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Read the travel blog for lost1 
Education outside the box
I was just looking around the site, and I noticed an article that I have never seen before under the education section of the website which talked about the advantages of studying abroad versus working out all the credits for a degree back home in the US. It's really good to see that people back home are finally warming up to the idea that there is more going on than what the 50 states have to offer.
The reason why I was glad to see this, is because I did exactly what that article described, and looking back on the overall experience I honestly can't believe that more people aren't doing the same. Cheers to whoever it was that posted that, and if you haven't read that article yet, you should. I can only speak for my situation, but for me I found that a little planning and communication with the universities saved me a lot of time, money, and best of all it allowed me to travel a lot and experience a new culture while getting my paperwork sorted.
After i finished high school, i looked at a few local community colleges like most students do. Since few actually plan on gradulating from the same community college where they begin, I realized that either way I had to deal with the credit transfer and the politics associated with it all. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go, and I was really debating taking a "gap" year where I did nothing, just a bit of time to catch my breath after my high school graduation. I remember seeing an ad for online degrees, oddly enough through Monster learning, the same as is posted here. Talking with their representitive I realized that the online classes offered were also accreditied, and would transfer into a university the same as my community college credits. I reviewed the courses that seemed to be a match and figured I would knock those down first, as they seemed pretty general and basically every school or program you go into requires them. Then, I bought my airline ticket for Koh Samui, Thailand. Armed with a laptop, and absolutely no knowledge of what to expect I left a week later.
I arrived in Bangkok, caught my connecting flight to the island and stayed in a guest house for about $5 USD a night. After a few days of looking around at apartments, I settled on one that was about a 5 minute motorbike ride from the beach for 4,500 Baht, or about $120 USD a month. Sitting on the beach, or at my apartment, is how I earned my next 21 accredited university credits through an online program.
The following year, I was looking for a change. I had found an international university in Bangkok called Assumption (ABAC) which was accredited, and any credits I earned there would transfer back home. The trick was, that a univerisity back home is much more comfortable accepting credits if you arrange it with them before hand. I had already decided on a university back home, so I sent the information for the courses that I was interested to take at Assumption back, and had the credits approved as transfer credits before I had even started taking them. I found that studying at Assumption was far, far easier than the same classes would have been at home and I was able to finish far more credits in the same time period. In one year at Assumption I finished 24 credits, and transfered 45 credits back into my university in the States. A bonus, is that while living in Thailand for two years I had picked up the language (with a little help from a few classes) and that allowed me to test out of the language requirement. Something that at the time, I had not even really thought about. My first two years of university I paid about 1/10 of what the same two years would have cost me in the States. It was easier. It was more fun, and best of all I had the opportunity to experience things that not one person who followed the traditional system could even begin to relate to.
If you have not read the article posted in the education section, I'd advise giving it a read. Maybe even contact the online schools and talk to them and see if its a fit for you. It can't hurt to talk to them and I can say, it was the best move I ever made.
http://www.travelmonks.com/educational/university-degree-while-traveling-the-world
