Which Online Bachelor's Degree is Best for a Talented Student in a Nursing Home?

[seeeker]

Posting this for my niece:

She's confined to a nursing home but very talented in statistics and math. She'd like to get an online bachelor's degree from a good university. Do you have any suggestions for her?

 

[fss]

University of Indiana and University of Maryland have some of the more reputable online programs... but it depends on what she wants to get her degree in.

 

[seeeker]

Thanks. I just checked. It's not Indiana University at Bloomington but lesser campuses like IUPUI and likewise it's not the University of Maryland at College Park but regional UM campuses of lesser repute that offer online undergraduate degrees.

 

[fss]

Thanks. I just checked. It's not Indiana University at Bloomington but lesser campuses like IUPUI

Actually I was thinking of the University of Illinois.

and likewise it's not the University of Maryland at College Park but regional UM campuses of lesser repute that offer online undergraduate degrees.

It does not matter. You still get a UM diploma.

 

[seeeker]

Actually I was thinking of the University of Illinois. It does not matter. You still get a UM diploma.

Checked again. Same story. UIUC, the main Illinois campus in Urbana unfortunately isn't the one that offers online degrees. The lesser-known campuses do. And apparently Univ of Maryland University College actually has a bad reputation. There are good schools like Stanford that offer online degrees but they are at the graduate level whereas my relative needs something at the undergraduate level from a good school.
Thanks.

 

[ZapperZ]

Er... university of Maryland has a "bad reputation"? In what? Poultry vaccination?

Zz.

 

[fss]

Checked again. Same story. UIUC, the main Illinois campus in Urbana unfortunately isn't the one that offers online degrees. The lesser-known campuses do.

Does not matter. If one wants to do an online degree, this is one of the trade-offs you will have to make. This should have been completely obvious.

And apparently Univ of Maryland University College actually has a bad reputation.

According to...?

 

[seeeker]

I googled and found some threads by professors - their consensus was UM-University College was of very low reputation. This isn't my opinion. Then I asked an advisor at the Univ of Michigan who said the same thing.

I agree a compromise must be made but she says she will either study at a good university or not study at all.

Thanks

 

[n1person]

I would be interested in knowing what professors are bad-mouthing University of Maryland's Math Department. Although graduate rankings don't necessarily translate directly to undergraduate education, take a look at this http://grad-schools.usnews.rankings...ools/top-science-schools/mathematics-rankings , being ranked 20th is definitely considered "good" if not "excellent".

 

[physics girl phd]

Posting this for my niece:

She's confined to a nursing home but very talented in statistics and math. She'd like to get an online bachelor's degree from a good university. Do you have any suggestions for her?

Some questions of interest:

What is your niece's condition? What state does she live in? how close is her residential home to a campus (if she's fairly interested in staying with her present facility)?

I ask these things because many states provide services to disabled individuals, including perhaps transportation, an aide, etc. -- so much so that you may not need to restrict yourself to online.

I know at least two students on our campus who come to class transported by special wheelchair-accessible vehicles (owned by the campus) and have hired aides (through state funding sources) to help them with physical needs at certain time of the day (especially morning and night). These two students live in the dorms and have their own rooms that have been modified for accessibility. I will say that one of these students was accepted to an Ivy League school (with a good financial aid package of which I don't know the details), but ultimately chose our (state flagship) institution for two reasons: acceptance to a very prestigious undergraduate program within the university (that also provides full-tuition/room/board/books), and special/care accommodation to her needs. I know she's also built up quite a network of friends, so if anything happens that the aide can't make it, or there's an emergency, she's got people to call on.

Depending on the nature of your niece's condition, you may want to see if you can make an appointment for her with the disability office on certain campuses. If she's talented enough, some campuses might be very willing to accommodate (and scholarships may even be available for her).

I say these things in the gentlest way, not expecting responses and more personal information here about your niece's condition (I wouldn't know appropriate responses if you provided them). Instead, you and her family (and perhaps herself) should inquire directly to the appropriate office on a campus. These offices (often staffed by individuals with varying disabilities and therefore special insights) really want to increase the numbers of disabled students that can successfully pursue higher education (and are there to genuinely provide help). My spouse and I (both university faculty) have a son who uses a wheelchair... hence my familiarity with some individuals in the disability community (both on campus and in the surrounds).

 

[seeeker]

- No one is bad-mouthing UM. It's acknowledged to be one of the finest universities in the country. However, UMUC is the one that has the bad reputation.

- She's lives in Nevada. Kinda isolated from everything. The closest university is actually in Utah.

- A university in Utah I know won't even permit a wheelchair in the library. They have the security buzzers too close to allow a wheelchair in. I complained two years ago. They promised to look into it but didn't bother making changes.