Best B.A. degrees to test out of @ TESC?

[Thor]

Hello--

I've been searching through these forums for a while and just wanted some recommendations. I'm completing a B.A. via TESC and have about 30 credits left and I could potentially have a B.A. degree.

I'm curious as to which B.A.s are the easiest/quickest/most affordable to test out of, take ALEKS, or SL out of other than Liberal Studies/Humanities/Social Sciences, as I am aware that these seem to be the most obvious options.

My main concern is UL credits. I believe, at this point, I'll need all 18 UL credits and that's the one thing that won't be flexible for me. I'm trying to avoid taking 12-week courses if possible....or keep them at an absolute bare minimum.

I'm guessing Psychology, History, English....? Some degrees I haven't read too much about, on here, seem to be Communications, International Studies and Labor Studies.

Liberal Studies/Social Sciences/Humanities aren't out of the question, I just wanted to see if these were the only options. My goal is to complete my B.A. with as few headaches as possible. Hoping I won't have to jump all over the places to fill in classes...crossing my fingers for streamlining the process.

-Thor

[burbuja0512]

Hi there and welcome!

Yes, you've guessed correctly. Part of the key to understanding which degrees are possible to test out of is to look at the list of available tests, CLEP/DSST/ECE/TECEP, in addition to other ACE approved options.

There are tons of people here that have Liberal Arts degree plans. I have also seen psych, individualized studies, history, and business. I completed my BS at COSC with a concentration in Bus Admin, but I have seen TESC plans on here as well.

What is your goal? Do you just need a degree, any degree, as soon as possible? Would any specific area suit your skill sets or your interests more? Do you have graduate plans? Part of the reason I chose a Bus Admin major was because I had a list of prerequisites that I had to fulfill for my dream MBA program. By the time I finished those, I was halfway through the Bus degree. You don't want to rush through a degree only to find out that you still need to take 5 classes in order to be accepted to your ideal masters.

[Thor]

Hi there and welcome!

Yes, you've guessed correctly. Part of the key to understanding which degrees are possible to test out of is to look at the list of available tests, CLEP/DSST/ECE/TECEP, in addition to other ACE approved options.

There are tons of people here that have Liberal Arts degree plans. I have also seen psych, individualized studies, history, and business. I completed my BS at COSC with a concentration in Bus Admin, but I have seen TESC plans on here as well.

What is your goal? Do you just need a degree, any degree, as soon as possible? Would any specific area suit your skill sets or your interests more? Do you have graduate plans? Part of the reason I chose a Bus Admin major was because I had a list of prerequisites that I had to fulfill for my dream MBA program. By the time I finished those, I was halfway through the Bus degree. You don't want to rush through a degree only to find out that you still need to take 5 classes in order to be accepted to your ideal masters.

Hi and thanks.

Actually still up in the air about it, but my main concern was whether or not one can complete the UL requirements for a B.A. such as Psychology, Labor Studies, Communications, etc.

I just don't know which tests, ALEKS, SL, Dantes would cover UL requirements for those 3, for example. I gave them as examples, but I'm open to other B.A. degrees as well. Probably would want to shy away from Math or Economics, however. lol

Not sure what I will do in regards to a Masters, etc. At this point, I would say yes--I just need a degree. Really would like to see what's out there other than Liberal Arts/Studies. That's all .

Thanks for replying. By your signature it looks like you sped through your BSBA. Great job. I have only 30 credits, so I hope I can be a college grad soon as well.

[burbuja0512]

So.. I am not a TESC expert at all, but I have put together the following degree plan for my DH, who is majoring in psych. This should fulfill your UL credits:


Area of Study - with 18 at UL
A. General Psych II LL

B. Experimental Psych: UL
ECE Research Methods in Psych

C. Statistics: LL
ALEKS Stats

D. Psych Electives:
DSST Organizational Behavior UL
DSST Substance Abuse UL
ECE Psych of Adulthood & Aging UL
ECE Abnormal Psychology UL
Fundamentals of Counseling CLEP LL
ECE Social Psychology UL
General Psych I LL


The only problem with this plan is that my DH already has a general Psych I and Psych II class taken so he does not need to take a test for this. I'm not sure how to test out of psych II.

[Thor]

So.. I am not a TESC expert at all, but I have put together the following degree plan for my DH, who is majoring in psych. This should fulfill your UL credits:


Area of Study - with 18 at UL
A. General Psych II LL

B. Experimental Psych: UL
ECE Research Methods in Psych

C. Statistics: LL
ALEKS Stats

D. Psych Electives:
DSST Organizational Behavior UL
DSST Substance Abuse UL
ECE Psych of Adulthood & Aging UL
ECE Abnormal Psychology UL
Fundamentals of Counseling CLEP LL
ECE Social Psychology UL
General Psych I LL


The only problem with this plan is that my DH already has a general Psych I and Psych II class taken so he does not need to take a test for this. I'm not sure how to test out of psych II.

Thanks a lot. Is your husband completing a Psych degree via TESC?

[Yenisei]

It's possible to test out of Psychology, History and General Management (Business). You can almost test out of English if you are willing to take some Ohio University exams (this is also the case for History) which are more difficult than CLEP and DSST exams.

Math and Economics definitely cannot be tested out of.

[Thor]

It's possible to test out of Psychology, History and General Management (Business). You can almost test out of English if you are willing to take some Ohio University exams (this is also the case for History) which are more difficult than CLEP and DSST exams.

Math and Economics definitely cannot be tested out of.

Thanks Yenisei,

Do you know if above tests, for Pysch, are correct for TESC? Very nice of burbujas to give me that list. Are you a TESC student?

It looks like I'll be going for Psychology if I can test out of it completely.
I also noticed this forum sells a product called InstantCert. Does anyone have any Psych experience with that?

I recently bought a CLEP book that was suggested to me by a good friend of mine, but I would say it's more of a general book with all of the subjects.

[Lindagerr]

If you go to this web site and scroll down it tells you what course equivalency TESC puts on what exams. Undergraduate Ways to Earn Credit - Thomas Edison State College - acalog ACMSâ„¢
If you do a search on this site you might also find where SandraNC broke everything down and added some course equivalencies for ECE exams.

[Thor]

Incredibly helpful Linda!

So if I'm right, it doesn't really like I'm going to be able to get away with a Psych degree by testing out completely. The UL is what has me in a bind.

I also looked at TESC BA Psych and this was listed at bottom:

Thomas Edison State College | BA in Psychology Credit Distribution

Note 1:
The following TECEP® exam, DANTES exam or Guided Study course may be used as an elective in the psychology area of study.

SOS-301-TE Alcohol Abuse: Fundamental Facts (3 credits)
SOS-303-TE Substance Abuse: Fundamental Facts (3 credits)
SOS-305-DE Drug and Alcohol Abuse (3 credits)
SOS-304-GS Drugs and Society (3 credits)


That's 12 credits of UL and I could do this other one for a total of 15:
PSY-361-DE Organizational Behavior (3)**

Now I just need another 3 credit UL & I'm all set. It looks like I'll be going for a Psychology degree ...unless there are other BAs out there that I can almost completely test out of. I wouldn't mind taking 1-2 classes, but would prefer the flexibility.

[Lindagerr]

The Excelsior exams Burbuja suggested could fill out your plan. TESC usually takes the Excelsior course number if not appeal it. I did that and got the 6 upper level credits. They are more expensive then CLEP/DSST but they are still not as expensive as a class.