Advice needed - working professional - how to quickly complete bachelors degree

[agamemnonjones]

Hello friends --

I would appreciate your advice on my situation. I am a working adult professional, age 38 who began but never completed my Bachelors degree. I graduated high school in 1996 and in high school I completed 3 advanced placement tests, with the following scores:
- AP Math - 5
- AP Chemistry - 3
- AP Literature - 3

I also studied German language for four years and achieved a strong proficiency in German (at the time), although this has certainly faded.

After graduating high school, I applied to a nearby state university and began as a traditional full-time student in Fall 1996. I will call this University A. I did not declare a major at University A. At this school, I received credit for the AP courses, as well as credit for my placement test results in German language. These test-based credits were granted as follows:

Course name (Department) (Breadth area - Difficulty) - # of credits
***************************************************************
- AP English Lit & Composition (GEN ELCT) (N/A - Elementary) - 3 credits
- AP Calculus & Analytic Geometry (MATH 221) (Natural Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
- AP Chemistry (CHEM) (Physical Science - Elementary) - 3 credits
- AP English Lit & Composition (LIT) (Literature - Elementary) - 3 credits
***************************************************************
Total AP Test Credits - 14

- German 101 (Granted from placement test) (Elementary) - 4 cr
- German 102 (Granted from placement test) (Elementary) - 4 cr
- German 203 (Granted from placement test) (Intermediate) - 3 cr
******************************************************
Total placement test credits granted - 11

At University A, I attended for two semesters (Fall 96, Spring 97) and received credit for the following courses

[Course name (Department) (Breadth area - Difficulty) - # of credits]

- Classical Mythology (CLASSICS 370) (Literature - Elementary) - 2 credits
- Introduction to Film (COM ARTS 350) (Humanities - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- First Semester French (FRENCH 101) (N/A - Elementary) - 4 credits
- Fourth semester German (GERMAN 204) (N/A - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- German Composition and Conversation (GERMAN 225) (N/A - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- Introduction to Philosophy (PHILOS 101) (Humanities/Social Science - Elementary) - 3 credits
- Basic Rock Climbing (PE ELECT) - 2 cr
- Beginning Guitar (MUS PERF) - 2 cr
- Intermediate Guitar (MUS PERF) - 2 cr
***
Total University A credits earned: 24

After two semesters at University A, I applied for transfer to University B, a large R1 state university. I was accepted and University B granted me the following:
- 18 transfer credits
- 14 AP credits
- 11 "other" credits (e.g. german placement, PE/music electives)
***
total advanced standing credits at University B - 43

I attended University B as a traditional full-time undergraduate for ~4 years (Fall 97 - Fall 2001), as a declared chemistry major. I started out strong, but ran into some personal and financial problems at the time and my grades steadily declined -- I was eventually placed on academic probation, then eventually dropped from the University for 1 year. After leaving University B, I entered professional employment and began a career in information technology. After some time had elapsed, I applied for readmission to University B in Fall 2005. I was readmitted into the chemistry program (on strict probation) and continued my progress as a part-time student while continuing my full time employment. I completed one 3 credit course (Chem 561) in Fall 2005 and another 3 credit course (Chem 562) in Spring 2006. I achieved good grades in both of these courses and as a result the academic probation was cleared.

My cumulative GPA from University B is 2.161. My credits earned at University B are as follows:

[Course name (Department) (Breadth area - Difficulty) - # of credits]
- General & Analytical Chemistry (CHEM 109) (Physical Science - Elementary) - 5 credits
Grade received: B (3.0)

- General Physics (PHYSICS 201) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
Grade received: B (3.0)

- General & Analytical Chemistry (CHEM 110) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
Grade received: BC (2.5)

- Intro Organic Chemistry (CHEM 343) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 3 credits
Grade Received: B (3.0)

- German Literature & Photography (GERMAN 236) (N/A - Elementary) - 3 credits
Grade received: AB (3.5)

- Introduction to Linguistics (LINGUIS 301) (Humanities - Elementary) - 3 credits
Grade received: BC (2.5)

- Calculus & Analytic Geometry (MATH 222) (Natural Sciences - Intermediate) - 5 credits
Grade received: C (2.0)

- Intro Organic Chemistry Lab (CHEM 344) (Physical Sciences - Intermediate) - 2 cr
Grade received: B (3.0)

- Intermediate Organic Chemistry (CHEM 345) (Physical Sciences - Intermediate) - 3 credits
Grade received: C (2.0)

- Elementary Logic (PHILOS 211) (Humanities or Social Sciences - Intermediate) - 4 credits
Grade received: C (2.0)

- Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH 202) (Social Sciences - Elementary) - 3 credits
Grade received: C (2.0)

- Nutrition Today (NUTR SCI 132) (Biology - Elementary) - 3 credits
Grade received: C (2.0)

- General Physics (PHYSICS 202) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
Grade received: C (2.0)

- Intro to American Politics & Government (POLI SCI 104) (Social Science - Elementary) - 4 credits
Grade received: AB (3.5)

- Intermediate Organic Chem Lab (CHEM 346) - 1 credit
Grade received: A (4.0)

- Music Elective (MUSIC 206) - 2 credits
Grade received: B (2.0)

- Volleyball I (PE Elective 175) - 1 credit
Grade received: B (2.0)

- Physical Chemistry I (CHEM 561) (Physical Science - Advanced) - 3 credits
Grade received: AB (3.5)

- Physical Chemistry II (CHEM 562) (Physical Science - Advanced) - 3 credits
Grade received: B (3.0)

***
Credits earned: 65
Cumulative Total credits (including transfer/advanced standing) 108
Cumulative GPA 2.161

What would you advise as the quickest way to achieve a bachelors degree? Although my declared major was chemistry, this has no connection to my career, so I would be entirely open to a degree in some other area. Really my only interest is in having any (legitimate) bachelors degree in order to enable me to further advance in my career.

Thanks!

[dfrecore]

First, you need to do some research on TESU and COSC to see which one you prefer. Look at the BA in Liberal Studies (BALS) and the BA in Natural Sciences/Mathematics (BANSM) from TESU. Not sure what to look at at COSC, and I'm not as familiar with them.

Also, if you ran into grade issues at the school, you will need to put your grades in here for anything where you received less than a C. Anything where you got a C- or lower will be a problem, as you can't use those courses in your Area of Study (AOS). You may still be able to use the courses elsewhere, so don't just delete those courses - put the grade in.

Also, it looks like you have some duplication of effort. Instead of the way you wrote the courses, can you edit your post and put basically what the course was? For instance, you took AP Calculus. Was it AB or BC? Because AB is usually considered Calc I, and BC is usually considered Calc I & II. THEN, you also took another Calc course. Was that Calc II? III? Same issue with Chemistry, you took a lot, but it's difficult to tell what they all are. The last 2, CHEM 561 & CHEM 562 look to be graduate level courses - is this the case?

When looking at the BANSM, if you got C's or higher on your math & science courses, you have approx 55cr in your AOS, 14cr of which are UL. With the Capstone, that would be 17cr, and you would only need 1 additional UL credit of science (Microbiology Lab at SL would work here). So it's important that we know your grades and the level of these courses.

Hello friends --

I would appreciate your advice on my situation. I am a working adult professional, age 38 who began but never completed my Bachelors degree. I graduated high school in 1996 and in high school I completed 3 advanced placement tests, with the following scores:
- AP Math - 5
- AP Chemistry - 3
- AP Literature - 3

DELETE THIS
I also studied German language for four years and achieved a strong proficiency in German (at the time), although this has certainly faded.

After graduating high school, I applied to a nearby state university and began as a traditional full-time student in Fall 1996. I will call this University A. I did not declare a major at University A. At this school, I received credit for the AP courses, as well as credit for my placement test results in German language. These test-based credits were granted as follows:

Course name (Department) (Breadth area - Difficulty) - # of credits
***************************************************************
- AP English Lit & Composition (GEN ELCT) (N/A - Elementary) - 3 credits
- AP Calculus & Analytic Geometry (MATH 221) (Natural Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
- AP Chemistry (CHEM) (Physical Science - Elementary) - 3 credits
- AP English Lit & Composition (LIT) (Literature - Elementary) - 3 credits
***************************************************************
Total AP Test Credits - 14

- German 101 (Granted from placement test) (Elementary) - 4 cr
- German 102 (Granted from placement test) (Elementary) - 4 cr
- German 203 (Granted from placement test) (Intermediate) - 3 cr
******************************************************
Total placement test credits granted - 11

At University A, I attended for two semesters (Fall 96, Spring 97) and received credit for the following courses

[Course name (Department) (Breadth area - Difficulty) - # of credits]

Are the 300-level courses considered Upper Level (UL) - at this school (basically Junior/Senior courses)?
- Classical Mythology (CLASSICS 370) (Literature - Elementary) - 2 credits
- Introduction to Film (COM ARTS 350) (Humanities - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- First Semester French (FRENCH 101) (N/A - Elementary) - 4 credits
- Fourth semester German (GERMAN 204) (N/A - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- German Composition and Conversation (GERMAN 225) (N/A - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- Introduction to Philosophy (PHILOS 101) (Humanities/Social Science - Elementary) - 3 credits
- Basic Rock Climbing (PE ELECT) - 2 cr
- Beginning Guitar (MUS PERF) - 2 cr
- Intermediate Guitar (MUS PERF) - 2 cr
***
Total University A credits earned: 24

After two semesters at University A, I applied for transfer to University B, a large R1 state university. I was accepted and University B granted me the following:
- 18 transfer credits
- 14 AP credits
- 11 "other" credits (e.g. german placement, PE/music electives)
***
total advanced standing credits at University B - 43

I attended University B as a traditional full-time undergraduate for ~4 years (Fall 97 - Fall 2001), as a declared chemistry major. I started out strong, but ran into some personal and financial problems at the time and my grades steadily declined -- I was eventually placed on academic probation, then eventually dropped from the University for 1 year. After leaving University B, I entered professional employment and began a career in information technology. After some time had elapsed, I applied for readmission to University B in Fall 2005. I was readmitted into the chemistry program (on strict probation) and continued my progress as a part-time student while continuing my full time employment. I completed one 3 credit course (Chem 561) in Fall 2005 and another 3 credit course (Chem 562) in Spring 2006. I achieved good grades in both of these courses and as a result the academic probation was cleared.

My cumulative GPA from University B is 2.161. My credits earned at University B are as follows:

[Course name (Department) (Breadth area - Difficulty) - # of credits]
- General & Analytical Chemistry (CHEM 109) (Physical Science - Elementary) - 5 credits
- General Physics (PHYSICS 201) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
- General & Analytical Chemistry (CHEM 110) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
- Intro Organic Chemistry (CHEM 343) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- German Literature & Photography (GERMAN 236) (N/A - Elementary) - 3 credits
- Introduction to Linguistics (LINGUIS 301) (Humanities - Elementary) - 3 credits
- Calculus & Analytic Geometry (MATH 222) (Natural Sciences - Intermediate) - 5 credits
- Intro Organic Chemistry (CHEM 344) (Physical Sciences - Intermediate) - 2 cr
- Intermediate Organic Chemistry (CHEM 345) (Physical Sciences - Intermediate) - 3 credits
- Elementary Logic (PHILOS 211) (Humanities or Social Sciences - Intermediate) - 4 credits
- Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH 202) (Social Sciences - Elementary) - 3 credits
- Nutritional Today (NUTR SCI 132) (Biology - Elementary) - 3 credits
- General Physics (PHYSICS 202) (Physical Science - Intermediate) - 5 credits
- Intro to American Politics & Government (POLI SCI 104) (Social Science - Elementary) - 4 credits
- Intermediate Organic Chem Lab (CHEM 346) - 1 credit
- Music Elective (MUSIC 206) - 2 credits
- Volleyball I (PE Elective 175) - 1 credit
- Physical Chemistry (CHEM 561) (Physical Science - Advanced) - 3 credits
- Physical Chemistry (CHEM 562) (Physical Science - Advanced) - 3 credits
***
Credits earned: 65
Cumulative Total credits (including transfer/advanced standing) 108
Cumulative GPA 2.161

What would you advise as the quickest way to achieve a bachelors degree? Although my declared major was chemistry, this has no connection to my career, so I would be entirely open to a degree in some other area. Really my only interest is in having any (legitimate) bachelors degree in order to enable me to further advance in my career.

Thanks!

[Prloko]

Was "University B" on a semester or quarter system?

[agamemnonjones]

Thanks very much for this reply. I think I can answer all of your questions directly:

1. I only listed courses for which I have received a C or better. In some cases I took a course multiple times, and only listed those for which the grade was C or better. There are other courses in my transcript that I did not pass, and these have contributed to the cumulative GPA. I will edit the original post and provide grades received for each of these.

2. The AP calculus test that I took was Calc AB. This was equivalent to Calculus I. I separately took and received normal course credit for college calculus II (Math 222).

3. All of the courses are undergraduate courses - none are graduate level. The course number does not necessarily signify whether a course is considered upper-level or lower-level coursework. Rather, this is indicated directly by the level indicator that I provided for each course -- the three levels offered are "elementary", "intermediate" and "advanced". "intermediate" and "advanced" are considered "upper-level" coursework.

4.

[agamemnonjones]

Both University A and University B operated on a semester system.

[Prloko]

Thanks very much for this reply. I think I can answer all of your questions directly:

1. I only listed courses for which I have received a C or better. In some cases I took a course multiple times, and only listed those for which the grade was C or better. There are other courses in my transcript that I did not pass, and these have contributed to the cumulative GPA. I will edit the original post and provide grades received for each of these.

TESC will give you credit for "D" grades if they are not in your Major/Area of Study, so it may benefit you to list them here.

[dfrecore]

Thanks very much for this reply. I think I can answer all of your questions directly:

1. I only listed courses for which I have received a C or better. In some cases I took a course multiple times, and only listed those for which the grade was C or better. There are other courses in my transcript that I did not pass, and these have contributed to the cumulative GPA. I will edit the original post and provide grades received for each of these.

2. The AP calculus test that I took was Calc AB. This was equivalent to Calculus I. I separately took and received normal course credit for college calculus II (Math 222).

3. All of the courses are undergraduate courses - none are graduate level. The course number does not necessarily signify whether a course is considered upper-level or lower-level coursework. Rather, this is indicated directly by the level indicator that I provided for each course -- the three levels offered are "elementary", "intermediate" and "advanced". "intermediate" and "advanced" are considered "upper-level" coursework.

4.

So they considered Intro to Film, German IV, etc. as UL? TESU will definitely not consider those UL. 2nd year maybe, but not UL.

If I were you, I think I would just pay the $75 to TESU and apply now, for the BANSM, send in your 2 transcripts including the AP test scores, and see what they come up with. Then, once you have that, post your eval on here so we can see what you have. At that point, we can help you figure out what you need to finish that degree, as well as whether or not it will be easier to get a BALS instead (once we have course equivalency numbers, it's really easy to figure out other degrees). Since you're so close, it's really worth the money to have your transcripts evaluated.

And, since you're working in the IT field now, and you can use UL COS/CIS courses to fulfill the natural science area, it will be really easy to find inexpensive courses to finish up your degree for you.

Here are the courses you'll need for sure:

ORAL COMM REQUIREMENT: either Public Speaking (DSST) or Intro to Comm (SL)
INFO LIT REQUIREMENT: either World Religions (DSST or SL), A&I Lit (CLEP) or Tech Writing (DSST, TECEP or study.com)
ETHICS REQUIREMENT: Insurance Ethics is free: Preserve the trust on which insurance transactions are based with an understanding of ethics
DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT: either Sociology (CLEP or SL), Comparative Politics (TECEP, Saylor)

I'd be really tempted to jump into SL and do 4 courses immediately, and get those done.

Anyway, do those 4 requirements now, and send in the transcripts for them right away - at that point, you should have all of your GE done, much of your LL AOS, and some UL AOS, and you'll just be figuring out those last few courses to take.

[bjcheung77]

TESC will give you credit for "D" grades if they are not in your Major/Area of Study, so it may benefit you to list them here.

+1 Yes, as long as you have any type of credits, just write as much as you have here as you wouldn't want to "redo" them.
Any D will be taken unless it's in the AOS as mentioned. For COSC/TESU it's about the same, there are trade-offs.
COSC allows the use of 27 free credits for general electives/free electives. TESU has lesser Upper Level requirements and it's easier to find.

[bees.in.fl]

You should also consider other institutions, such as Excelsior.

I can't speak for everyone else, but, I'm a military pilot. TESU wanted me to complete 15-24 more credits than Excelsior. I found it to be a crazy amount more. Excelsior has a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts (and other degrees).. yeah, way generic. But, you can transfer in 120 credits, and they can be as old as you are. To the other specifics, I can't answer. My point is just to look around and see which will give the most bang for your credits. Good luck.

[dfrecore]

You should also consider other institutions, such as Excelsior.

I can't speak for everyone else, but, I'm a military pilot. TESU wanted me to complete 15-24 more credits than Excelsior. I found it to be a crazy amount more. Excelsior has a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts (and other degrees).. yeah, way generic. But, you can transfer in 120 credits, and they can be as old as you are. To the other specifics, I can't answer. My point is just to look around and see which will give the most bang for your credits. Good luck.

Yes, if someone has something special going on outside of the norm, then they should definitely look at all 3 schools (although COSC might be working their way out of contention if they charge a $150 deposit on top of your $75 app to evaluate your credits). COSC and EC are definitely better at accepting more IT certs, and I'm sure other things come into play like military credits.

In this case, the OP doesn't have anything outside of the norm, he/she just needs to see what TESU would bring everything in as and then create a plan.