[Head416]

No experience with DeVry, but...

I would recommend community college, then transfer to a CSU to finish the Bachelors. Will cost much less. Plan for 4 years of hard work (longer if not taking 4-5 classes every quarter).

I don't understand why people would pay more when the state schools are available, unless you can't get into them. And - whether correct or not - there will always be people who view degrees from DeVry as "less" than a traditional university. Why pay more for a degree that some won't consider "real"? A degree is two things: 1) education 2) resume builder. It doesn't meet #2 if hiring managers blow it off. (Again: some will, some won't.) The relevance of #2 will also fluctuate based on the field he wants to go into.

My wife is about to start at a CSU after finishing her AA at a JC. We estimate $20k and 2.5-3 years for her to finish her BS at CSU. She spent three years at the JC, about $300 per semester... round up to $2,000 a year for books, etc. That's a total of about $26,000 and under 6 years. This is all while she is working full time. Can be done much faster if one has the time available.

I went to CSU from the start, and after 12 years just graduated. (Work, changing major, etc.) JC then transfer to CSU makes much more sense than the route I took. I did take a few classes at the JC and felt there was no real difference in the standards between the two.