Best College For Quick Degree With What I've Got Already?

[BrennTaylor]

Howdy everyone,

I've been taking a number of courses from Sophia and following along with some other's written plans they've got up that worked well for them. I wanted to post a run down of what I have so far and get some advice on what others believe are the best next steps, and if I'm on the right track.

Really interested in what recommendations folks would have; I'm not opposed to getting a BSBA, and I'm not opposed to getting a CS degree. Either seems like a suitable pathway, and I'm most interested in finishing quickly. Any help building a real path or examples of others that fit in line with what I'm doing would be fantastic. 

I've been looking at UMPI and TESU the most so far, but I've read that Excelsior allows you to transfer in more credits than either. I'm not opposed to doing more certifications via Coursera or another source to boost those numbers up, as Sophia is a little slow going.

Here is what I've been using as a guideline so far: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQB...340f80ed57

Thank y'all in advance!

Your Location: Texas, USA


Your Age: 24

What kind of degree do you want?: BS in Business Admin, BS in CS

Current Regional Accredited Credits:

Lone Star College University, Total Credits: 6

EDUC 1300: 3 Credits - A

HIST 1301: 3 Credits - C

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits:

Sophia.Org: 26

Intro To IT Technology: 3 Credits
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS: 3 Credits

WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION: 3 Credits

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: 3 Credits

INTRODUCTION TO WEB DEVELOPMENT: 3 Credits

U.S. HISTORY I: 3 Credits

THE ESSENTIALS OF MANAGING CONFLICT: 1 Credit

DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TEAMS: 1 Credit

INTRO TO BUSINESS: 3 Credits
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: 3 Credits


Any certifications or military experience?

Coursera ACE Accredited Certifications: 18


AWIT Real-World Cloud Product Management: 6 Credits
Upper-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Product Management

Upper-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Cloud Computing Fundamentals



Google Data Analytics: 12 Credits

Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to databases

Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to SQL Programming

Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to systems analysis

Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to R programming

Grand Total: 50 Credits

[bjcheung77]

@BrennTaylor, Welcome to the board, that's a pretty detailed post with good info... You're pretty close to providing the group an overview of your scenario, it's still missing some info on the template and last post addendum right above your new thread in the sticky here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Having said that, you're still pretty much up in the air in deciding which one is best for you.  I'll add to your current list, TAMUC BAAS Organizational Leadership.  Since you're in state, it'll be my first option, then you can decide on Excelsior, TESU, UMPI as back up options.  3 things to work on, certs, degree, experience, you should get a mix/match of the three...

[rachel83az]

Since you're in Texas, have you checked out TAMUC's competency-based degrees? For Texas residents, they're about half the price of UMPI and would definitely be cheaper than Excelsior. We've had several students get a TAMUC degree, so we have a good idea of what to expect. It all boils down to what kind of degree you want.

TAMUC's most popular degree on this forum would probably be the BAAS in Org. Leadership. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Te...y-Commerce Not exactly a BSBA, but close. They allow 90 credits in transfer. These can come from Sophia and (IIRC) Study.com. The required TAMUC credits are all UL (I think), with the exception of Texas Government if you don't already have that one. This one seems to take 3 or 4 sessions, because it's not really a process optimized for speed.

Excelsior only has a BSBA, no Comp Sci. They allow 113 credits in transfer, but you need 30 UL credits and each transcript evaluation after the first go is $300.

UMPI has BABA degrees, which are essentially the same as BSBA degrees. They allow 90 credits in transfer, but most students here are able to complete a UMPI degree in just 2 or 3 sessions of 8 weeks. Most of the 30 required UMPI credits will be UL, but not all of them.

TESU has BSBA degrees and a Comp Sci degree. They allow up to 114 credits in transfer. 30 total credits must be RA. You already have 6, plus TESU's capstone and cornerstone, which leaves 18 RA credits. There are a bunch of different ways to meet the RA credit requirement. If you only take the minimum classes (capstone + cornerstone) at TESU, you will need to pay the residency waiver fee of about $3200.

[BrennTaylor]

Hi @bjcheung77, I have changed it to fit that schema. Thank you very much for the advice and recommendations.

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Since you're in Texas, have you checked out TAMUC's competency-based degrees? For Texas residents, they're about half the price of UMPI and would definitely be cheaper than Excelsior. We've had several students get a TAMUC degree, so we have a good idea of what to expect. It all boils down to what kind of degree you want.

TAMUC's most popular degree on this forum would probably be the BAAS in Org. Leadership. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Te...y-Commerce Not exactly a BSBA, but close. They allow 90 credits in transfer. These can come from Sophia and (IIRC) Study.com. The required TAMUC credits are all UL (I think), with the exception of Texas Government if you don't already have that one. This one seems to take 3 or 4 sessions, because it's not really a process optimized for speed.

Wow, I hadn't even heard of this. I will check this out right now, thank you @rachel83az

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Since you're in Texas, have you checked out TAMUC's competency-based degrees? For Texas residents, they're about half the price of UMPI and would definitely be cheaper than Excelsior. We've had several students get a TAMUC degree, so we have a good idea of what to expect. It all boils down to what kind of degree you want.

TAMUC's most popular degree on this forum would probably be the BAAS in Org. Leadership. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Te...y-Commerce Not exactly a BSBA, but close. They allow 90 credits in transfer. These can come from Sophia and (IIRC) Study.com. The required TAMUC credits are all UL (I think), with the exception of Texas Government if you don't already have that one. This one seems to take 3 or 4 sessions, because it's not really a process optimized for speed.

Excelsior only has a BSBA, no Comp Sci. They allow 113 credits in transfer, but you need 30 UL credits and each transcript evaluation after the first go is $300.

UMPI has BABA degrees, which are essentially the same as BSBA degrees. They allow 90 credits in transfer, but most students here are able to complete a UMPI degree in just 2 or 3 sessions of 8 weeks. Most of the 30 required UMPI credits will be UL, but not all of them.

TESU has BSBA degrees and a Comp Sci degree. They allow up to 114 credits in transfer. 30 total credits must be RA. You already have 6, plus TESU's capstone and cornerstone, which leaves 18 RA credits. There are a bunch of different ways to meet the RA credit requirement. If you only take the minimum classes (capstone + cornerstone) at TESU, you will need to pay the residency waiver fee of about $3200.

It sounds like UMPI might be the most optimal option for me overall. I'm planning on pursuing a masters, so that undergrad option may make the most sense in terms of time.

[rachel83az]

If you're in favor of UMPI, check out the degree plans on the wiki: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI You'll want to fill out the GEC and electives as much as possible with Sophia. You will especially need Spanish I and Human Biology + Human Biology Lab. If you don't have those, you'll get slowed waaaaay down.

Once you know which BABA you'll be pursuing, I suggest creating a custom spreadsheet to plan out what will be taken at UMPI and what you'll take from Sophia (and possibly Study.com).

[allvia]

Being you're in TX I second the TAMUC recommendation, such an amazing deal for those in TX. Here the most relevant and complete thread (that I know of) by one of the forum members here who completed it - https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-from-ZERO

[davewill]

The career paths for BSBA and CS are quite different, so I think you should really give some serious thought to which way you want to go. Money-wise, good software engineers do quite well. Business majors' compensation ranges from mediocre to spectacularly good, depending on your own talents and ambition. To me, it comes down to what you would really enjoy doing. Engineers who don't have passion have a tough time. Business majors who don't really like business can end up not really using their degree.

IMNSHO, these considerations should come ahead of the exact price or how quickly you can complete the degree. The CS degree will cost you a bit more. Whether it takes you longer will depend on how fast you can do the coursework in each instance.

[dfrecore]

The career paths for BSBA and CS are quite different, so I think you should really give some serious thought to which way you want to go. Money-wise, good software engineers do quite well. Business majors' compensation ranges from mediocre to spectacularly good, depending on your own talents and ambition. To me, it comes down to what you would really enjoy doing. Engineers who don't have passion have a tough time. Business majors who don't really like business can end up not really using their degree.

IMNSHO, these considerations should come ahead of the exact price or how quickly you can complete the degree. The CS degree will cost you a bit more. Whether it takes you longer will depend on how fast you can do the coursework in each instance.

100% agreed.  The degree is the important thing to focus on here.

A few things to keep in mind:
1) while people are enthusiastically offering up TAMUC, if a company wants a degree in business, they may not accept a BAAS in Organizational Leadership.  So I would think long and hard before doing that degree, as the name-recognition is probably offset by the degree type.  Just something to think about, especially at your young age (getting a BAAS at age 40 with 17 years of experience is different than getting one at 24 when you're just starting out and don't have much experience, so the degree is more important).
2) Only TESU has both a CS and BSBA, so you could get both degrees at the same time (and have some overlapping courses in the majors killing 2 birds with 1 stone); UMPI and Excelsior both only have business degrees.
3) A CS degree is worth far more than a business degree in almost every instance.  Jobs are just going to pay more.

[bjcheung77]

@BrennTaylor, there are so many options to select from, you can decide for yourself which option would be best suited for you. As long as you're working toward that goal of getting the degree of your choice, it won't really matter which degree you select. Just a note, you don't need a BSBA to get into MBA or a CS degree to get into an applied Comp Sci Masters, some like to specialize in something other than Business Admin and use their certs, knowledge, experience mix to contribute to the team even if they go for say an organizational leadership degree versus a business admin one...

[BrennTaylor]

Your Location: Texas, USA
Your Age: 24
What kind of degree do you want?: BAAS Org Leadership/Other Options
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 6

Lone Star College Total Credits: 6

EDUC 1300: 3 Credits
HIST 1301: 3 Credits

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 86

Sophia: 68

Intro To IT Technology: 3 Credits
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS: 3 Credits
MACROECONOMICS
ART HISTORY 1
ART HISTORY 2
COLLEGE ALGEBRA
U.S. GOVERNMENT
SOCIOLOGY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS LAW
WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION: 3 Credits
HUMAN BIOLOGY
ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
MICROECONOMICS
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: 3 Credits
INTRODUCTION TO WEB DEVELOPMENT: 3 Credits
US HISTORY 2
U.S. HISTORY I: 3 Credits
THE ESSENTIALS OF MANAGING CONFLICT: 1 Credit
DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TEAMS: 1 Credit
INTRO TO BUSINESS: 3 Credits
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: 3 Credits

Coursera: 18

AWIT Real-World Cloud Product Management: 6 Credits
Upper-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Product Management
Upper-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Cloud Computing Fundamentals

Google Data Analytics: 12 Credits
Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to databases
Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to SQL Programming
Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to systems analysis
Lower-Division Baccalaureate: 3 Introduction to R programming


Total: 92




Hi everyone! A while back I had posted about potential degrees and options, and foolishly bucked the advice of a couple of members who recommended what a great deal TAMUC would be as a Texas resident. 

Well, I have returned enlightened, as well as full of credits! There are 4 classes I'm waiting on Sophia to grade touchstones for, and then I will have the full amount of credits listed here. Considering I busted my butt on them, I'm certain they'll get me over the finish line for all 4 and I'll be ready to transfer and get this knocked out.

TAMUC is a no-brainer as far as cost goes- that much I can see now. Additionally, it's hard to beat an A&M school degree in Texas. It goes a long way.

My questions are:


Am I pretty much locked into getting a BAAS in Organizational Leadership? I haven't applied yet as I'm waiting on those final Sophia grades, but I wouldn't mind seeing some other options if other options exist. 


Is it feasible to finish the 30 credits neccessary to get to that 120 and graduate in two sessions? To graduate before December would be a dream. 


Is it fairly likely, or totally unlikely, that they will accept my Coursera course credits? They are ACE accredited and fall within the timeframe of ACE accreditation for the courses as well. 




Thank you for all the help so far- I'm in the home stretch now (if they take my Coursera courses!). 

Side note- I know I don't have any english comp courses here. They are just prohibitively difficult and time intensive with Sophia, and not worth the long touchstone grading wait time.