By going JC/CSU vs. DeVry you're increasing in reputation while decreasing in cost.

Win-Win

DeVry is great if you have no other choice. Maybe no JC or CSU close by? Can't pass the assessment/placement tests? Can't wait to get in the job market? Or, classes so impacted at state schools and can't quit your day/night job to go to school.

Makes perfect sense to go to CA public colleges. Cheap, good education. Or, if your son really wants to acquire great technical skills, do it like I did. I joined the USAF at 17, went to a JC for free but didn't finish. Worked on avionics, radar, comm systems and airplanes - excellent education and experience. Left the military after 4 years and snagged a great paying tech job for a defense contractor at 22. Everyone in the shop was ex-military, no DeVry or ITT or Heald or what have you. Then, finished JC and university on my employer's dime. Got paid to work AND go to school!

Part of my job is interviewing prospective employees. For some reason their GPA has not come up in any of those interviews. Where they went to school and what degree they earned does come up.
If I learn that someone earned a degree from an online school (correspondence course AFAIK) it will not carry anywhere near as much weight as a degree from full time 4 year university will.

We've gone over this time and time again...

Hi Larry,
I am going to have to agree with what everyone else is saying about the community college route. Our community colleges are an amazing value. Both my wife and I are both attending classes at Glendale College and we are amazed at the level of instruction at the school. Shannon, my wife, is doing a certificate program in web design. Many of her instructors are professionals in the industry which is great because they share their real world experience. The school is also really good at keeping up on the latest software, another important factor! I am just taking a few foreign language and English classes here and there as my work schedule allows in order to keep my skills up and can also attest as to how good the professors are.

Even if the tuition goes up to $40 a unit (which I don't think it will) community college is an absolute bargain in California. Why spend 60k on a school that isn't accredited and is something your son might lose interest in after a couple of years? By going to the cheaper school, he'll be able to try a variety of subjects that catch his fancy so when it comes time to transfer to the 4 year school he will be better prepared to succeed.

Good luck to him (and you!) :)
Michael

First, I don't think I would trade the last 4 years of my life for any amount of money.

Second, a lot of companies focus their recruiting efforts on top schools. Miami was a target university for my company. They were not going after devry.

GPA is not the end all be all. Mine wasn't that great. I will admit that it likely cost me a couple interviews, but once you get in the room, you have to sell yourself and your experiences. I got my job because I clicked with the guys who interviewed me and had experiences and a skill set that lined up with the job. GPA never even came up.

And chicks. :o

College is a whole lifestyle and maturing process, not just what's on a test.

Hello Everyone,
I appreciate all your input. It's looking like the community college is the way to go.
Thanks again.
Larry

I agree with everyone else on here. I went to community college for two years and earned two A.A.'s in Financial Accounting and General Business, and about half of an A.S. in Microcomputer Applications before transfering to UC Davis. From there I went on to earn a B.S. in Managerial Economics.

I was a poor student in high school, but in community college I was able to turn my life around and transfer with a 3.84. Now I have a 3.43 from the UC, and a couple of extra degrees, which are really helping me distinguish myself from other Navy OCS applicants.