An International Student

[scoriae]

Greetings DegreeForum!

I've been a lurker for a while now, and was hoping to pull the trigger in getting a fast-track degree started! There was a question I was not able to find the answer to through reading the posts and via the search function, though it could be because my searching ability is a bit... lackluster

I am of Canadian Citizenship currently located in South Korea. I understand the big three (currently looking at TESU) are American Universities.

I was wondering if anyone had experience in completing a degree despite being considered an international student? The ACE Registry asks for a student number or a Social Security Number, both of which I do not have which does make me a bit dubious on how my to-be credits may be completed.

I also have a Three Year Diploma (equiv. to an AS?) from a Canadian College, but I am uncertain if it would be worth getting it reviewed for transfer credits given the time, costs and the fact that I am in an international location both in relation to Canada and the US.

Any advice and information would be very much appreciated

[lillingworth]

Greetings DegreeForum!

I've been a lurker for a while now, and was hoping to pull the trigger in getting a fast-track degree started! There was a question I was not able to find the answer to through reading the posts and via the search function, though it could be because my searching ability is a bit... lackluster

I am of Canadian Citizenship currently located in South Korea. I understand the big three (currently looking at TESU) are American Universities.

I was wondering if anyone had experience in completing a degree despite being considered an international student? The ACE Registry asks for a student number or a Social Security Number, both of which I do not have which does make me a bit dubious on how my to-be credits may be completed.

I also have a Three Year Diploma (equiv. to an AS?) from a Canadian College, but I am uncertain if it would be worth getting it reviewed for transfer credits given the time, costs and the fact that I am in an international location both in relation to Canada and the US.

Any advice and information would be very much appreciated

I'm not sure what you can do about the SSN or student number for ACE, but I'm also an international student and trying to test out of a degree while working in Tokyo. The only thing I can contribute is that TESU seems very friendly towards international students. How easy is it for you to find testing centers?

Just a couple of thoughts; have you tried entering your SIN to see if that works? And also, when I sent my transcripts to TESU (when it was TESC) they gave me a student ID. I got this without enrolling. I don't know if ACE will accept that or not but worth a shot. Other than that, maybe shoot an email over to ACE and see what they say.

As far as getting your credits reviewed, I've never encountered a university that allowed enrollment without receiving ALL previous transcripts. I *think* this is something you have to do.

[KayV]

ACE does not require a Social Security or Student ID number; it just encourages you to provide them.
If you went to Athabasca, Excelsior will accept your credits directly, without having to run them through a transcript evaluation service.

[bjcheung77]

Greetings DegreeForum!

I've been a lurker for a while now, and was hoping to pull the trigger in getting a fast-track degree started! There was a question I was not able to find the answer to through reading the posts and via the search function, though it could be because my searching ability is a bit... lackluster

I am of Canadian Citizenship currently located in South Korea. I understand the big three (currently looking at TESU) are American Universities.

I was wondering if anyone had experience in completing a degree despite being considered an international student? The ACE Registry asks for a student number or a Social Security Number, both of which I do not have which does make me a bit dubious on how my to-be credits may be completed.

I also have a Three Year Diploma (equiv. to an AS?) from a Canadian College, but I am uncertain if it would be worth getting it reviewed for transfer credits given the time, costs and the fact that I am in an international location both in relation to Canada and the US.

Any advice and information would be very much appreciated

I'm going to answer your questions with... questions! What are you doing in South Korea? Which Canadian College did you attend?
TESU is great! It won't really matter which of the Big 3 or Competency Based Programs you choose, they require 120 credits total.

I recommend the following: 1) Find the program you're looking for, example, BALS or BSBA General Management.
2) Apply and send in all transcripts to the school of choice, I would recommend also sending it to Athabasca and WGU as well.
3) Wait for an evaluation, while waiting, create a spreadsheet of required and "completed courses".
4) If you know what you need to take, and know those requirements can be met by online courses, take them while waiting.

My suggestion is to go with Athabasca as your 3 year diploma can be transferred into their 3 year BGS (Bach General Studies)
They may only require a few more courses from your Canadian College or another online college for that degree.

[bjcheung77]

I'm not sure what you can do about the SSN or student number for ACE, but I'm also an international student and trying to test out of a degree while working in Tokyo. The only thing I can contribute is that TESU seems very friendly towards international students. How easy is it for you to find testing centers?

Just a couple of thoughts; have you tried entering your SIN to see if that works? And also, when I sent my transcripts to TESU (when it was TESC) they gave me a student ID. I got this without enrolling. I don't know if ACE will accept that or not but worth a shot. Other than that, maybe shoot an email over to ACE and see what they say.

As far as getting your credits reviewed, I've never encountered a university that allowed enrollment without receiving ALL previous transcripts. I *think* this is something you have to do.

What are you doing in Tokyo? I'm always overseas, at least a few months of the year, I do that for travel/vacation and some work.
Which degree are you looking into and what school/credits have you obtained? You might also want to create a spreadsheet and upload it here.

All of the Big 3 and Competency Based Programs are friendly to international students, it's the "gravy" for their tuition and other fees.
Essentially, for you and other individuals who are overseas, it's harder to find a testing center for CLEP or DSST. So I recommend online options.

For you and the original poster, I recommend reading the Beginners Guide at the top of the forum for extra details for online learning.

[bjcheung77]

ACE does not require a Social Security or Student ID number; it just encourages you to provide them.
If you went to Athabasca, Excelsior will accept your credits directly, without having to run them through a transcript evaluation service.

Yes, ACE has that as an optional field, it's not required at all. That's awesome advice, I didn't know Excelsior would do that.
For Canadians, I recommend finishing their degree at Athabasca by transferring into their 90 credit BGS (no residency requirement)

The only thing is, Athabasca (TRU and any other university in Canada, but UofToronto) doesn't accept ACE/NCCRS credits.
Even though TRU is listed in the schools on the ACE webpage that accept ACE, they don't have a "system setup yet".
I sent them a lengthy email last year asking about this, neither Athabasca or TRU accept ACE/NCCRS yet.

UofT only accepts up to 60 credits, which the original poster has exceeded, otherwise, it's a good choice too.
So, no ALEKS, Saylor, Shmoop, Straighterline, Study.com, or anything else, it has to be from a Brick & Motor college.

[jsd]

Competency Based Programs are friendly to international students, it's the "gravy" for their tuition and other fees.

The Big 3 and many others might be, but WGU doesn't even accept international students (with some exceptions made for military type situations).

[scoriae]

Greetings bjcheung77!

I'm currently in South Korea working within a branch of the Korean Government as an Administrator. Unfortunately, the lack of a degree has limited my upwards mobility, given that my position normally required a Bachelor Degree. I attended Niagara College Canada.

1. I was looking at TESU's BSBA Program, preferably towards finances or accounting if they could have been completed online.
2. TESU does not seem to accept Canadian transcripts directly, which means I would need to go through a translation service. Unfortunately, as they also need copies of my actual diploma/degree, this limits my options as I no longer maintain contact with people back home who could do this for me in a timely manner (I've been out of the country for years). To that end, I am looking to (regretfully) start this fresh from scratch.
3. I am looking to do that now!
4. I've started the free ethics course to get a taste of what this will be like.

If I can go with Athabasca, it would be the ideal option. I looked at the transfer credit aspect, and unfortunately it seems as though less than the ideal amount might be accepted towards the 3 year degree.

I'm going to answer your questions with... questions! What are you doing in South Korea? Which Canadian College did you attend?
TESU is great! It won't really matter which of the Big 3 or Competency Based Programs you choose, they require 120 credits total.

I recommend the following: 1) Find the program you're looking for, example, BALS or BSBA General Management.
2) Apply and send in all transcripts to the school of choice, I would recommend also sending it to Athabasca and WGU as well.
3) Wait for an evaluation, while waiting, create a spreadsheet of required and "completed courses".
4) If you know what you need to take, and know those requirements can be met by online courses, take them while waiting.

My suggestion is to go with Athabasca as your 3 year diploma can be transferred into their 3 year BGS (Bach General Studies)
They may only require a few more courses from your Canadian College or another online college for that degree.

[scoriae]

To follow up, I was looking to create a plan for myself, and wanted to ask...

How does one check on the necessary courses for a given program, and equivalency/accepted course(s) for self-learning options? I checked the BSBA General Management section and saw written descriptions of what the program entails, but not the course breakdown required in order to satisfy the graduation requirements.

[KayV]

I'm looking at the articulation agreements between Niagara College and Athabasca and noticed that none of them appear to offer a block transfer to an Athabasca Bachelor of Management etc. However, Athabasca has a degree called a Bachelor of General Studies that is a 90-hour degree, which can be fulfilled entirely by transfer credit. The BGS has a concentration in Applied Studies, which includes courses in Business and Administrative Studies. That specific degree is the one you might ask about at AU.

General Studies : Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences : Athabasca University
Athabasca University