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How fast could I get my associates degree?

In a few years im getting out of the service, and will have my GI bill to use. My only problem is i never took my SAT and am limited to my community college (which is no big deal). Now i can transfer to a 4 year school after i get my associates degree, but i want to get it in under two years. My question was how fast could i get the associates degree (in criminal justice) without totally overloading myself with work? Any experiences?

3 Answers

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  • CoachT
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Being a veteran and probably well over the traditional college student age - it's entirely possible that you don't need an ACT/SAT at all. You'd be applying as an independent, adult student.

    You can seriously reduce your time to degree completion by taking the CLEP and DANTES exams your local education office offers you for free. Some of those are pretty easy to study for. You can also take advantage of college courses on the installation you're assigned to.

    If you start at a community college with no credits and want to get an associates degree, you'll learn quickly why it's called a 2-year degree. Most schools will let you take 18 credits per semester fall and spring with 6-9 in the summer. That's 42-45 credits per year. You need 60 semester hours for an Associates degree. That means that since it can't be completed in 1 year, it will take a whole year and a portion (one semester) of the next school year (2 years). (fall, spring, summer, fall)

    Problem is, there's a reason that colleges set the limit (without extra permissions) to 18 credits and the reason is because that's a pretty demanding. 15 is a solid courseload if you don't work and 9-12 is as much as most people working want to attempt.

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    First, make sure that where you get the A.A. has accreditation. There are schools out there that hand out diplomas, but when it gets to the real world of employment, the diploma isn't worth the price of toilet paper. Next, try an appeal process with your school. If you are truly a good student and don't need to take a full load of classes to graduate during your final semester, why should it matter to them what you do with your time? If the C.C. is the problem in enrolling before h.s. graduation, it will be more difficult to get an appeal ruled on favorably. Are you dealing with a quarter system or semester system in the C.C. system? If the quarter sytem, you'll have some down time between high school graduation and C.C. enrollment... This would give you five quarters in which to do six quarters of work for a June graduation. This would mean an average of 18 credits/quarter, whereas 15 is a full load. If the C.C. is on a semester system, you could graduate in a year and a half without a problem CREDIT-WISE, BUT, regardless of whether the C.C. is on a quarter or semester system, you will have to schedule your classes very carefully ahead of time, since all necessary classes are not available when you always wish or need them to keep on track with your goal. As for correspondence or other work; again, be careful as to accreditation. Make sure the C.C. will accept the credits before starting! If all fails, consider cheating on the system. If you can get started in the C.C. "on the sly" without your h.s. knowing, do you think you would be in danger of having your A.A. degree taken away from you? Doubtful, but I'd advise you tell noone what you're doing!

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

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    You could get in way over your head. A typical associate's degree is worth sixty or more credits and normally takes two years, or four semesters, if coursework is carefully planned and you are not required to take any developmental coursework (as determined by your college entrance examinations); otherwise, it could take even longer. A normal full-time load is 12-15 credits each semester. Some students are able to take a heavier course load, but before you decide to do so, consider how self-motivated you are and what your other obligations are (such as work or family). For each credit you take, you will spend, each week, at least 50 minutes in class and are expected to spend 2 or more hours outside of class studying. There are other ways to earn credit, though. While still in high school, you might try taking Advanced Placement coursework/examinations (talk with your guidance counselor). When you get to college, speak with an academic advisor about ways to earn credit, such as by service learning, credit by examination (such as for foreign language), internships and independent study. Don't expect that high school and college are the same; college--even community college--is much more demanding. It might be a good idea to not jump in too fast by taking too many classes your first semester. Find out what it's all about first. And you can always shorten your time to degree by taking summer classes.

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