) or at places like Sylvan Learning Centers (computer based). The advantage to the computer versions of the test is that the results are immediately known to the student after completion. Also, an enterprising student can take more than one exam in a single day at these centers. (However, I was never able to complete more than two in a day – I was mentally drained after the second test.)
There are plenty of study guides available online and at your local library – practice, practice, practice.

So, how would this work? Let us take the example of someone who has finished high school, is working part time and staying at home. He could schedule one test every two weeks and spend the interim weeks studying for the next exam. After 10 weeks, this student would have finished his first year of school. Keeping this same pace (most of the remaining exams are three credits each), the student could complete the remainder of his degree in 45 weeks. All total, he would have spent slightly more than a year working on a four-year degree. His cost would be approximately $2,450 for all 120 credits. So for about the cost of just one semester at a community college, this person would have completed all the degree requirements necessary for graduation.

Another scenario would be a single mother working to support her family. She doesn’t have a lot of money and can’t dedicate two to three nights a week to attend classes. Instead she decides to start taking CLEP exams. She studies a little each night after the kids go to bed. To get time off for testing, she saves up a little extra time from her lunch break throughout the month to spend a couple of hours at the test site (or takes a Saturday test). What happens if something comes up and she isn’t able to study enough to take another test that month? Nothing happens at all. Unlike taking night classes where she cannot afford to miss classes; earning credit with these exams allows her to adjust her test-taking schedule to fit in with what works for her life. If she averages one test a month, then in 10 months, she would have finished one year of school. In essence, she is able to go to school full time while working and raising a family without the financial or time burden traditional education would have created.

Granted, the folks who create the CLEP tests do not award degrees; so a person would have to transfer the credits to a school that does. In my case, I used Excelsior College. If a person completed all degree requirements and then transferred the credits to Excelsior, the enrollment cost would be $765 and the graduation fee would be $440 for a total of $1,260. So the grand total would be $3,710 for the entire degree. Most schools accept some CLEP exams (usually up to 60 credits) but require the remainder of classes be taken through their university. Excelsior (and there are a few others) have no residency requirements and will accept all credits taken through CLEP or other accredited colleges. Make sure to check around. Excelsior is a good school, but there are others that are also equally suitable.

A second advantage to this method of getting that “sheepskin” is that for those who home school or those who have a GED, getting accepted into a college can be challenging if not impossible. Most schools do not ask for or require high school transcripts or SAT/ACT scores for transfer students. What constitutes a transfer student? Most of the time schools consider a transfer student as someone who is going to transfer 30 to 45 semester hours of credit. In other words, if you have an enterprising student who was homeschooled but the one college she wanted to go to will not recognize her diploma, she can take her first year of CLEP tests and then be considered a transfer student with no restrictions.

As a side note, I shared this method with a gentleman at work whose son was a sophomore in high school. His son began taking CLEP tests over the summers and during the Christmas breaks. By the time he finished high school this young man had already earned an Associate’s Degree.

Is there a downside to this method? It would depend on what the person pursuing a degree really wants. If he or she is trying to get a specific degree, say in microbiology, then this method probably would not work because of the lab requirements. However, many of the techniques/concepts can be used to reduce overall costs and speed up the length of time it takes to get a degree. Hopefully, this information will be valuable to those who feel frustrated in their efforts to complete a college degree.

Lastly, if I had to do it all over again, I would have joined the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve and learned a skill that would prove useful in a TEOTWAWKI situation. This would also provide me with a part-time job, free CLEP and DANTES tests and money for school if I chose to attend a specific college.

Please note that I am not endorsing any of the cited organizations. I simply want people to understand that there are alternative ways to get what you need. Being a survivalist means being adaptable and “thinking outside the box”. – V/R, USAF