post grad education options: gmu, gtown or nova? (Falls Church, Washington: credit, school)

[mariagostrey]

hey all,

so i am a recent u.va grad thinking of going back to school in a year or two. meanwhile i need to take some pre-reqs for the one year masters in commerce program offered at u.va. im trying to decide where to enroll for part time or weekend classes... gmu, gtown or nova?

what would you suggest and why? which of these has the best continguing education programs?

please and thank you!

[marie5v]

Maybe the Northern Virginia center of UVa (and VA Tech) offers some of the classes you need. I would check there - cheaper and already part of UVa. If by nova you mean northern va community college, then that is also a good option. Probably the cheapest one, too. Gtown is too expensive and inconveniently located for just a few courses. GMU also a good option, but more expensive than nvcc for most courses. I don't think it matters which one so long as the courses will be accepted for whatever you need. Just go for the cheapest option.

[iDShadow]

I agree with Marie.

Just go with NVCC if it's near you. Save yourself the money while getting the credits if they're accepted later at UVA.

In the end, when you get your master's it's still going to have UVA printed on it. It's not going to say UVA w/ pre-reqs obtained from NVCC.

The only reason to consider taking them somewhere else instead of NVCC is if you're worried that the caliber of the professors, what you'll take away from the courses, and whether or not they'll prep you sufficiently for the actual master's courses.

[CaliTerp07]

Yup, NVCC all the way if it has what you need. It's not worth paying the $$$ for pre reqs elsewhere.

[rvasonicbloom]

considering traffic in nova - i'd choose whatever is convenient for you

vt/uva west falls metro is a great location.
mason also has an arlington campus

good luck

[GoHokiesGo]

Ditto to what everyone else said - go for the cheapest and most convenient option if they're just pre-req courses.

Before enrolling though, try to obtain a copy of your syllabus and verify that it covers the requirements for the Commerce program you're looking into at UVA; if the advisors for the program you're looking at are responsive, I'd email a copy of the syllabus to them and get verification that it will be accepted. Chances are that NVCC would offer the basic pre-reqs you'd need, but something more specific might require you to go to the UVA/VT Falls Church Campus. George Washington also has a campus in Ashburn and Foggy Bottom, but that's probably along the same price tag as GT for classes.

[stuntmonkey]

I did my pre-reqs for grad school at nova (nvcc). It was cheap and very convenient -- everything I needed was offered online. I would make the same choice over again.