Online degree?

[elly_el]

I left school several years ago to take a job with the company I was interning for. Well, I am now starting to seriously dislike my job and want a change. Pretty much my only option for going back to school is an on-line university as I have a child and a spouse in Med school. Will a Law school admissions board pass over an online degree, or are they taken seriously in graduate admissions?

[jacy85]

It seems like sometime down the road online degrees may be considered equals to traditional degrees, but now, since there's no real standard for quality, online degrees seem not to be taken seriously.  A teir 4 may give it a thought, but anything higher would be out of the question, in my opinion.

How old is your child?  Would you be able to go part time, taking one or two classes a semester while your child is in preschool?  (if your child is old enough, of course...)  If you started work on a degree, you could probably transfer the credits. 

[jgruber]

I assume you're talking about an online undergraduate degree.

If an accredited college grants you a degree through online classes, that degree will not say online on it.  It will be the same as the one that the on campus students get.

For example, UMass offers a BA completely online.  That BA is the same BA earned by students who go to the classes.

Having said that, be careful of some online schools.  I would suggest you go with established schools that have expanded to online classes rather than one that started as an online school.

Just my opinion.

[Ginatio]

if it's a devry or university of phoenix type thing,  will law schools even accept the bachelors degree? not even a matter of how much or how little weight they'll give it, but whether they'll accept it at all...

i'd look on lsac.org for the answer.

[shaz]

It probably depends on your LSAT score. 170 and 4.0 would validate your degree. 125 and 4.0 would seriously invalidate your degree. They would have to think, "can this person even read?"

Look, they spelled their own name wrong.

I have never seen the identity of the degree granting institution on any index.


Please forgive any typos.

[c130nav]

I just emailed Florida State University and asked them if an online degree was acceptable for admissions. Their reply was that as long as it was regionally accredited it would be accepted. Also it didn't matter whether some or all of the classes were taken online. I have also spoken to a recent grad from Arizona State and he mentioned that three of his alumni had University of Phoneix online degrees. Hope this puts some of your concerns at rest.

[lime]

Coincidentally, there was a recent discussion about UofP in the unregistered section of www.nontradlaw.net. UofP and some other similar institutions do have the accreditations that law schools require. We were able to find a handful of UofP grads who attend a wide range of law schools, including Georgetown, Drake, Kansas, Gonzaga, and Santa Clara.

So:

Will a Law school admissions board pass over an online degree, or are they taken seriously in graduate admissions?

It depends. An online degree will definitely not preclude you from admission to law school, but it may negatively impact your chances at the more competitive schools. Even then, it's possible to overcome negative perceptions of an online degree. I'd suspect that the UofP-to-Georgetown student not only had strong grades, but also a strong LSAT, work experience, and application to further demonstrate his/her abilities.

elly_el, You sound like you have an interesting story to tell, and I'm sure you'll be just fine should you decide to apply to law school. Best of luck with your decision ---

[Atossa]

Hi there. I work at University of Phoenix as an academic counselor.  They offer their employees tuition free degrees.  So far, I have not taken advantage of it because I wasn't sure how Law schools would view a degree from a non-trad school.  I finished undergrad 5 years ago.  Four years ago,  I studied at home for the LSAT 2 or 3 weeks,  and got a pathetic 152.  (gpa 3.52 from UC Berkeley).  So I started thinking a Masters degree my help my chances of getting into a good school.  So far, I have heard back from USD and Tulane that they would certainly look favorably on ANY graduate coursework.  Now that I am motivated again, I am having trouble deciding whether I should: a. take an LSAT course, and re-take the LSAT in December and just see if I get accepted anywhere, or b. earn a masters degree tuition free THEN re-take the LSAT. I just don't want to waste 2 more years if doesn't significantly improve my chances.  Any advice.

[lime]

Don't waste two more years. A Masters is not a substitute for a good LSAT score. Retake the LSAT, do well, and you will go to a great school. Your 5-year-old LSAT score doesn't count anymore. Good luck ---

[Atossa]

Thank you. You are right, of course.  I think I'm just trying to be creative in procrastinating some more....