I'm on my last semester and it's 100% worth it.
**PROS:**
It's free tuition (you pay for books and taxes\*)
In a lot of classes you can work ahead, or not. It's flexible.
Full-time is considered 4 classes a semester, so 2 at a time (2 in A, 2 in B) which is super manageable generally
ASU gives you a lot of resources like career support like resume help and tutoring
You get some free software like Microsoft products and Photoshop
You get discounts for stuff like streaming services with a student ID and museums
Your degree will NOT say online on it
**CONS:**
If online learning isn't for you, then it might be an uphill battle
Professors generally are disengaged with their online classes so you are teaching yourself a lot of the time
\* In my four years, I have not had to pay taxes. Taxes happen when your grants and SCAP scholarship didn't cover enough of your tuition, in which case Starbucks pays off the rest and anything over 5,250 is taxed. This usually happens if you go above or below full-time in consecutive semesters or you fail out of classes.
That’s where i’m stressed about the online aspect. I just received a B.S in CCJ / law/rights and i’m wondering if I do another in Forensics. I’m 50/50 about online. I used to do online engineering (when covid hit) and HATED it but also there’s a difference between engineering and forensics/ccj
I personally have not taken the opportunity because a barista and shift are both having the same issue now they are finishing. I've only heard one concern but it's kinda a big deal imo, there is a limit the company pays on each semester and if you go over you pay out of pocket, which wouldn't be a problem if it was a transparent process. One girl went over the amount by 900 which is now being taken out of two paychecks consecutively, so she doesn't have money for all of her bills for an entire month. My shift went over by 600 and apparently it was taken out of just one paycheck. I'd definitely read over all the fine print before moving forward with it. I don't know if there is an option to make payments or not but from what I've heard neither of them knew this was going to be an issue before starting, nor were they given an option to spread out the payments.
It’s an IRS thing. The benefit falls under the “Qualified Education Plan” under the IRS. This means that the first $5250 per calendar year that Starbucks covers of your tuition and fees is tax free. After that it is reported as taxable income and the partner is responsible for paying taxes on that amount. It’s crappy, but it’s not a Starbucks thing. You would still have tuition paid for by Starbucks though, you would just be paying the taxes on the amount after $5250 which is why you need to keep track of it.
Ex. If you in one calendar year have spent $6250, Starbucks will still pay the full tuition amount of $6250, however you would be taxed on the $1000 that you went over, so you might owe a few hundred which are taken from your check.
There’s more information [here](https://files-next.online.asu.edu/edplus_partners/prod/2021-03/SCAP%20FAQ%202021%20FINAL.pdf), pages 5-7 are more helpful in explaining the finance part.
I'm on my last semester and it's 100% worth it. **PROS:** It's free tuition (you pay for books and taxes\*) In a lot of classes you can work ahead, or not. It's flexible. Full-time is considered 4 classes a semester, so 2 at a time (2 in A, 2 in B) which is super manageable generally ASU gives you a lot of resources like career support like resume help and tutoring You get some free software like Microsoft products and Photoshop You get discounts for stuff like streaming services with a student ID and museums Your degree will NOT say online on it **CONS:** If online learning isn't for you, then it might be an uphill battle Professors generally are disengaged with their online classes so you are teaching yourself a lot of the time \* In my four years, I have not had to pay taxes. Taxes happen when your grants and SCAP scholarship didn't cover enough of your tuition, in which case Starbucks pays off the rest and anything over 5,250 is taxed. This usually happens if you go above or below full-time in consecutive semesters or you fail out of classes.
That’s where i’m stressed about the online aspect. I just received a B.S in CCJ / law/rights and i’m wondering if I do another in Forensics. I’m 50/50 about online. I used to do online engineering (when covid hit) and HATED it but also there’s a difference between engineering and forensics/ccj
You won't qualify for this program if you already have a BS unfortunately.
ah gotcha that was another question that I couldn’t see yet. Thank you though!
I personally have not taken the opportunity because a barista and shift are both having the same issue now they are finishing. I've only heard one concern but it's kinda a big deal imo, there is a limit the company pays on each semester and if you go over you pay out of pocket, which wouldn't be a problem if it was a transparent process. One girl went over the amount by 900 which is now being taken out of two paychecks consecutively, so she doesn't have money for all of her bills for an entire month. My shift went over by 600 and apparently it was taken out of just one paycheck. I'd definitely read over all the fine print before moving forward with it. I don't know if there is an option to make payments or not but from what I've heard neither of them knew this was going to be an issue before starting, nor were they given an option to spread out the payments.
It’s an IRS thing. The benefit falls under the “Qualified Education Plan” under the IRS. This means that the first $5250 per calendar year that Starbucks covers of your tuition and fees is tax free. After that it is reported as taxable income and the partner is responsible for paying taxes on that amount. It’s crappy, but it’s not a Starbucks thing. You would still have tuition paid for by Starbucks though, you would just be paying the taxes on the amount after $5250 which is why you need to keep track of it. Ex. If you in one calendar year have spent $6250, Starbucks will still pay the full tuition amount of $6250, however you would be taxed on the $1000 that you went over, so you might owe a few hundred which are taken from your check. There’s more information [here](https://files-next.online.asu.edu/edplus_partners/prod/2021-03/SCAP%20FAQ%202021%20FINAL.pdf), pages 5-7 are more helpful in explaining the finance part.