# I have 120 college credits; what's the easiest/cheapest way to get a degree? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574 "2016-10-03T17:17:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/1 "2016-10-03T17:17:26Z")
Like the title says - I have 120 college credits, but no degree. The primary reason is that there were foreign language requirements at my college, and I never could get past them. My last class at that college was 25 years ago. I don’t live near the school any more, and they do not appear to offer online studies yet. So, what can I do at this point to finish my studies and get that bachelor’s degree? I was going for a communications degree back then, but I don’t much care what field the degree is in. I do care that it’s from a legitimate, accredited school. What’s my cheapest and simplest option? I’m only looking at online classes. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/2 "2016-10-03T17:23:19Z")
You may not be able to. Most colleges have a time limit (called a matriculation limit) on how long you can work on your degree. It’s usually about ten years or so. Now, you might be able to find a college that doesn’t have such a limit, but to be honest, I think it’s unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/3 "2016-10-03T17:28:58Z")
I recommend that you call around to legitimate online public colleges (such as Western Governors University, Charter Oak State College, Empire State College, etc.). One of them may allow you to transfer your credits, but as said, your existing credits may just be too old. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/4 "2016-10-03T17:44:28Z")
Even if the college credit age isn’t an issue, they will almost certainly require some minimum number of new credit hours with them, generally 30. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/5 "2016-10-03T18:58:04Z")
Also, you’ll have to complete the requirements for your specific degree–ie, a B.A. in history will likely require a certain number of hours in history, and possibly even specific classes, in addition to the basic requirements for all degrees. You can probably find college catalogues online for many schools, and therein find the requirements for a particular degree. Just having 120 random hours probably isn’t going to cut it. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/6 "2016-10-03T19:16:31Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Also, you’ll have to complete the requirements for your specific degree–ie, a B.A. in history will likely require a certain number of hours in history, and possibly even specific classes, in addition to the basic requirements for all degrees. > > You can probably find college catalogues online for many schools, and therein find the requirements for a particular degree. Just having 120 random hours probably isn’t going to cut it. Yep, I fully expect I’ll have to take more classes to meet their requirements. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/7 "2016-10-03T19:42:44Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I recommend that you call around to legitimate online public colleges (such as Western Governors University, Charter Oak State College, Empire State College, etc.). One of them may allow you to transfer your credits, but as said, your existing credits may just be too old. Seconded – add Excelsior College (NY) and Thomas Edison State College (NJ). These and Charter Oak (CT) offer “General Studies” or unspecified “Liberal Arts” BAs so there need not be a worry about many in-major credits. They will, for the application fee ($50 to 100 IIRC) analyze your existing transcripts to see what is still transferrable and to what program you may be eligible to enter. Some of their own courses are eligible for credit-by-examination, as well. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/8 "2016-10-03T20:09:35Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Seconded – add Excelsior College (NY) and Thomas Edison State College (NJ). These and Charter Oak (CT) offer “General Studies” or unspecified “Liberal Arts” BAs so there need not be a worry about many in-major credits. They will, for the application fee ($50 to 100 IIRC) analyze your existing transcripts to see what is still transferrable and to what program you may be eligible to enter. Some of their own courses are eligible for credit-by-examination, as well. Excelsior is probably going to be my best bet. > [@](#): > > However, we also have programs without time limits on credits. For adults with a lot of older credits, our Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts is the perfect option as there are no time limits. You could transfer in 117 credits, complete a capstone and information literacy course, and then graduate. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/9 "2016-10-03T20:14:03Z")
1. “120” credits means _nothing_. Different places have different rules about how many credits are needed for graduation. For some it’s quite low (1 semester class = 1 credit), others are high (1 quarter class = 4 credits). You need to say 120 out of ??? Except of course: 1. As noted, your credits are probably dead. Timed out. If you’re lucky, maybe some generic credits can be rescued, but probably none of the ones required for your major and most/all of your required courses in other areas for the major. Easiest/cheapest? Start at a community college. See if anything can be transferred. Take as many classes there as you can that can be transferred to a degree program at a local state school. Then the state school. All of these requires talking to people at those two schools. None of us here are in a position to really tell you all the messy details. Stuff varies. We can’t help you with the key information and, more importantly, can’t make official decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/10 "2016-10-03T20:31:53Z")
MIT offers some online courses free, last I heard. You can transfer credits, you know. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/11 "2016-10-03T20:32:00Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Excelsior is probably going to be my best bet. It does look like that would make for the highest proportion of transferrable credits, given the no-sunset policy. Of course it would still need to be seen how many DO transfer. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/12 "2016-10-03T20:37:45Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > You may not be able to. Most colleges have a time limit (called a matriculation limit) on how long you can work on your degree. It’s usually about ten years or so. Now, you might be able to find a college that doesn’t have such a limit, but to be honest, I think it’s unlikely. > [@ftg](#): > > As noted, your credits are probably dead. Timed out. If you’re lucky, maybe some generic credits can be rescued, but probably none of the ones required for your major and most/all of your required courses in other areas for the major. I did know one guy that ran into this issue - After taking his freshman year at our mutual alma mater, he started his own business (which he still runs). However, he promised… somebody that he wouldn’t drop out of school and that he would get his degree. So he continued taking classes - just a rate of one per quarter/semester, depending on what time period you’re talking about. He eventually graduated after 11 years. And therefore had to deal with the 10 year time limit on classes he took his freshman year. In order to get the waiver he apparently had a number of hoops to jump through, but his two saving graces were: 1. He had been continuously enrolled in that time period, which OP has not. 2. They were all freshman classes, the content of which hasn’t changed appreciably in 50 years. I would guess there has been some updates to OP’s classes which he took a quarter century ago. He did say the bigger problem was the quarter/semester conversion. If you were around at the time, there was a straight conversation between class numbers, i.e. MATH 101 and MATH 102 would be converted to MATH 1101. The problem was when those courses had themselves been updated and the intro math course was now MATH 1502 or something. He said life would have been much easier if he had gotten the registrar to update his transcripts each time the course catalog changed instead of trying to update through three or four catalogs at once for graduation. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/13 "2016-10-03T20:58:15Z")
If going to a private university, it was surprisingly negotiable how much and what types of incoming credits could be accepted. When meeting with the admissions folks, clearly state your case up front and make sure to get a pre-admissions review agreement _in writing_. When getting ready to plunk down multiple-thousands of dollars, you’ll be surprised at the lenience and allowables you may be granted. In Mrs Gargoyle’s case, she had started and stopped at a few community colleges, plus had high-school AP credits, and a year at a ‘non graded evaluation-only’ university. A real mess of untransferable credits. She negotiated with the university up front, before paying any tuition, to select nearest-equivalent of conversion of them to independent study credits and got in with about 90 transfer credits accepted. Later, being the typical unethical administration seeking to squeeze additional tuition dollars, the university challenged the agreement as she neared graduation. Having it documented in writing (with a friendly letter from a lawyer) ultimately saved her graduating on time. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/14 "2016-10-04T01:40:20Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > MIT offers some online courses free, last I heard. Yes, but they do _not_ count as credits towards a degree. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/15 "2016-10-04T13:26:51Z")
I agree with those recommending Charter Oak (which used to accept only students from New England–I’m not sure if that’s still true), Thomas Edison State, and my alma mater Excelsior. Excelsior is now a private non-profit but used to be a public school called Regents College. Excelsior offers online courses that are a bit pricey in my opinion, but I was only required to take two one-credit courses from them. You can take online or in-person classes from any regionally accredited college and apply them to your Excelsior degree even after enrolling at Excelsior. They also have a fairly liberal credit-by-examination policy. They accept the CLEP and DSST exams among several more specialized programs. They administer two examination programs themselves: Excelsior College Examinations (which are fairly expensive but often cover intermediate and advanced topics) and the UExcel Exams (which are comparable in cost to CLEP and DSST but cover only introductory subject matter). I don’t believe they have a minimum number of credits you have to earn after enrolling. You will almost certainly have to earn at least a few new credits to meet their various requirements. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/16 "2016-10-04T16:48:56Z")
I’m thinking the opposite. Most schools will allow you to transfer in some credits. Call your old school up, see if you could take x # of credits at a local-to-you-now school & transfer them back to your original school. That might be easier than transferring the bulk of them to a new school. All it’ll cost is a call or two to the registrar’s office to find out. I’d think your original school might be more willing to waive the time limits since you did all the course work there. BTW, if you graduate are you changing your username to **It IS Rocket Surgery!**? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/17 "2016-10-05T17:53:41Z")
Harvard has said that Bill Gates is still a student in good standing and can come back and finish his degree any time, even though he dropped out 40 years ago. Of course, in his case cost is not an issue. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/18 "2016-10-05T21:09:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Harvard has said that Bill Gates is still a student in good standing and can come back and finish his degree any time, even though he dropped out 40 years ago. Of course, in his case cost is not an issue. 🙂 That’s only be because he has $$$$. He and Allen were caught using school computers to run their private business. He left Harvard in order to avoid being kicked out and having that on his record. An ordinary ex-student under these circumstances will get nowhere. “Money changes everything.” I assume the OP, in referring to “cheapest” isn’t in this category. ---
**Author:** ![Princess\_Amber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/958977/32.png) [@Princess\_Amber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Amber)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/19 "2017-06-28T01:04:58Z")
Hi There, If you are interested in just receiving a degree, based on the coursework completed, I would look into a retroactive credential degree. Many universities and colleges are now combing through their database for former students that have discontinued attendance, but have enough credits for a degree. It usually is an Associate’s. This works to the school’s benefit, as well, as they gain the benefit of an increased completion rate among students. Call the school to discuss this option, unless you are set on being a returning student. Either way, Good Luck! : ) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-120-college-credits-whats-the-easiest-cheapest-way-to-get-a-degree/767574/20 "2017-06-28T17:53:04Z")
As this has been resurrected, may I be the first to point out that the OP’s username is an excellent (if not entirely helpful) answer to the thread title.