Bachelor's to Master's Program at TESC

[Jima60]

This is my first post here but I have been reading this forum for about 9 months. I really need to thank all the members that post here, you have changed my life. I thought a degree was out of my reach. I’m 50 and hold a high level management position with no degree. The lack of a degree has always been a limiting factor in my career and frankly a little of an embarrassment to me. Because of the knowledge and experiences you all share a bachelor’s degree is now within sight. I have been able to accumulate 99 credits in 8 months. It’s been amazing!! Now I’m thinking master’s degree .

On to my question;

I’m currently enrolled in TESC and thinking of doing the Bachelor's to Master's Program. Like I said above I have 99 credits so far completed for my BSBA and it’s my understanding I can uses 9 of those bachelor’s credits towards my master’s at TESC.

My questions is does anyone have experience with this program that they could share?

Thank you again.

[PaintTheSunset]

I think it'd be less costly to just finish the TESC BSBA via testing, then to get a Masters elsewhere via a less expensive graduate program.

[UptonSinclair]

You should send an email to the TESC advisers to verify, but I believe it works the other way around. You may take 9 credits of graduate courses that will count toward your Bachelor's and Master's.

[cooperalex2004]

As UptonSinclair wrote it is the other way around. You get the chance to take nine graduate courses at TESC for the undergraduate rate.

They've got a few requirements on the site including a GPA of 3.0 and three years of relevant experience to the chosen degree. It sounds like you've got those covered (although I'd be curious if you've taken any graded courses to get their GPA and how that would work if you haven't).

Check out: Bachelor's to Master's Program

And then I'd schedule an appointment with academic advising or email the address at the bottom of the above link.

[cookderosa]

In essence, it allows you to double dip, which saves time but not money. Those 3 classes will be at graduate tuition rate, which is considerably more than the other options of price-shopping those credits elsewhere or even at TESC. So, if you're primary interest is in saving time, this is an interesting program (one I considered as well) for that reason. There are very few short-cuts in grad school to cut out time. The time factor will save you probably less than 6 months overall, so you have to determine what type of cost is acceptable to create that gain- if you're getting a fat raise at work as soon as your finish your masters....then this might be a great use of your time.

On the other hand, if you're borrowing this money to fund your masters and have no guarantee salary increase, then I'd say the time isn't really anything more than impatience. In that case, I'd choose my school based on cost, applicability to my career/future prospects, and exit requirement. Paying cash is the best option of course, and there are plenty grad school options that can be had for around $10,000 - certainly doable when split over 2 years. Finally exit requirements can really-really- matter, so check into them carefully.

We didn't discuss it, but entrance requirements can feel intimidating- and if you're anything like me, just already being set up over at TESC and knowing how it works without new applications was a seduction that wasn't lost on me, but there are so many grad schools that are scratching and clawing to get enrollment that it's really a non-issue. For every 1 program you won't get accepted into, there are 40 you could, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[cooperalex2004]

While I'd agree that their graduate rate is quite high (I'm one of the many that completed at TESC but then moved on for graduate work), I would point out that the three courses would be at the undergrad rate:
"The program gives undergraduate students who are serious about earning a master's degree a 9-credit head start toward that goal and enables them to earn 9 graduate credits at the undergraduate rate." (Bachelor's to Master's Program)

Not that I would recommend starting a graduate degree and leaving but it would seem you could transfer the credits out (checking with the new school for their number of allowed transfer credits as some don't accept any at the graduate level). That would be a good deal if you either wanted to complete a specific degree at TESC or found a good match for transfer.

In essence, it allows you to double dip, which saves time but not money. Those 3 classes will be at graduate tuition rate, which is considerably more than the other options of price-shopping those credits elsewhere or even at TESC. So, if you're primary interest is in saving time, this is an interesting program (one I considered as well) for that reason. There are very few short-cuts in grad school to cut out time. The time factor will save you probably less than 6 months overall, so you have to determine what type of cost is acceptable to create that gain- if you're getting a fat raise at work as soon as your finish your masters....then this might be a great use of your time.

On the other hand, if you're borrowing this money to fund your masters and have no guarantee salary increase, then I'd say the time isn't really anything more than impatience. In that case, I'd choose my school based on cost, applicability to my career/future prospects, and exit requirement. Paying cash is the best option of course, and there are plenty grad school options that can be had for around $10,000 - certainly doable when split over 2 years. Finally exit requirements can really-really- matter, so check into them carefully.

We didn't discuss it, but entrance requirements can feel intimidating- and if you're anything like me, just already being set up over at TESC and knowing how it works without new applications was a seduction that wasn't lost on me, but there are so many grad schools that are scratching and clawing to get enrollment that it's really a non-issue. For every 1 program you won't get accepted into, there are 40 you could, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[sanantone]

While I'd agree that their graduate rate is quite high (I'm one of the many that completed at TESC but then moved on for graduate work), I would point out that the three courses would be at the undergrad rate:
"The program gives undergraduate students who are serious about earning a master's degree a 9-credit head start toward that goal and enables them to earn 9 graduate credits at the undergraduate rate." (Bachelor's to Master's Program)

Not that I would recommend starting a graduate degree and leaving but it would seem you could transfer the credits out (checking with the new school for their number of allowed transfer credits as some don't accept any at the graduate level). That would be a good deal if you either wanted to complete a specific degree at TESC or found a good match for transfer.

Another thing to worry about when trying to transfer graduate credits is that some schools won't accept them if they've already been used for another degree.

[cookderosa]

valid points- transfer out can be a nightmare. The number of graduate programs that accept transfer credit can probably be counted on your fingers. I didn't realize the grad tuition was at undergrad rate, that's different than when I considered it. That's really nice!

[Jima60]

Thank you everyone for responding. I had to travel for work last week so I have been able to read your posts but didn't have time to respond.

Now that I understand the TESC Bachelor's to Master's program better here are my concerns, I really need a need a bachelor's degree as quickly as possible so as my organization transforms over the next 6 months my lack of a degree doesn't come up as an issues. If I combine the degrees I assuming that I could request the Bachelor's as soon as I complete the 9 masters credits. This will still take longer than just completing the Bachelor's degree by testing out the last few credits then take the PF strategy class (which seem to be the path most take).

So here is my question, if money is not as high as a concern as time, What would be the fastest masters program to look into?

Thanks again for your feedback.

[cookderosa]

Thank you everyone for responding. I had to travel for work last week so I have been able to read your posts but didn't have time to respond.

Now that I understand the TESC Bachelor's to Master's program better here are my concerns, I really need a need a bachelor's degree as quickly as possible so as my organization transforms over the next 6 months my lack of a degree doesn't come up as an issues. If I combine the degrees I assuming that I could request the Bachelor's as soon as I complete the 9 masters credits. This will still take longer than just completing the Bachelor's degree by testing out the last few credits then take the PF strategy class (which seem to be the path most take).

So here is my question, if money is not as high as a concern as time, What would be the fastest masters program to look into?

Thanks again for your feedback.

If you're willing to go outside of TESC for your master's, you can choose from several 'self paced' programs that allow a highly disciplined person to work as quickly as possible. These cost a bit more, but not terribly so. There are also some programs that are more accessible- for instance MBA programs are a dime a dozen, so you'll find many "1 year" MBA options out there. You usually have to choose between cheap or fast.
Rebel might have something to add here.