Looking into Online Degree - TESC

[Derek]

Heya,

I'm currently looking into obtaining an online degree at TESC. My top two choices at the moment are CIS and BA.

I just have a few questions for all of you. I'm currently 21 and had went to community college and had gotten bored of it. Driving there and back just to be there for an hour was getting old. I also felt as though the quality of education wasn't that great. Since than, I ended up piling up some debt for vehicles, bills, yadda yadda. So now, I don't have the time to commute to college for classes due to my ever varying work schedule.

From what I've read online, TESC's education quality is good if not great, however they lack in the customer service part. That's not too much of an issue for me.

For those of you that had received degrees from TESC or even Excelsior or COSC, how have your career paths panned out? Do employers look down upon the online degrees received, or have you become fairly successful this far?

I've also noticed the cost is MUCH cheaper than those of traditional colleges which makes me happier. I'd rather not pay numerous times the cost to receive the same job in the end.

I've got a lot to read into as far as the CLEP's, DSST's. FEMA's, etc., but are they worth it? Do they hinder any potential transfers to other schools?

One last concern would be receiving a Master's. If I choose for whatever reason to attend a Graduate program at XXX University, would they accept a degree holding student from an online school?

Sorry, I'm a bit new to this so any information helps. Especially if it saves time and money in the long run.

Thanks,

Derek

[KyleH]

Hello Derek, welcome to the forum,

I'm afraid I don't have personal experience with the employer or graduate school sections, since I'm not there yet, but I'm sure other members will affirm that most of the time, it makes no difference.

I can definitely confirm that using CLEP, DSST, and FEMA makes the degrees wayyyyy cheaper. We're talking $7,000 instead of $70,000. Also, of course, those credits can only be transferred en masse to a few schools (mainly TESC, Excelsior, and Charter Oaks). Most other schools accept 30 or less. Also, there's no way schools are going to turn you down because you have CLEP credits. you just wouldn't get credits.

But as for Masters programs, it varies depending no where you go. A lot of Graduate Schools don't care, but some of the higher end schools are much pickier. Others will be better able to give advice on this section as well.

Hope this helps, and I hope other people can give more advice to guide you on your future school choices.

Kyle

[burbuja0512]

Hi Derek,

Hi and welcome. I definitely understand the questions about alternative methods to finishing school. I was very hesitant when I first heard about CLEP/DSST etc. My younger brother initially told me about the Big 3 and is a COSC grad from several years ago who went on to get his Masters at Texas A&M and is now working on his doctorate.

I work full time, travel frequently for business and between my husband and I, we have five kids. I dropped out of college years ago and had tried to return a couple of times but could not seem to manage with kids and work commitments. I never would have finished my BS if I had not found CLEP/DSST and this forum. I had managed to work my way up in my career and am doing pretty well but my lack of a degree definitely could have stopped me from moving up further. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that any more.

Regarding graduate school and CLEP/DSST. There are many people here that have gone on to masters degrees and beyond. I don't know about TESC, but COSC actually lists graduate schools where their alumni have been accepted here: Graduate Acceptances after Charter Oak State College. You should not have a problem getting into a masters program after a TESC,COSC, or EC education. They are regionally accredited schools and TESC and COSC are both state colleges.

However, you do need to research and see how your graduate program feels about CLEP. If you're looking at intensely competitive school, a transcript full of tests may not work. That being said, if you're looking at a highly competitive program, community college credits may not work either. It will really depend on the program you're looking into. For medical school, CLEP probably won't cut it, for law school, it doesn't seem to matter as long as your LSAT scores are high. Again, it really depends on the graduate program you want. If you're looking for an MBA, there are practically millions of programs out there (or so it seems) and you will be able to find a good one that doesn't care.

I have an interview with Regis University here in a few hours for potential acceptance to the graduate program I'm interested in, so I'll make sure to come and provide feedback to everyone here about what they say. I have no idea how they're viewed nation-wide, but here in Denver they're thought of pretty highly so I'll be curious to see what they say. I had called them months ago to see if CLEP/DSST on a transcript would be a problem and they had no issues with it. After all, they, like most colleges accept a limited number of testing credits towards their undergrad degrees.

So, after the long ramble, the short answer to your question is that yes, a non-traditional transcript could possibly affect medical school aspirations (ha ha kidding of course, I don't think you're interested in this, but I had to mention it ), but for most of us, they're identical and a helluva lot cheaper than a traditional undergrad. The big 3 are not "known" for being online like University of Phoenix, so don't hold the same stigma for a potential employer. COSC or TESC are state colleges, even if they're relatively unknown and EC is well thought of in military circles, from what I hear. Overall, you are much much better off with a degree from a Big 3 school than with no degree and I would even choose a Big 3 degree over many other alternatives.

Hope this helps a little!


Edit: Back from graduate interview and CLEP/DSST wasn't even brought up. I was expecting to be asked why so many of my credits were through testing.. not a single question. The interview was totally focused on my interest in the program and what I can bring to it, along with my Spanish-speaking ability and experience in the Latin American business world. It's a bilingual MBA, and a very unique program, but testing was not a problem at all.

[Lindagerr]

I got my degree from TESC and the state of NJ had no problem with my testing and Aleks for my teaching certs. I have also applied to a masters program and they had no problem either. I need a few different subjects but they approved testing for those too.

[dcan]

Find Geezer and talk to him. His son got a TESC CS degree and then a full ride master's CS at FSU.

[Derek]

Thanks a lot for the info. It is really informative. I just messaged Geezer asking him some questions to learn more of the process.

I suppose my next step is to begin creating my degree plan. That, I feel, is going to be more difficult than just testing out.

Thanks again for the input,

Derek