Hey all,

I have been looking for a online school that does a good computer science degree. I have looked into a few techical schools around my area and even applies to one; most of my classes truned out to be "group" classes, and I ended up doing alot of the work or being left out do to my work schedual. I want a school where I can work on my stuff when I have time, but I am trying to avoid for profit schools.

Any and all help is wanted. and if you need more information feel free to ask.

Thanks.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Online+College+for+Computer+Science+Degree

I would be....careful. I'm sure someone else with more experience in the industry can clarify, but depending on why you're looking to gain a degree, an online school might not be a terribly useful route, depending on where it's from, if you're looking to get work in the industry. I'm under the impression that your portfolio/work history and competency during the interview process go a lot further than a degree (especially if from an online school). I'm also under the impression that many online schools tend to be less than adequate for learning, and it's possible you could learn more/get more experience on your own. Though, I'm also certain there are probably many positions out there that require a degree of some sort, regardless of what sort and from where.

I'm not trying to suggest you shouldn't go this route, I would just urge you to do a lot of homework in regards to why you'd like the degree and how effective that degree would be toward your goals. School is expensive. And there are certainly many people out there with expensive degrees that aren't pulling their weight.

Anyhow, take this as a pretty uninformed opinion. I went to a state university in a field unrelated to programming, and I don't work in the industry. I'm just wary of many online schools and how they promote themselves. I'd also guess that most online schools are going to fall into that for profit/group setting you've already experienced (including distance learning classes from state universities).

@Misantes thank you for your opinion and view of it. I would very much like to go to a proper university and attend classes, but I just can't. I have bills to pay and I refuse to go back to living with my family/ living in a dorm.

And I've been doing a lot of homework. I've already been screwed over by two Unis so I'm not going to jump in neck deep.

again thanks for the info though.

@Tangletail, thank you for being a smata**. *golf clap* You are a winner.

I know that I can bloody google it. And I have been; I was just hoping to get input from people that have done online schools. See how they felt about that piticular school, downfalls, things that made said school stand out.

But again. thank you for being so smart and all seeing.

Call me old school, but I say, don't do online "schooling" if you can avoid it. Why?

-In person lectures are awesome.

-University isn't just about the classroom, it's VERY much about meeting similar people and making new friends. Later, those can turn into job opportunities. This is what makes some MBA schools much better than others, even though they all teach roughly the same material.

-If you have a question during a lecture, you can raise your hand and ask it right away and get immediate clarification and follow along the rest of the lecture without confusion / uncertainty.

-It's great to get out of the house / apartment / basement

I did all of my schooling in person. Not a single online class was taken.

My brother did 100% of his university education online at a school which was 300 miles away. Not a single in-person class was taken.

His university experience was pretty much sitting in a basement for 3-4 years, reading books, taking online multiple choice tests, and going through the bullshit which online teachers put him through ("you have to write a three paragraph response to the reading, then respond to your class mates response! Participation is mandatory.") to give a semblance of "instruction". It was pretty much a guided reading book club for four years.

If you go WAY back and look at how skilled tradesmen were educated, they went through an apprenticeship program. An apprentice blacksmith would learn under a master blacksmith. The master blacksmith would have one on one training with his apprentice, and be able to guide him, spot his mistakes, and correct them quickly. You don't get better training than that. Today, the best equivalent you can get is a mentor. Going to a university in person can provide you with the opportunity to get that oh so valuable one on one mentorship, but it's not guaranteed by simply attending. Teachers / professors are supposed to be these mentors for their students, but much more often than not, they are there to just go through the motions, lecture for a few days a week, and call it a day. They're victims of the university classroom format. But, if you get to know a particular professor, do their office hours, and really try to take advantage of their expertise, they will be excellent mentors. In an online "classroom" setting, this is all but impossible. My thought is that just because something is online and "high tech" doesn't necessarily make it good or better. Usually, you have to (unknowingly) make some pretty big sacrifices for that convenience.

So yeah, don't do online classes if you can avoid it.

Your statement of wanting to avoid for-profit schools is good, I would also tend to avoid private schools for the same reason.

I only know one specific school (Western Governor's University but they don't offer CS yet), but I know there are many traditional schools starting to offer their programs online under various rules, such as local residency requirements or a minimum number of hours at physical facilities.

That is how I would begin my search. Start with good, local, accredited schools near your location that also provide an online variation. At the same time, strictly avoiding for-profit and private schools, and reviewing the reputation of the remaining schools available to me.

Also, beware of nuance in the title. Degrees in things like "Computer Programming" and "Information Technology" are not the same thing as degrees in "Computer Science', which is the typical bar for games programming.

Hi if your looking for a school that you can get an accredited CS degree online working at your own pace take a look at University of the people.

http://uopeople.edu/

It's extremely cheap as well.

@slayemin, thank you for the advice. I would prefer to go to a college then do online schooling, but bc of location and how much I need to work to pay the bills is just can't.

@frob, thank you as well. I've done a lot of research into this. I know what I want to do; its just getting there is the issue. The tech schools around here "specialize" in information techonlogy and have even tried to convice me that it was the same as having a Computer Science degree. Thank you for the push in the right direction for my research too; I've been looking into this for a while now, but maybe taking a different approach will help me out.

@DerekL, I will have to look deeper into this. I honestly don't know how to feel about Universities like this. I've heard about this stuff doing well, and I've heard of it being scamish. But reguardless it is still a good sugestion and may help me get to my means of having a degree.

@Misantes thank you for your opinion and view of it. I would very much like to go to a proper university and attend classes, but I just can't. I have bills to pay and I refuse to go back to living with my family/ living in a dorm.

And I've been doing a lot of homework. I've already been screwed over by two Unis so I'm not going to jump in neck deep.

again thanks for the info though.

Freesail offers an online degree. But not for general computer science. It's gamedev, which is like a fourth or half of what you learn in CS before specializing.

I did find a list of colleges, but it's one of those top 20s... and I am personally not even sure how it was evaluated. But it's a start.

http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/top/online-computer-science-programs/

But... take this with a grain of salt. I never attended any of these schools. And I am currently physically in a university.

You did say all help would be appreciated

Well, the issue is finding someone who's done an online school is like finding a needle in a haystack. You can find them, but it will be incredibly difficult as the most mainstream method is to go to a university. You also run the unfortunate risk of your degree being worthless for some reason. (Yes, this does happen more often than you think).

There might be no differences, but we are in a society where the norm is probably looked upon more. You could try asking the counselors for the website (if they have them) if it was possible to speak with a current student. 50/50 shot really. As they might have a few students whom are willing to talk about it. In the end, you might be better off teaching yourself if the degree wasn't important.

This is paragraph here is just advice on affording college. It may be very possible for you to obtain a scholarship in your situation. I've seen plenty that were obviously meant for students who are still filed as dependents. Some companies will even invest in you to go to school, assuming that you promise to work for them X amount of years. Many of the students I have met are in a similar situation as you, and are in their thirties going for a BA as a freshman or sophomore.

And if you mean getting screwed by the university, by it randomly changing it's requirements... happened to my brother frequently... then that's just about any university really. Usually, you'll find yourself fighting with any educational institution. Even online ones I'd imagine.

But honestly. I'd do a bit of research about the impact of the online degree first. See if it's considered to be worth anything before investing the time and resources.