Any Help or Advice would be great!

[bobbyweaver94]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Bobby Weaver - I am an 18 year old student at Lancaster Bible College (LBC) which is fully accredited - and am completely for switching to any college necessary. I just finished my first year in college and I passed all of my classes. I believe I have 33 credits right now. I do not know how many of those will transfer to another college because a few are Bible classes. In short, I would like to get a degree and finishing my first year of college made me realize I won't be missing out on the big "experience of college" if I did an alternative route in completing a degree. Money isn't exactly too much of a problem as I have been working and I have close to $10,000 (obviously, I don't want to spend that all on this.) I study very well and am good with shifting my focus and on a weekly basis if I was taking certificate tests. This concept is fairly new to me but I love the idea and I am completely on board with any suggestions of what college to enroll in and what classes to take. I am EXTREMELY interested in a business degree of some kind (any kind) and I probably won't pursue any other degree. Some quick background, I was home schooled throughout high school and completed 11th and 12th grade in the same year. I am familiar with the program Aleks which I have seen mentioned in this forum a few times. I am familiar with self paced things, and keeping yourself accountable and doing things on your own.

My goal in this is to spend all of my time on this - just to get that piece of paper that says I completed a BA. That piece of paper seems to mean everything these days and I see the value in having it but just not in the 4 years spent on it.

Please tell me if it is possible for me to do this. I need to be kept balanced before I sign up for instacerts full thing and start taking a test every two week. haha.

Here are the credits I have finished (if that helps).
Biblical Hermeneutics
Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to College Math
20th Century World History
Old Testament II
Music History I
Essays and Memoirs Writing Intensive
Prelude to Biblical and Theological Studies
Engaging in Faith and Life
Public Speaking

I also have 3 credits from an English class I took in high school.


ANY advice at all would be spectacular.

Thanks,
Bobby Weaver

[cookderosa]

Hi Bobby! I think you're in the right place . I don't know how bible classes transfer, I'm guessing they'll come in as humanities, but if not, they'd be free electives. Everything else will transfer perfectly into your gen eds.
The unofficial wiki page is a list of member's suggestions for degree plans, you could start here for a brief overview. Degree Forum Wiki
If you're interested in starting right away, you could get an application into one or all of the "big 3" schools and see how they apply your credits. TESC accepts ALEKS and FEMA which you can do at home starting now. Otherwise, you can also look at the College Board website to find a CLEP testing center and Get College Credit website to find a DSST testing center. Those tests you'd have to take at the centers, so you can find out if they charge fees, where they are, hours, etc.

Welcome! You'll be up and running in no time!

[mrs.b]

Welcome! I'm heading out the door right now, but just wanted to drop a note to ease concerns that you might lose credits for the Bible courses. My first attempt at undergrad was at a similar accredited Christian college. When I transferred to TESC, I did not lose a single credit; they went to humanities and various elective categories.

[ncpenn]

If you're open to getting a degree faster, it's quite doable. I've got somewhere around 50 credits right now. By the end of June, I'll be at about 90. Then by end of April next year, I'll have all my courses done and be getting a CS degree (at TESC).

So, yes, it can be done quickly and relatively cheap. Thomas Edison State College has a requirement that you need to be 21 to apply, but they also say they will possibly accept younger students on a case-by-case basis. Charter Oak would probably be the least expensive for you for a business degree, and I don't think they have an age requirement.

Oh, and as long as your current school is regionally accredited, all your credit should transfer. Some of them may only count as free electives, but that's okay because you still have to get them somewhere.

[IrishJohn]

Oh, and as long as your current school is regionally accredited, all your credit should transfer. Some of them may only count as free electives, but that's okay because you still have to get them somewhere.

No worries about that: Lancaster Bible College - About LBC - Accreditation

All of the Big 3 will take his credits.

[IrishJohn]

My goal in this is to spend all of my time on this - just to get that piece of paper that says I completed a BA. That piece of paper seems to mean everything these days and I see the value in having it but just not in the 4 years spent on it.

Please tell me if it is possible for me to do this. I need to be kept balanced before I sign up for instacerts full thing and start taking a test every two week. haha.

Hi, Bobby, welcome! It's definitely doable. Take a look at the Degree Forum Wiki site like Jennifer suggested for lots on information on how to do so. Many of us here put that site together based on our own experiences and we can help further in answering any questions you might have. If you're looking to get a business degree, I'd suggest a BSBA from TESC. You can still finish a degree there without taking a class at TESC if you wish, although I'd suggest at least one in order to have a GPA when you are done (TESC doesn't assign grades to transfer credits as part of your GPA). CLEP, DSST, ECE, TECEP and UExcel are the main exam options, with Straighterline and Penn Foster being the most popular to round out any other credits you'll need. I'd also recommend Saylor.org for virtually free credits in Business Law, Business Communications and Political Science; FEMA for free credits to fill in any remaining Free Electives you might require; ALEKS for math credits.

First step after reviewing DF Wiki: send your transcripts from LBC to TESC for an evaluation. The cost is $75 and they take up to 6 weeks to review it, so I wouldn't wait too long. If you want to keep your options open for now on the other 2 of the "Big 3", invest the money by sending your transcripts to COSC and EC as well. You can make up your mind for sure later but doing this now will give you an idea of where you'll stand with all of them.

[cookderosa]

Hi, Bobby, welcome! It's definitely doable. Take a look at the Degree Forum Wiki site like Jennifer suggested for lots on information on how to do so. Many of us here put that site together based on our own experiences and we can help further in answering any questions you might have. If you're looking to get a business degree, I'd suggest a BSBA from TESC. You can still finish a degree there without taking a class at TESC if you wish, although I'd suggest at least one in order to have a GPA when you are done (TESC doesn't assign grades to transfer credits as part of your GPA). CLEP, DSST, ECE, TECEP and UExcel are the main exam options, with Straighterline and Penn Foster being the most popular to round out any other credits you'll need. I'd also recommend Saylor.org for virtually free credits in Business Law, Business Communications and Political Science; FEMA for free credits to fill in any remaining Free Electives you might require; ALEKS for math credits.

First step after reviewing DF Wiki: send your transcripts from LBC to TESC for an evaluation. The cost is $75 and they take up to 6 weeks to review it, so I wouldn't wait too long. If you want to keep your options open for now on the other 2 of the "Big 3", invest the money by sending your transcripts to COSC and EC as well. You can make up your mind for sure later but doing this now will give you an idea of where you'll stand with all of them.

And since mrs.b confirmed his bible credits will be humanities, it's a slam dunk. All three will evaluate the same way.

[clep3705]

You should look here for more information about specific tests: Free Clep Prep.com

You can obtain about 30 hours of business course credits by testing.

[bobbyweaver94]

Thanks for your help guys,

That is great that my Bible credits will transfer as electives.

The "big-3" I keep hearing about, how probable is it that they will take me as a student? My GPA is only a 2.3, but I do have good SAT scores and a year of college under my belt.....If I hear back from all of you that its a decent chance at all of them, I will be applying to all of them by the end of this week!

What happens if I get accepted?

I was looking at that degree forum and it is really, really awesome. I think the BSBA options from TESC is what it looks like I will be doing. Can someone explain the different kinds of BSBA offered at TESC? For an example I was looking at this link Sanantone's BSBA General Management - Degree Forum Wiki

How do I start??

Thank you so much everyone!
Bobby Weaver

[cookderosa]

Thanks for your help guys,

That is great that my Bible credits will transfer as electives.

The "big-3" I keep hearing about, how probable is it that they will take me as a student? My GPA is only a 2.3, but I do have good SAT scores and a year of college under my belt.....If I hear back from all of you that its a decent chance at all of them, I will be applying to all of them by the end of this week!

What happens if I get accepted?

I was looking at that degree forum and it is really, really awesome. I think the BSBA options from TESC is what it looks like I will be doing. Can someone explain the different kinds of BSBA offered at TESC? For an example I was looking at this link Sanantone's BSBA General Management - Degree Forum Wiki

How do I start??

Thank you so much everyone!
Bobby Weaver

hi Bobby,
Thomas Edison (and EC, and COSC) are open enrollment colleges, meaning you are not applying for admissions AGAINST others, you simply need to meet the entrance requirements. (like a community college)

Your bible credits are humanities, not electives (I believe) so you'll get them in your humanities gen ed required area first, then they'll overflow into gen ed electives, and finally into free electives.

Your GPA is not evaluated, each course is. So, for instance, lets say you have a course you didn't pass, then THAT course won't transfer- it doesn't matter about your GPA. They require you to be 21, but as has been mentioned here already, if you are younger than 21 you'll simply request a waiver (and you'll get it).

The application is really for the benefit of 2 things- first, it gets you an unofficial evaluation of your credit. This is important to verify what we've all said here, that your courses WILL transfer and how they will be applied. Second, it allows you 6 months to be at "applied" status. During that time, you can take exams like crazy- at any point you can enroll, but most people wait until the last minute so they don't have to pay their enrollment tuition. Once you pay, you'll hurry to finish inside that year if possible (it is). If not, you'll have to renew your enrollment tuition for a second year. That isn't the end of the world, but no reason paying additional cash that you don't have to! So, essentially, you'll apply, draw up a degree plan, and start!

Use the forum, we are all here to support each other and help!