Something you might not have considered is to forego the time and expense of the degree altogether. Particularly in IT most employers don't care if you have a degree or not - the ones that do can always use your existing degree to check the box. If you can pass the interview questions for development or systems engineering then more than likely you'll get hired. You might have to do temp to hire if you don't have a buddy to vouch for you, but you'll get in the door. There are a number of times I've been the most senior person ever hired without a degree, one Fortune 100 even changed their rules specifically so that they could hire me without a degree. The key phrase to remember is "equivalent experience" and you can usually imply that will be accepted. You will run across the occasional HR robot or insecure manager that thinks otherwise, but they are a slim minority. All of that money you spend on college is more or less a waste unless you are planning to be a doctor, lawyer, or something else heavily regulated where state or federal laws don't even allow you to take certification tests without a degree. (For example, in my state you can't take the bar exam without a J.D. degree and a number of hours as an unpaid intern)

Remember also, particularly in IT, that educating yourself is going to be an ongoing task for you. It doesn't have to be formal but you have to keep up. Read Hacker News and High Scalability, when you see things discussed that you don't understand then take it upon yourself to go understand. I probably spend sixteen hours a week on my own research.