Maybe I can offer a bit of insight on this... I am currently finishing up my Associates Degree at a Community College in Colorado and planning on transferring to a 4 year school to complete my bachelors this spring.... I too looked at all the different schools before I took the CC route...
Here is my advise from what I have learned from different advisors and other people that I have spoken to about what school I should attend.
1) Unfortunately it doesn't matter how great the schools curriculum is, its the image that people have of the school that counts. I say this because I personally know a few people who are taking classes from the University of Phoenix and I have seen how challenging and in depth the classes are. The problem they are having is that the University of Phoenix is still seen through most peoples eyes as being what I would refer to as a "Daytime TV College" (You know the ones that advertise between episodes of Judge Judy and tell you about how easy it is to get a degree in your spare time). This is hard for them because they spent a lot of money on school and the degree that they are earning doesn't hold its value because of the name. The other issue with these schools is that they are not accredited. If you have to transfer out because you need to move or something the credits you have earned may be useless.
2) If you take the Community College route make sure that the classes you are taking will transfer to a 4 year school. This is very important because at least in Colorado the 4 year state schools do not have to except any classes that they have not designated as a "Guarantee Transfer Course".
Also the CC route may be best if you decide that maybe later in life you would like to come back and go for a Masters Degree. If you earn a bachelor degree from a school that is not accredited, you may not be able to get into a quality masters program.
The other thing that sticks out to me is the price.. 550 a credit is a lot of money to pay for a non accredited class. That is much more than most state schools in Colorado. I think the University of Colorado is only like 330 a credit for instate.( Could be wrong).
If I were you I would go the community college route and work hard to get a high GPA and try to get into a private school to finish your bachelors. That way you can get into a very highly regarded business program and I think the quality of education will be much greater than that of a school like Devry.
Sorry this was so long but I hope that it helps!!!
Sean
