Alexander Said:

online degrees through the community colleges?

We Answered:

Your state was nice enough to make a list of online degrees available and to put it online for you with links. ☺ Some states rock like that. You're fortunate to be in a forward looking state as regards distance learning.

http://www.waol.org/coursecatalog/colleg…

Some 21st Century education facts for you - since you worry about the legitimacy of online education. Other colleges and employers judge your degree by the reputation of the college that awarded it and not whether it was online or not. Everyone is teaching online these days. Most transcripts or diplomas don't make mention of whether you took the course online or in the classroom or at some foreign extension location or on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

Some schools that teach online have a great reputation - Harvard, Oxford, Johns Hopkins, UMass, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Duke... thousands of these all teach online now.

Some schools that teach online don't have a good reputation - you often see these advertised on TV. Know that UoP's accreditation is not "sketchy", they are just as accredited as your state U -- it's not their accreditation that's a problem, it's the academic reputation.

Why go to Kaplan or UoP when you can go to your pick of in-state community colleges much cheaper? There's a reason some schools can afford to advertise on TV - could it be that they charge way too much?

By the way, University of Washington (http://www.onlinelearning.washington.edu… ) and Washington State University (http://online.wsu.edu/ ) have online degrees too (bachelor's, master's, and even a doctorate). You might want to look at those as well. Central, Eastern, and Western Washington teach online too. ☺

Megan Said:

ranking of Washington International University distance learning programme in international Business?

We Answered:

Not familiar with them at all. You should find out if they are accredited.

I think the best way to get a distance learning degree today is probably from a program that is affiliated with a traditional university an offers distance degrees on the side. It will be some time before distance learning has the same respect as a traditional degree, and until then, it will probably benefit you to have a degree from a school that already has a reputation. Try the link below.

Joyce Said:

Will going to an online distance-learning school ruin my future?

We Answered:

First, if you are a sophomore in high school, you write better than most college graduates. Really. I used to be a magazine editor and still freelance for a few magazines, and you write as well as many professional writers. That's a very strong point in your favor.

This is a cliche, but you get out of life what you put into it. If you want it badly enough, you could take this summer to study junior/senior level history, math and science, then take the GED exam and get your GED. Then next fall, start going to a community college and take real college courses. If you do well at the community college, you can transfer to LOTS of good schools -- you could end up with a bachelors degree by the time you're 20. If you are willing to work for it.

Be realistic... you will never get into Harvard or Stanford with this approach. However, it is perfectly reasonable and even admirable. If you completed something like this, many employers would be impressed and you could be off to an interesting career while your current high school friends are busy writing term papers.

Forget Ashworth and save your money. Study hard over the summer and get your GED. Then you can have a discussion with your dad about attending a local community college. Two years of that, and you'll be ready to study religion, anthropology or whatever you decide.

Edit: My guess is that Washington University will be less interested in your GED than your grades at a community college. After all, if you were a college admissions officer, wouldn't you be more impressed with a successful community college transcript than any high school diploma? It won't be easy and there will be challenges, but it can be done.

Good luck!

Erin Said:

I have a BS undergraduate degree. Will schools make me take gen.ed. courses again if I want to go for another?

We Answered:

It depends on the university, but in most cases colleges will give you credit for courses you took at another college (even if you have obtained a degree with those courses) as long as they aren't outdated and as long as they are from a reputable school (George Mason should qualify). So chances are, you won't have to retake your general educational requirements, although another school may have different gen ed requirements and may require that you take one or two extra classes to meet their requirements (more math or english, maybe a foreign language, but it all depends on the school). They just want you to meet THEIR requirements and you should be able to use anything you've already taken at GMU to satisfy them. Good luck!

Antonio Said:

What are the struggles and challenges working your way up to be an astronomer?

We Answered:

Well, it looks like you already know the hard part - you're going to need a PhD. Yes, U of Washington is a good school for astronomy - it has one of the top graduate programs, so it's good for undergrad as well. But keep in mind that if you want to go to graduate school in astronomy, you really need to major in physics. Taking astronomy courses is good too, but physics is essential for graduate school.

A PhD in physics takes an average of 6.5 years, not counting the undergrad degree, so astronomy grad school is 4-8 years after grad school - that's 8-12 years of school total. Fortunately, graduate programs in astronomy and physics pay YOU to go to school. They will pay your tuition and a small (livable) stipend in return for you doing research and teaching classes. So you shouldn't have to worry about taking out much in loans while in graduate school, or building up too much debt. No, you shouldn't have to - and in many cases are not allowed to - take another job on the side. They want you to devote all your time to the program. And often, you really need to.