I don't think I should pay for this...AIBU?

[Wenjie]

DD is at a university in the United States getting a four year degree in Art & Design: Games and Playable Media. She just found out she almost has enough credits to get a two year degree in Business Administration. It would be around 800 USD, which converts to about 590 GBP. She doesn't think that's much, but I don't even know that employers would care about a two year degree. I know this might not be the right place to post something about schools in the states, but it's caused friction. Am I being too unaccommodating?

*isn't even

I would not fund it - there are other ways to gain Business Administration skills - ie. by getting a part time job in a role doing just that.

These will look far better on her CV than an additional course plus it will give her valuable networking experience too.

Also, in the UK most universities don't allow you to be registered elsewhere when you are studying with them - you may want to get her to look into that.

It’s sounds like a very good Plan B to me and something that will help her get a time filler / holiday job if she needs it - I’d pay it ..

Her four year degree is already costing us £55,500 by the time it's done, so it feels like a lot to add £590 for something that might not be valued when she's searching for work
I can't believe after funding over 55k in uni fees you're refusing less than 1%additional for an extra string to her bow. For the sake of 590 I'd pay in a heartbeat. If it even gives her a small advantage that's excellent.

don't most students get loans (particualrly US ones) why is that not an option.

I think she should more try for coding courses to be honest.

Would it make her stand out though, if it can be bought for 800 bucks?

Missing the point a little, but I ‘bought’ my (prestigious) masters’ degree for €330 total. It’s how much a masters’ degree costs in Germany (leaving travel card costs aside which you pay together with the fees, before someone jumps at me).

My degree is no less prestigious than somebody who paid $$k for theirs. It absolutely does make me stand out because it’s something extra on my CV, for which I had to do some serious work. Not OP’s DD’s fault education is relatively cheap where she lives.

and most games producers i know worked their way up, from tesing games into then becoming junior producers.

@EileenGC

Would it make her stand out though, if it can be bought for 800 bucks?

Missing the point a little, but I ‘bought’ my (prestigious) masters’ degree for €330 total. It’s how much a masters’ degree costs in Germany (leaving travel card costs aside which you pay together with the fees, before someone jumps at me).

My degree is no less prestigious than somebody who paid $$k for theirs. It absolutely does make me stand out because it’s something extra on my CV, for which I had to do some serious work. Not OP’s DD’s fault education is relatively cheap where she lives.

She’s in America. Education there is astonishingly expensive.

I am not saying that the degree she wants is worth nothing because it is so cheap. But from what OP says it is 800 bucks plus 4 online classes. Therefore the DD will not have major barriers to getting it. And neither will her classmates. So it won’t be a differentiator.

I'm guessing that a degree in gaming costing such a large amount would only make sense in California. Personally I would never have agreed to bankrolling it in the first place.

Game production is definitely where experience is valued over education

I'm the first to admit that this isn't my field, but that sounds to me like hoping to go in at the top?
On the face of it the Business Admin sounds like a good idea, but I think I'd be going into just how realistic her ambitions are

Would the Business add on be worth anymore than doing a stand alone business admin course for free at say, Pacific Oaks?

@2222NameChange

But *@HaveringWavering* if it would be the usual thing to get the AS as well then surely that makes it even more sensible for the OP's daughter to do that as well? Otherwise she'd stand out for the wrong reasons, ie not having the AS on her cv when most others do

Agreed, 100%. I have said since my first post that she should do it and OP should pay!

I understand ‘4 online classes’ as four courses she has take to get the remaining credits for that associate degree. Not just four sessions at a cost of $200 each.

Education in America is expensive, yes, but in some states (like California), community college can be completed almost for free by some students. Just because somebody has a ‘cheap’ degree from the US doesn’t mean it’s a less prestigious one, was my point.

don't most students get loans (particualrly US ones) why is that not an option.

Yeah this is what I am wondering- she had, according to the OP “free” tuition at her Community College which means that she either had grants or scholarships.

@EileenGC

I understand ‘4 online classes’ as four courses she has take to get the remaining credits for that associate degree. Not just four sessions at a cost of $200 each.

Education in America is expensive, yes, but in some states (like California), community college can be completed almost for free by some students. Just because somebody has a ‘cheap’ degree from the US doesn’t mean it’s a less prestigious one, was my point.

I also understood “taking a class” to mean “taking a course”, not just attending four single sessions. And literally said that my point was not that the degree was cheap and worthless, but that it was cheap so there was no financial barrier, and the fact that it is four courses not a full two years/separate degree mean that it’a not logistically hard to get either, and many others could fit it in around yer lot other studies.

@EileenGC that’s how I read it too. The junior college system isn’t readily understood in the Uk, in my experience.

[quote Minorissue]@EileenGC that’s how I read it too. The junior college system isn’t readily understood in the Uk, in my experience.[/quote]
I understand it perfectly thanks.

Also I understood that she had enough course credits from her 4 year institution to just take the extra few classes at a junior college online to get the extra degree.

I would definitely fund it, it isn't much money

Others on her course may be able to transfer credits and get an associates in 4 classes (if they bother), but not the wider population as a whole so there’s still some differentiator.

I'd pay for it -- it's a drop in the bucket compared to how much the whole thing costs. No matter what the job, people like business qualifications.

[quote rookiemere]@Warmduscher I made no assumptions, that's why I said I'm guessing. Tell me what other assumptions I made as I can't see any ? [/quote]
“Walzing up”?

You have no idea how the conversation went but you posted seemingly determined to paint the DD as someone rude and entitled.

Definitely do it. As a loan that she'll pay you back if necessary. As long as the extra work won't distract her from her main course.

In the longer term, I'd say she could do with a couple more programming languages, even if she's not interested in the production side. But she could pick those up later without much difficulty.

As an American I think it's crazy not to do it

It is not very typical to get a BA and an associates degree at the same time, especially in different fields like this, and it will make her stand out, definitely.

@MinestroneMini

don't most students get loans (particualrly US ones) why is that not an option.

Yeah this is what I am wondering- she had, according to the OP “free” tuition at her Community College which means that she either had grants or scholarships.

No, it's possible to attend community college in California for free

Some still charge tuition but a lot are free if you're a full-time, first-time student

It sounds like DD has done what a lot of people do, you go to CC for 2 years (cheap or free) and then transfer to a regular university and do another 2 years to get the BA