The Costs of Completing Your Degree

Before we get into the financial aid packages that you could be eligible for, let’s first make sure we understand the cost of completing your degree.

There are many factors that go into the cost of enrolling in an adult degree completion program, including:

  • How many credits you've already earned and which ones can be applied to a degree completion program
  • Which programs you've applied to
  • Whether you're attending in-state or out-of-state
  • If you qualify for an experiential learning credits from previous work or life experiences
  • Which financial aid packages you've been offered

 

Sample College Bill Per Semester

Every program is unique, but here's an idea of what your bill could look like (actual numbers may vary):

Fee

Cost
Tuition $3,200
Lab Fees $290
Online Class Fees $50
Books and Other Materials $225
Parking Pass $75
Total Cost $3,840

 

 

Tuition Cost Calculator

To get a rough idea of what finishing your degree will cost you, there’s a simple formula you can follow. All you need to know is how many credits you need to graduate, how many credits you plan on taking per semester, and your expected fees and expenses per semester.

Note that the average adult degree completion program student will take ~6 credit hours per semester and some costs (including books and materials, online class fees, and parking passes) will be incurred every semester. This equation will not give you an exact cost of your degree completion, but it will provide you with a rough estimate.

We'll use the average credit hour cost ($436) in our equation. 

Degree Completion Cost =
(Credits Needed x $436) +
(Expected Fees per Semester x Semesters Needed)

Let's say you still need 18 credit hours to finish your degree, you're taking 6 credits per semester, and you'll have $400 in additional fees per semester. We know it will take you 3 semesters to finish your degree (18/6 = 3), so here's how we would roughly calculate your degree completion cost:

(18 x $436) + ($400 x 3) = $9,048 

 

If you’re not sure how many credit hours you actually have or how to make sense of your transcript, we can help! Book time with the Director of the Adult Degree Completion Program here at Southern to get a better sense of where you stand academically and what your estimated costs might look like for your unique situation.

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