A Few Excelsior Questions

[rjc311]

Hi Everyone...I've been considering a BA in Liberal Studies from Excelsior but I have a few questions. Does anyone out there have one of these degrees? I'm trying to decide just how much good it will actually do for me. My major focus is History and I am concerned the degree will not help me out much. If I transfer the BA to another school to go after my Master's, will they accept it? (I'd probably transfer to a state school in Florida like USF or UCF). I know Excelsior has Master's degrees too but I guess my questions would be the same for that degree as well.

Can anyone offer some input? Thanks!

Robert

[ShotoJuku]

[SIZE="3"]EC, as you know is a RA school and has incredible utility and absolute transferability into many-many-many Masters programs.[/SIZE]

[bceagles]

As happy as I am going to be when I'm finally finished with my BSLS degree from Excelsior, my work is far from finished. I feel (This is just my opinion, I don't mean to offend anyone or start any arguments) that once I have my BS from EC I will need to bury it underneath a notable B&M Masters on my resume. For example....

Education

Springfield State University......................Anywhere, USA
Master of Stuff........................................2008

Excelsior College.....................................Albany, NY
BS, Liberal Studies..................................2007

I'm banking on the idea that an Undergrad from EC will get me into an evening MBA or MS Program in my area, 2nd tier school with a familiar name.

[rjc311]

Thanks for the input. So, say you get a BA in LS from Excelsior and you transfer to a B&M school for a Master's...will they accept the whole degree or pick it apart and say something, for instance, about all the credit by examination and subsequently make you retake a bunch of courses? That is my main fear. I have been looking at Excelsior's MA in LS program and there are 5 tracks:

Track 1: Issues in Today's Society
Track 2: Global Strategies
Track 3: Educational Leadership
Track 4: Natural Science and Society
Track 5: Self-Design

I like the sound of the program but like you said bceagles, I wonder if it would be better to get the MA from a more traditional school. I recently found out that the University of Central Florida offers a completely online BA in LS and since all of my classroom credits are from FL state schools I wouldn't lose anything if I transferred. But, they don't take any upper level credit by exam so that has been the one thing holding me back. At this point I think I will continue with my Excelsior BA track and worry about the MA later...probably MUCH later.

Thanks again. It is nice to know there is a place to come for help with these types of questions!

Robert

[ShotoJuku]

....I feel (This is just my opinion, I don't mean to offend anyone or start any arguments) that once I have my BS from EC I will need to bury it....

[SIZE="6"]That's going to leave a mark - OUCH!!![/SIZE]

[ShotoJuku]

Thanks for the input. So, say you get a BA in LS from Excelsior and you transfer to a B&M school for a Master's...will they accept the whole degree or pick it apart and say something, for instance, about all the credit by examination and subsequently make you retake a bunch of courses? That is my main fear. I have been looking at Excelsior's MA in LS program and there are 5 tracks:

Track 1: Issues in Today's Society
Track 2: Global Strategies
Track 3: Educational Leadership
Track 4: Natural Science and Society
Track 5: Self-Design

I like the sound of the program but like you said bceagles, I wonder if it would be better to get the MA from a more traditional school. I recently found out that the University of Central Florida offers a completely online BA in LS and since all of my classroom credits are from FL state schools I wouldn't lose anything if I transferred. But, they don't take any upper level credit by exam so that has been the one thing holding me back. At this point I think I will continue with my Excelsior BA track and worry about the MA later...probably MUCH later.

Thanks again. It is nice to know there is a place to come for help with these types of questions!

Robert

[SIZE="2"][COLOR="Purple"]Hey Robert -

First, don't worry about the utility of your EC degree, it packs a lot of weight.

Second, explore the list of all of the many schools that EC-Grads have been accepeted to and you will see some pretty impressive names on the list.

Third, pursue what is BEST FOR YOU and not the opinion of others - mine included.

Fourth, acceptance into any graduate school is not merely based on where you received your undergraduate degree but on your GPA as a whole. It most cases for acceptance it should be nothing less than a 3.0 but exceptions can be made. Nevertheless, keep those GPA's acceptable!

Finally, if EC was not such a great option, thousands of students and graduates alike would have walked away from it years ago. I chose EC to complete my BS in CJ (my current field) and then CCU for my MS in Psychology (current related field and future) because they were both right for me. Do the same thing - choose for YOU! [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[mapalo]

Hey Robert,
I was in you shoes just a month or so ago, someone on this forum suggested that I contact the traditional graduate school I wanted to attend after EC and ask if they accept degrees from EC.
So I went ahead and contacted the Admission office at IUPUI: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
They said they did accept degrees from IC as a matter of fact they are the ones that sent me a site and information letting me know that EC was a regional accredited school (of course I knew that before) but it was a great relief for me and a strong deciding factor of getting into EC.
I have a written confirmation that I will be able to get into an MBA program with an EC degree

I hope this help, smooth your decision making on this important life changing endeavor
Mapalo

[donvago1]

As happy as I am going to be when I'm finally finished with my BSLS degree from Excelsior, my work is far from finished. I feel (This is just my opinion, I don't mean to offend anyone or start any arguments) that once I have my BS from EC I will need to bury it underneath a notable B&M Masters on my resume. For example....

Education

Springfield State University......................Anywhere, USA
Master of Stuff........................................2008

Excelsior College.....................................Albany, NY
BS, Liberal Studies..................................2007

I'm banking on the idea that an Undergrad from EC will get me into an evening MBA or MS Program in my area, 2nd tier school with a familiar name.

Wow! I am pretty much doing the same thing. In April of 2006 , I enrolled in EC's AS in Business degree program. In February of this year I knew that I was not going to finish the ASB by April and I really did not want to pay the annual enrollment fee. So in February as a joke I called the liberal arts department and to my surprise they told me that I had already met the requirements for the AS in Liberal Arts. On the 16th of March that degree was conferred and on March 19th I received this very nice diploma in the mail. So now I am waiting on my BSLS evaluation so I can see what's left for that one. I am happy to get this degree but I really don't feel good about it . I really just want to finish the BSLS asap so I can start a masters program in a field or profession that I feel will have some money making utility. My bad feeling is not about EC itself but the degree I am getting. I have no negative views of the school at all. My experience with EC has been 100% positive. BUT I do know that I after I get the BSLS I still have a lot of work left to get where I want to be.

There are some positives to getting this degree.

1. It will be a regionally accredited bachelors degree.
2. It will be a regionally accredited bachelors degree.
3. It will be a regionally accredited bachelors degree.

That can lead to a Masters from many many State U's.

Not bad for a guy who in 2006 did not have anything, but is in good shape to not only have two degree's (AS,BS) but to also be working on a Masters degree from a nearby State U in 07.

So i guess this degree really isn't all that bad. Like Brian would say "Slow and Steady - Wins the Race"

[rjc311]

Wow, the willingness to help out fellow students that is expressed by so many people on these boards never ceases to amaze me. You are all so great for taking the time to offer reassurance. I think part of my problem isn't necessarily that my degree will be from Excelsior so much as that it will be a BA in Liberal Studies. I mean, if I happened to stop there and not pursue a Master's what can I "do" with a BA in LS? I guess I will just have to find out for myself.

Also, thanks for the info on GPA and MA degrees. My GPA was crap for a long time (my first go around with college wasn't my shining moment) but I made the President's Honor List at St. Petersburg College last semester (and should again this semester) so I am working hard to build it back up.

Thanks again for your help and I am planning to take some more exams this summer...starting with College Math (Shoto's favorite...lol) so that should be fun!

Robert