Neither are really a good value. They both have really horrible reputations, and charge more than state colleges. You’d really be better off going to a community college that offers night and online classes.

A community college is a much better choice than anything online.

If I were looking to hire you and saw Vol State Community College on your resume, I would be more likely to consider you, rather than anything online.

Also, some colleges will let you do certain classes as an independent study, so even if the class actually meets at 2:15 in the afternoon, you can still take it.

If you have to take online courses, find an offering that is affiliated with your state university system. They usually give the most bang for the buck, and are better received by potential employers.

And if you do need some classroom time to finish the degree, they are relatively close by.

I agree, neither of those choices are good. These for profit universities are questionable at best. I doubt people in the academic community really respect degrees from them? Not sure. Plus, to make decent money in psych, you usually need at least a masters level, are you sure you want to pursue that career choice.

Thank you for warning me about Phoenix or Kaplan, they are far too expensive. I am currently applying to the Metropolitan Community College campus, Penn Valley. I think it makes more sense.

@JLeslie I am sure about the Psychology degree. I work for a marketing research firm, and I greatly prefer psychology over business.

@rOs Psychology is a very interesting field, I was not trying to discourage you, just want to make sure you have all the information you need to make a decision. :)

Universities often offer distance education. Why don’t you look into that? I am working on my Masters in Child and Youth Care. It is all done by correspondence via the web. It is at a reputable university in Victoria, British Columbia. Rather far from where I am living now. I have a two week seminar that I have to attend after my final practicum, but, the rest is done online.

A regular ol’ B.A. in psychology won’t get you much, you’re right. You need to specialize. What do you want to end up doing?

I’m at Trinity Western University in Langley BC Canada and they have a really good psych programme here. They offer some online courses I believe. One other college I’m looking at is Argosy College in Seattle. They offer a number of online courses in psychology.

@Jude, I’m not sure what else would interest me besides Psychology / Philosophy. I honestly am surprised I’m even at a job like this – I always figured I’d end up in a humanitarian job or something, but that’s not how things have worked out. Since this is the hand I drew, I’m just trying to do right by my girlfriend of 2 years and the home we’ve put together.

Regardless of the major, a B.A. or even an Associate’s Degree will get me a promotion at my current job, but of course I’d love to get a Masters eventually.

Online is fine. As a matter of fact, the colleges you mentioned are indeed certified and go through the same criteria needs as any other college. The only thing you get from other colleges are different networks. Also, almost every community college these days offers online courses. There is nothing wrong with them. My professors do both lecture hall and online teaching. Some of the only differences is the lack of face to face, but at the University level there is rarely any face to face meeting anyhow. Contacting your professors via e-mail isn’t a bad option as well.

I have grave reservations about these on-line schools. One of the worst things is the high pressure to get a government loan to afford to take classes, and you are stuck with those regardless of the value you have gotten from the school itself (reputation is not good). I agree with those above who suggest state schools, which one hopes will still be able to offer a reasonable tuition rate for their classes. Also, much of what is valuable in classes is in person discussion with other students. And I am not as cynical as @auhsojsa in that I have found you can always talk with a professor face to face.