Hey everyone!

I'm a previous AND current partner (I left for a few years and came back). I tell every new hire I meet that if they don't have a bachelor's degree they should try the CAP Program. It's easily one of the biggest benefits Starbucks has to offer their partners, but I hear so many reasons for not getting into it! Some perfectly valid (like "I don't want to") and some that I think the partner just needs answers to (like "I don't think I'm good enough to get in").


I have a friend who writes about shoestring budgets (Life@23k) who asked me to write a blog post for her, and I've copied the major points below for anyone who might be new to Starbucks and unsure about the program.

**1) It is for first-time Bachelor degree seekers ONLY.**

This is important. If you already have a Bachelor’s degree you won’t receive any educational benefit. You also won’t get any tuition benefits if you’re looking to get a Master’s degree. Trust me, I’ve tried. And tried again. Sorry!

**2) It is only for degrees through ASU Online.**

If your dream is to get a degree from a specific school, then this program probably isn’t for you. But if you’re not, then ASU is a fantastic option. ASU has existed for over a century and they’ve always been an accredited school. In fact, they’re more than accredited- they’re renowned. There are currently over 400,000 alumni around the world, and in 2009, sitting president Barack Obama gave the commencement speech to a crowd of roughly 70,000. ASU was also a frontrunner in online education and they currently offer 133 Bachelor's Degree programs to choose from (check them out here!). And if you’re wondering if your diploma will say "ASU Online"- like I was- just know that it WILL NOT. It will say "Arizona State University", just as if you'd attended their Tempe campus in person.

**3) You only need to work 20 hours a week to be eligible.**

This is something that sets Starbucks apart from other companies that offer tuition reimbursement. They don’t just say they want their employees to go to college, they really make it possible. At Starbucks, all partners are eligible for benefits while working only 20 hours a week. Anyone who has clung to a full-time work schedule “for the benefits” knows that that’s a huge benefit! You don't have to burn yourself out if you really want a college degree.

**4) You must still be admitted into ASU.**

Starbucks makes college achievable, but hey- it’s still college. You still need to fill out your FAFSA and actually apply to the program you’re interested in well in advance of its start date. You also need to meet ASU’s requirements for being a student in academic good standing. You can find those here. If this feels a little intimidating- don’t worry. ASU’s acceptance rate as of 2020 was around 85%. You don’t need to be the class Valedictorian to get in- they just want to be assured that you’re dedicated to taking the program seriously.

**5) However, tuition is still covered even if you fail a class.**

I had to look this up for myself under less than ideal circumstances! There’s nothing worse than giving a class your all, failing it (I didn’t know I could take PRE Calculus before Calculus, okay!), and then getting an enormous tuition bill in the mail a month later. Luckily, that is NOT something you have to worry about with the Starbucks CAP Program. Just don’t fail too many classes, because ultimately you might no longer be considered a student in good standing with ASU, and you may lose the benefit again.

**6) Only tuition is covered, not any other expenses for school.**

This is fairly standard for companies that offer tuition reimbursement. I was an English major, so luckily my “textbooks” were usually just regular old classics I could buy on Amazon. But anyone considering college for the first time should know that the costs of supplies can really add up. It’s not abnormal for books for just one class to cost over $100! The good news is that most schools now list the required textbooks upfront before you register for the class, so you won’t be surprised on your first day of class.

If you're interested, you can read the full article $1