Teaching is a fantastic career, but you really shouldn’t have large amounts of debt. You have to be able to pay the bills and become employed. We want you to do that. Are you absolutely sure of where you will be living?
I know that my D is an attorney and they do not have paralegals in her office.
I personally would not hire someone who got a teaching degree on line (but that is my bias and I know plenty of APs and principals who would agree with that). You cannot learn classroom management and differentiated instruction online., especially dealing with young children where one size does not fit all. There is a great chance that you will have to do integrated -co teaching (special education, team teaching), which cannot be done on line.
I think online degrees are becoming more common. Like I said…check with the program for their job placement statistics. They should have those.
If you are majoring in elementary education, get a secondary endorsement in special education. This will help you get a job.
Once you get your degree, and pass the praxis tests in your state…and receive your certification, you might have tombe a bit flexible about where you hope to work. Many entry level elementary teachers find that they have to cast a wide net when looking for jobs.
It’s all possible.
But first you have to find an affordable college. Just make sure that this online school is.
OH one more thing…check to see where they place their student teachers. You may find that it is NOT near RMU.
BTW my D has been attending college 2 hrs away from her boyfriend, and they are still together, because they are committed to make things work.
They know that if she wants to become a pharmacist, she needs to attend this school, she cannot go anywhere closer to home, and we can only afford for her to go there because of the scholarship she got from the school.
I may get an apartment with my boyfriend rent is $595 but we will spilt so $297 I have a job and my parents and other family members are offering to help with food and stuff.
WGU is a regionally accredited university, which means it meets all the guidelines and requirements that a traditional university that is regionally accredited has to meet. I was also accepted into a doctorate program, and my coursework was acceptable.
I know you are actually trying to pursue teaching, but since it came up in this thread about your interest in the paralegal profession, I know a girl who graduated with her associate’s degree for legal assistant and she is currently working in a call center. So she’s not even able to find a job using her degree.
You seem to be very confused about what you need to do to finish your bachelor’s degree (and how to pay for it). I would contact the schools that were suggested to you and speak to someone who can direct you properly. You are already two years in and should have a better handle on what your next step is. There are advisors at the college you’ve been attending that you can talk to, utilize them!
Why isn’t your boyfriend moving to W. VA. with you if that’s what you can afford?
If I were you, I’d attend college in your home state where you can graduate without much debt. Give your former school a call to see if you can get reinstated there. If all you had to pay was $69, that’s an excellent deal. You’re not going to get a better one. I’d be wary of online degrees. Some districts do flag them. You won’t be teaching online, so it makes sense that districts would prefer brick and mortar schools.
We want you to be able to pursue the career you really want, and that seems to be teaching. Make getting your degree your priority. You can relocate later. If you keep changing your area of study just so you can stay in PA with your boyfriend, you’ll run out of Pell and student loans before you get a degree. Then all the money you borrowed will need to be repaid. That will be tough to do without a degree. Please focus on your educational goal and let everything else sort itself out.
WGU is a regionally accredited university, which means it meets all the guidelines and requirements that a traditional university that is regionally accredited has to meet. I was also accepted into a doctorate program, and my coursework was acceptable.
If you have 2 years of college and you were accepted to a doctoral program, that would frighten men and I would question the veracity of their programs
Check into Point Park, it has elementary education with special education certification. It’s in Pittsburgh.
What is your cumulative GPA? I ran the transfer net price calculator and it seems to say you might be able to get a $12,000 scholarship with a 3.0 GPA, and a need based grant. Along with Pell and a $7,000 loan it might be affordable.
Tuition and fees is about $30,000. The calculator estimated scholarships and grants of $23,000.
Talk to them, with all of your transcripts from the other school and RMU, to see if you can transfer in all of your credits into the education major.
Add them to the FAFSA so they can tell you what aid you can get.
But only go there if you can reach your education goals and have enough aid to pay for it.
You should be able call the PA department of education to confirm that they will accept a degree from whatever out of state university you are considering.
PA has its own set of requirements besides. They once told me they require a year of PA history, for example.
@sybbie719 I got an MLIS online as a second masters. There were plenty of in person visits required through my studies and a practicum that was months long that had to be carefully documented with my advisor in touch with my on-site supervisor. Those requirements were exactly the same as if I had taken courses on campus. I think the same would be true of a regionally accredited education program that was recognized by states’ departments of education.
Point Park would only work if you live in the shared apartment with boyfriend (not on campus). There should be public transportation like a bus from Moon PA to there right?
I did not think about it at first because it is private.
That’s what you need to find out. Would it be affordable with the aid they would offer?
I would think without the scholarship it would not be affordable.
Yes, RMU is 29,000 tuition and fees. Point Park is $30,000 for tuition and fees.
But what matters is what you have LEFT to pay after the grants and scholarship they give.
If you indeed could get $23,000 in aid with scholarship and Pell and need based grant from the school, then your remaining cost would be $7,000.
Like I said, you need to find out if it might be an option.
I am surrounded by teachers, school administrators, etc in my life. There is no chance that anyone would be hired with an online degree and no classroom experience around here.
But we don’t have a teacher shortage in these parts. The exact opposite actually
If you get your bachelor’s degree online, you’ll need to complete a Master’s degree “in person”, through a brick and mortar school. Also, an online degree from a known flagship such as WVU or even from Shepherd or Marshall, would get more recognition than from WGU. Regardless of whether you choose WGU, WVU, Marshall, or Shepherd online, it’s possible, but you need to plan for schools wanting local contacts from local universities, hence the masters. If you get married to your boyfriend after you get your degree you’ll become instate and can attend the closest State University at a relatively low cost.
How long does your boyfriend have till he graduates from RMU?
I would strongly urge you to find out if doing a master’s of education right away after the bachelor’s would actually hinder your employment prospects, since you want to teach in PA.
In some states a master’s is needed, but in some states it might actually be a barrier to you getting hired, because you might be "overqualified’ and they would have to pay you more, which might not get your foot in the door.
Aside from the fact that it would require more schooling and more loans, because for grad school there is no more Pell.
Like I said, in our area (of PA) the teachers get a master’s later, after several years of teaching, and take online classes part time while still working as a teacher.
