“Baker what?” was the obvious problem with Baker College.
I sat down before work and made a plan to finish my degree. The two real options looked nothing alike.
NYU had the name, physical classrooms, and people. I liked learning with other people. Being in a room made the experience feel more valuable to me, and the school was already part of the city I had worked so hard to reach.
It was also dramatically more expensive and would require two full years of credits there.
Baker College was fully accredited, much cheaper, and entirely online. The computer information systems program could lead to the same kind of bachelor's degree and leave the door open for graduate school later. The downside was right in the name. Nobody I knew was going to hear “Baker” and immediately understand why I chose it.
Online classes solved the schedule problem and created a motivation problem. I would not meet people pursuing the same thing, and I knew I would need help staying on it at home.
The six-week class terms were a point in Baker's favor.
“We know I am an instant gratification freak,” I wrote.
I was already enrolled and could begin as soon as November 5. That made the decision feel less like another someday plan. I had been talking about finishing my formal education while accepting the Yodle offer. Now I was at Peek, living in New York, and trying to make the schedule work for real.
The price difference made Baker look like the practical answer. The classroom and community made NYU hard to dismiss. I sent the comparison to two people close to me and asked for external opinions before committing.
There was no grand conclusion in the email. I had two columns, a start date, and a question.
Thoughts?