Hello,
I have bachelors in humanities from pakistan. I evaluated my degree and I get 60 credit hours and two years of undergraduate.
I live in IL. I want to become a teacher kindergarten or first grade teacher in elementary school. Looking for a completely online college which is super affordable yet good aswell.
I dont qualify for financial aid , and I want to to do online because i work and I have a son to take of.
Please help.
I have been searching for schools but I am so confused.
Also suggest should I do bachelors in early education or elementary education. Which one is easier?
Western Governors University. Be advised that although classes are online, you will still have to do in-person classroom observation and a full term of student teaching. I don’t know about Illinois, but in my state, there is a lot of competition for jobs as elementary teachers (i.e., many applicants for each job opening). There are much better job prospects for special education majors.
Yes, WGU is non-profit and a cut above other online providers. Avoid for-profits like Univ. of Phoenix, Strayer, etc. Make sure the accreditation for licensing works with your state. Look for NCATE accreditation as a sign of quality for any program you’re interested in.
(For-profits don’t advertise on their websites that that’s what they are so google the name and for-profit to check.)
If WGU doesn’t work in your state, look at public university online programs as they may be most cost effective and should work with your state’s licensing.
Does early education only qualify you for preschool? if so, know that preschool teacher pay is low and may not help be enough for you and your family. Elementary education will make you more marketable, I believe.
Finally, learning how to learn online is an important skills and high quality programs should have some resources and even pre-assessments to get you ready.
Good luck!
The costs of online classes varies greatly from college to college. Some public colleges charge significantly higher tuition to students who live in a different state, while other public colleges charge the same amount wherever you are. I would look for schools in this latter group…why pay more if there are schools that won’t charge you extra for being from out of state for online classes?
The University of Illinois system offers online degrees, and they’d be reputable and perhaps your least expensive option.
I was considering WGU as ever since I started searching for online colleges this is the cheapest college I have found so far. But I am skeptic after reading some mixed review online about it… most of them are bad… do you personally know anyone who did their bachelors from WGU… Is the degree recognized ?
I was looking into kendal ,Arizona state Uni, uni of Phoenix, most of them have almost 400-500$ per credit hour so one class would be approximately 1500$ …
That’s super expensive to me atleast…
Thanjs alot for all the responses… I really appreciate it…
I will look into elementary and special education teaching…
As a teacher, here’s my issue: SO MUCH of teaching isn’t the knowledge you have, but your ability to phrase that information into a way that’s understandable to the kids in front of you. That, and the ability to control a class. (The best “explainer” in the world won’t find success in the classroom if he/she can’t get the kids to listen.)
I know it’s an incredible expense. And the timing is rough with a child at home.But I strongly suggest a brick and mortar school if you hope to teach. Perhaps you can evaluate your options-- find a state school that offers your major, look for grants and scholarships, even go part time for a few years to bring down the cost.
But I would be VERY hesitant to hire a brand new teacher whose degree had been online.
Please avoid for-profit schools such as Kendall and University of Phoenix. There are many better options. Although I recommended WGU, I agree that going to a state school in person, even on a part-time basis, would be the best option. Are there any “directional” Illinois public universities (not UIUC) to which you could easily commute? Do you have any relatives/friends who could watch your child for at least a few hours a week?
Another suggestion of a reasonably priced, accredited public school, if you absolutely can’t manage in-person classes, is Fort Hays State University. You’d have to research license transfer requirements from Kansas to Illinois.
What is your immigration status? It is unusual for people to have a status that allows them to work, but in which they are ineligible for federal financial aid. Are you certain that you are ineligible for a student loan? Do you qualify as an in-state resident in IL? If not, will you be able to qualify for that in another year?
Where did you have your degree and your coursework evaluated? The best respected organization for that is WES.org. They can do both a course by course evaluation which will tell you what each class is equivalent to, and a degree evaluation which will indicate whether or not your foreign degree is equivalent to a US degree. Both kinds of evaluations are important. If you do have the equivalent of a full US bachelor’s degree, your fastest route to US teacher certification probably is with a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT).
If you don’t have the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree, and if your immigration status allows you to file the FAFSA, it may be possble for you to receive some federal financial aid to help pay for your education. You most likely would need to ask the financial aid office at your college or university for an evaluation of that option under their professional judgment policies. Depending on the number of courses accepted for transfer credit, you would need to study for two or more years. You need to know that no matter how many equivalent credits the evaluators tell you you have, the college or university that you study at will determine for itself which credits it will accept and as what. It is entirely possible that none will transfer, and you will need to study for four full years.
If you just want to get a job in education quickly, look at the public community colleges in your area. Some of them probably offer a short certificate program in early childhood education that would allow you to work in a daycare or preschool environment. Depending on the design of the program, the coursework might also apply towards an eventual bachelors degree in education.
Lastly, your written English is good, but possibly not up to the level you need for university studies here. If you have not yet taken the TOEFL, check into that, and look for good ways to improve your Academic English skills. Again, that is something that should be available through your local community college.
Thanks again for the responses.
I am going to elaborate further my situation now.
I am a permanent residant. Very soon I am getting my citizenship as I have my interview scheduled tomorrow. The reason why I am not eligible for financial aid is because of my husband’s income. He is earning good and we pay taxes together.
He is supporting the family and all the expenses but is not willing to support my education expenses.
I am currently employed in a nice daycare as a part time assistant toddler teacher. Although it was really hard to find a job even in a daycare without having any credits in early childhood. But somehow after a long struggle I got my first shot.Its almost a year now. I earn only 1000$ a month.
One of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher was that I could only work during the time my son is in school.
One more reason to find a degree completely online is my husband want to change the state. He us in I.T. so whenever there will be an opportunity he is willing to move. He has been applying for jobs to different states for a while especially in California.
So if I enroll my self in to a university now and we move after few months, my credits won’t transfer. Also this is one reason but another reason is job and my son too. If I dont work I wont be able to earn money to pay the expenses of the university.
I got my educational transcripts evaluated from ECE.org its was a course by course report.
I completely understand that even though I have 60 credit hours. They won’t transfer completely. I talked to few advisors from different universities. One of them said we will accept only 30 credit hours.
Good luck on your interview tomorrow!
Any permanent resident or US citizen who files the FAFSA can borrow the federal student loans. Bill Gates’ kids can get them. So don’t worry about how much your husband is making. Yes, you do have to pay the loans back later, but they might make it possible to study now. Read up on them at http://www.finaid.org/
You and your husband should continue your conversations about the best ways for the two of you to meet both his career goals and your career goals. One option is for you to study online. Another is to choose a good location where you can easily commute to a college or university, and just stay put for the time you need to complete your degree. Transferring from one college or university to another can mean that you lose some credits, but usually at least some of the credits will transfer. Especially if the courses are introductory level.
A job as a teacher can make good sense because it is easy to have a calendar that matches your child’s. But please remember that teaching is not the only option. If you can find a job as a paraprofessional (teacher’s aide) you will probably make more than you currently are earning in daycare, you will have the same calendar as your child, and you won’t have as much responsibility, or the after-hours grading and lesson planning, that comes with a teaching job. Also, in many school districts there are programs to help paraprofessionals earn their teaching certificates with part-time study.
This is what I am looking into these days. Trying to study to give a pra profesional PRAXIS exam to get praprofessional licence. I always wanted to work in a school but as I mentioned getting my first job was so much hard and long that I accepted whatever was offered.
As in my current job I am working 5 days 8:30am to 2:00pm and its still part time, Although if it was a regular school these hours are considered full time atleast.
I am still applying in different school for assistants teacher’s posts, but no luck so far.
Do pra profesional get paid vacations and summers off like teachers. As the daycares are never off rain or shine and I had to deal with the same problem, I had to work during summers and my son was home.
The para’s work contracts vary depending on the school district. So spend a little time reading through the information at your school district’s website.