BA in Computer Science - SNHU

[lsantil]

Hi everyone! 

I started working on Sophia courses last month so that I could transfer as many credits as possible to UMPI. My goal was to get a BLS Minor in Management as fast as possible; however, my goal has been to attend Georgia Tech, for their Online Master of Science in Analytics program. I recently took some time off from studying and I started having thoughts that this may not be the best bachelor degree to get into GT's OMSA program. I want to give myself the best chance possible to get accepted and I think the SNHU BA in Computer Science is a good option for me.

I have 4 years of Management experience which is why I had selected the UMPI degree initially but I would like to change careers to Data Science. I have previously taken a Data Analysis coding boot camp, but I didn't get to use my skills so I lost the SQL and Tableau skills; additionally, I do not know Python or any other coding language, so I am essentially starting at 0. For these reasons, I think SNHU will be a good fit for me instead of WGU. Also, when I looked into TESU, I saw Oregon State University listed on many courses and I do not understand how to get these credits so I kind of ruled it out but if this could be explained that would be great. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ience_Plan

I understand that there were issues a couple of months ago to get Sophia courses translated, which caused there to be multiple plans to be created on the wiki, but I'm wondering if there has been any clarifications regarding which should be the plan that should be followed here https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/SN...egree_Plan

I would like to transfer in 90 credits into SNHU, and I currently have the following credits:

ASU: 
First Year Composition - 3 credits

Maricopa County Community Colleges:
GBS 151 Introduction to Business 3.000 A
HIS 109 Mexican Amer Hist & Cult 3.000 A
CIS 105 Survey Computer Info Systems 3.000 C
Computer/Statistics/Quantitative Applications [CS]

Sophia:
US Government
Visual Communications
U.S. History I
Macroeconomics
Art History I
Spanish I
IT Career Exploration
Microeconomics
Developing Effective Teams
Introduction to Ethics
Environmental Science
Project Management
Introduction to Web Development
Spanish II
Art History II
Conflict Resolution
U.S. History II
Ancient Greek Philosophers
Principles of Management

I appreciate any help and guidance!

[bjcheung77]

@lsantil, Welcome to the board, you've got a very good introduction post with 'some' details that we look for, having said that, you're missing the bulk of the addendum/template. Don't edit the post, but create a reply with the info on the template and addendum... Just a few minutes ago, I mentioned the same thing to this new member: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid407116

[lsantil]

Sorry, I was not aware that was required or that there was a template. Thank you for that clarification. Please let me know if there is anything else that may be helpful to me or to anyone who could help.


Location: Durango Mexico, with Arizona US address
Age: 35
What kind of degree do you want?: [b]Computer Science[/b]
Current Regional Accredited Credits:


Arizona State University Credits: 3
- ENG 101-M First-Year Composition,  3.000, C 

South Mountain Community College: 9
- CIS 105 Survey Computer Info Systems, 3, C
- GBS 151 Introduction to Business, 3, A
- HIS 109 Mexican Amer Hist & Cult, 3, A

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits:

Sophia - US Government - 3
Sophia - Visual Communications - 3
Sophia - U.S. History I - 3
Sophia - Macroeconomics - 3
Sophia - Art History I - 3
Sophia - Spanish I - 3
Sophia - IT Career Exploration - 1
Sophia - Microeconomics - 3
Sophia - Developing Effective Teams - 1
Sophia - Introduction to Ethics - 3
Sophia - Environmental Science - 3
Sophia - Project Management - 3
Sophia - Introduction to Web Development - 3
Sophia - Spanish II - 3
Sophia - Art History II - 3
Sophia - Conflict Resolution - 3
Sophia - U.S. History II - 3
Sophia - Ancient Greek Philosophers - 3
Sophia - Principles of Management - 3

Any certifications or military experience? In Progress - Google Data Analytics Certificate

[rachel83az]

For TESU, Oregon State University is not required. Those are simply options if you want/need more UL credit. There are easier, faster, and cheaper ways to get UL credit for a TESU BACS.

A TESU Bachelor's degree requires 15 UL credits + capstone for a total of 18 credits. For the BACS, the easiest would probably be:

• Computer Science 306: Computer Architecture @ Study.com (degree requirement)
  
• Computer Science 302: Systems Analysis & Design @ Study.com
  
• Computer Science 303: Database Management @ Study.com
  
• Business 303: Management Information Systems @ Study.com
  
• If doing the 15-credit flat-rate term, take Software Engineering from TESU. If not doing the 15-credit flat-rate term, do one of:
  • CS 302: Software Engineering @ Saylor
    
  • Network Technology TECEP (kind of difficult, so not necessarily recommended)
    
  • SAS Advanced Programmer Certificate @ Coursera - This will come in as STA-399 Special Topics in Statistics and be placed into your additional AOS electives. But it will still count toward your UL credit requirements. Because you want to pivot to data science anyway, I believe this certificate would be the most relevant option for your BACS.
    

Aside from Computer Architecture, you can mix & match the above list, too. As long as you have at least 15 relevant UL credits, TESU doesn't care exactly what classes you're taking. Also, this class from ASU might or might not count as UL credit for the BACS at TESU; you'd need to get it pre-planned to confirm: https://ea.asu.edu/courses/cloud-architecture-cis-394/

[bjcheung77]

@lsantil, Great template update, however, it's missing the more important addendum! The addendum has requests of info regarding your budget, commitment, study habits, etc. It paints a bigger overview and picture of your scenario, with more info, we can help you much better as we can get a overall idea of your situation... Is there a reason for SNHU and not TESU? Technically, you can get the TESU degree for roughly half the price of the SNHU option, it's also coming from a public/state vs a non-profit/private institution that is somewhat exclusively online...

[lsantil]

Thank you for the additional information. I missed the addendum being in a different message, and here is the additional information.

Budget: I would like to keep expenses to about $10k. Cheap is okay, but once the basic courses are done, I'd like to have more time allocated to the more complex CS subjects. Being dedicated to about a course a month seems great.  
Commitments: I currently work full-time and occasionally have a spike in work causing me to work more than 40 hours. I can usually plan things out a couple of weeks in advance. I can study in the morning a few times a week, evenings and weekends.
Dedicated time to study: I prefer to stay between 15-25 hours a week. During the week I can do 2 hours in the morning before work, 4 hours after work, and 16 hours over the weekend; however, I'd aim to keep the time to about 20 hours a week. I'll usually study a couple of mornings and I adjust my study schedule based on how well I am doing so I can have either Saturday or Sunday off.
Timeline: Maximizing my transfer credits is the priority. Then, finish the remaining courses as fast as possible as long as I can take a bit of time per course so I am retaining most of the foundational information.  I would like to finish within 1-1.5 years (12-18 months)
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: No.

[bjcheung77]

@lsantil, Great addendum update, now we know your budget fits both TESU, SNHU, and probably a few others. My recommendation is very similar to what Rachel83AZ mentioned, in addition to the BACS, a BS-CIS (Business), you already have 12 RA credits, you can take the 15 credit residency for the first flat rate term, and then take a second term for the two capstones to finish a double degree.

Even though there has been a change to the BS-CIS (Study.com BUS-309 Digital Marketing & Advertising being downgraded to a lower level course), you still have options to keep the dual degree for the price of one. This will get you two degrees for under 10K and at the same time, roughly 9-12 months going at your own speed by using mainly transferring a max of credits using ACE/NCCRS.

[rachel83az]

SNHU would be a bit more than your budget. Whether you opt for the second degree or just the BACS, TESU would be a bit more than half. Cheaper if you're able to do the flat-rate 15-credit term, but still cheaper than SNHU if you're not.

TESU's MyPrigress tool isn't, IMO, as intuitive or as easy to use as the previous degree planner, but I would still recommend that you at least apply to TESU, pay for (but do not take) the Medical Terminology TECEP, and send in all your transcripts. This will allow you to see exactly what TESU expects and how close you are to the BACS. Right now, you have mostly gen eds, but it'll still be useful and help make the wiki plans make more sense. If you decide to attend SNHU anyway, there's no problem with switching schools like that.

[bjcheung77]

That's right, you should get the TESU BACS and add the BS CIS, you don't have to finish the BS-CIS but it'll be there for you in case you want to get it on the way. It basically requires 5 extra courses over the BACS, if you have the energy, money, time to finish it in the 9-12 months I mentioned, then you're good to go, otherwise you can finish with just the BACS. Since it's within your 12-18 month range, why not get it for free, you can add associates/certs too if you wanted... by following the WIKI examples...

[origamishuttle]

If your goal is the GT OMSA, there are two more points to consider:

1. I'm not sure, but it's possible that your Arizona address could allow you to enroll at WGU? Their Data Analytics degree would fit your budget if you're able to finish in less than a year: https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees/da...ogram.html Also, it's free to apply.
   
2. Three of the GT OMSA courses are available through an edX micromasters: https://www.edx.org/masters/micromasters...nd-methods Doing well in the micromasters should almost guarantee acceptance to the OMSA, even if your bachelor's degree is from UMPI. By the way, it may be possible to add a minor in Computer Science at UMPI: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ity-Minors