Question: I did very poorly my first semester at college. I did so bad that I can't even make it in to the school I WANTED to go to. I completely lost it and have no idea what to do. I honestly have strong reason for not wanting to attend my current college for another semester. It would be my very last option. I am also going through a hard time emotional right now as well.
There are three classes I failed. I was going and accepted into elementary ed program and realized halfway through I didn't want to be a teacher. I would love to do something with web-design, graphics, or even just a business degree for now. The problem is I can't make it into the college I want. I was wondering if I took online course at University of Phoenix if I could make up for the grades or raise my GPA high enough to get into the college I want. Does anyone know anything about online classes or other options besides going back to my current school?
Answer: It happens, don’t worry about it, now how to procede is a good question.
Regardless of which school you are looking to get into, I think you will need more than 1 course of good academic performance. Schools want to see that you have a good chance of success before accepting you. I would plan a full semester or 2 of B-level or better work before re-applying to the school of your choice.
Where to go: There are a ton of regionally accredited (the highest level) of online programs out there. So the first thing to do is narrow down what your major is going to be, so that you don’t take a bunch of unneeded courses. If you can’t narrow it down yet, focus initially on taking general education requirements that will apply to most majors.
Make sure that your school is regionally accredited; this will help ensure credit transfer. Curriculums don’t match 100% between schools, but in most cases you should be able to transfer 90% or more of the credits. Especially true when you are transferring a small number of credits.
UoP is regionally accredited (the credits would transfer) and our company accepts all applicants with regionally accredited degrees, regardless of delivery format (we are one of the largest employers in the state). However I can’t recommend them due to the price, and the compressed format (5-6 week courses) favors those who have a lot of experience in the field and are now going back for a degree.
If you repost a question stating your major, and what factors are most important to you (price, school name recognition, regional location), I’m sure people can point out a selection of online programs to choose from.
Others:
You have a problem. No reputable school would recognize your GPA from the University of Phoenix or transfer anything you took there, so your choice would be to get your degree from the UofP or to go about this another way. If you did finish your degree at the UofP, you would have to contend with the fact that many, if not most, employers don't think much of it either, and you would have spent a considerable amount of money on the project, because the UofP isn't cheap.
I can think of a couple of other possibilities which don't involve going back to your other college. First of all, you could go to another college. I don't know where you are located, but unless your college is the only one in the area and you have to stay there, there should be someone who would take you. You will probably have to spend a couple of years at a community college, since you failed a few classes initially, but that isn't the worst thing in the world.
Secondly, although I'm not sure they will take you after your false start, you could try taking some online classes from a reputable university. Not a commercial enterprise, like the UofP or Capella, but one of the state or private not-for-profit universities which also offer distance learning opportunities. There are a number of them, and since your goal is just to take some classes to get your GPA up, it doesn't even matter if they offer an entire degree online or not, you just need a few classes. These places tend to be much less expensive than the UofPs of the world, and they are recognized in nearly the same manner as the same schools' physical campus classes.
Many online schools are not recognized by employers or graduate schools.
Why not pick a reputable online school that is part of a conventional school? For example, a University of Maryland online class is probably as good as a Univeristy of Maryland conventional class.
Kaplan University is a wonderful college. Just simply research it on the internet and the name of the college will show up. It's a fair college and very interesting. It has many advantages and the professors are wonderful and very professional. They have seminars, discussion boards, projects, essays. If you take your associates first you will have have to do about one year of your bach because they transfer what ever credits you did in your associates to your bach. Good luck!