Success Stories

‘I Got a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science for $7,400’

For Keith Zimmerman, Modern States was the solution to the time-consuming demands of parenthood and his career-advancing need for a college degree.

Our philanthropy, which offers completely free, professor-led online courses that help students prepare for the College Board’s College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests, was also the answer to his hopes of saving as much money as possible.

And what an answer it was.

Zimmerman, 40, landed a computer programming job right out of high school in 1999, so he made the reasonable decision to initially skip college.

Several years later, he considered changing employers and quickly realized his lack of education would be a huge obstacle. Instead, he went into business for himself as a software engineer.

He was successful enough that one of his clients eventually hired him full-time, and for years Zimmerman grew with that company. So much so, in fact, that a few years ago he found himself considering a Masters in Business Administration, which would allow him to take more of a leadership role at the company.

Of course, in order to get an MBA, he first needed to earn an undergraduate degree. So, he got to work researching the best way to quickly and affordably go back to school.

“When I started this, my goal was to get the degree as cheaply as I could,” Zimmerman said in an interview. “I needed to fill in the degrees I should have had for the career in software development that I do have.”

A friend eventually told him about CLEP, 34 different exams that, when passed, translate to introductory-level college credit at more than 2,900 colleges and universities.

After passing a couple of CLEPs, he discovered the ways Modern States helps students prepare for and pay for the CLEPs. Students who take our free courses have CLEP test fees paid for by Modern States and the philanthropy also reimburses students for any related proctoring fees charged by test centers.

Thomas Edison State University, a majority online school in New Jersey, was very accommodating of CLEP credits for liberal arts degrees, so Zimmerman enrolled. He eventually earned 16 vouchers for CLEP exams through Modern States, and was able to use 61 credits at Thomas Edison. He took some courses directly through the school and elsewhere to fulfill his major requirements, graduating last March.

“In the end, I got a Bachelor of Arts in computer science for $7,400,” Zimmerman said.

Seventy. Four. Hundred. Dollars.

The average cost of college in the U.S. is $35,720 per year, according to EducationData.org, which studies education statistics from institutions such as the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the World Bank. That equates to $142,880 for a four-year degree, more than 19 times the amount Zimmerman paid to earn his own. 

Zimmerman has six children, ages 4-18, and his oldest son is currently looking at colleges and “trying to decide the value of the experience versus saving money.”

“I see both sides of it,” Zimmerman said. “For a technical degree, which my son is looking at, most programs don’t align with the CLEP exams, other than a few credits. For more of a liberal arts or business degree, it would be ridiculous to take on the debt when this is available.”

Zimmerman generally watched the Modern States’ courses amid putting his youngest kids to bed. He took the quizzes on the Modern States app on his phone, and then just prior to taking his tests studied the questions again. Preparation for each exam generally took about two to three weeks of studying.

“Generally, I prefer reading over video, but your courses were short enough and succinct enough, so they worked very well,” he said.

And with a still-growing programming career and more kids to raise, Zimmerman doesn’t have much time for his golf hobby these days, he said. Of course, perhaps he does have the blueprint for future success.

“Maybe I’ll shelve it for a few years and get to it later,” he said of the sport.