Business degree through testing?

[Lailalopez81]

Hello! I am looking to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in business. I was never able to afford to go to college, so learning about possibly earning a degree through examinations had me eager to do some research. I stumbled across this link: http://bain4weeks.com/1stYearBus.html but I believe the information is outdated. There are a lot of threads on here, and it is difficult to sift through the information, so I was wondering if I could ask for advice here.

I have no college credit as I never attended college. I am looking for the cheapest and easiest way to get my degree through examinations. I have learned about Charter Oak State College and Excelsior College, but I am not entirely certain of which exams I should register and study for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[rachel83az]

Welcome! Yes, that link is extremely outdated. A lot of things have changed! The most updated/relevant information is on the wiki here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Degree_Forum_Wiki It's still not 100% complete, but it should be easier than trying to sort through everything on the forum by yourself.

For a business degree, I would highly recommend UMPI: https://online.umpi.edu/programs/ They have business degrees in Accounting, Management/Leadership, or Project Management. You would start by registering for Sophia.org and taking everything but the English Comp classes before applying to UMPI. Sophia.org is $79/mo. and you should be able to complete everything in 3-4 months when not taking English Comp.

Charter Oak and Thomas Edison are options if you specifically want/need a BSBA as opposed to a BA in Business, but they require 24 RA (credits from actual schools) credits. It's possible to get these RA credits for $1600 or less but it is still something to consider.

I'm not sure that it is possible to get a business degree at Excelsior any longer without taking multiple (relatively expensive, compared to other means) classes through them.

Of these, UMPI would almost certainly be the most affordable option. I think COSC would be the next most affordable. Whether TESU or Excelsior would be the most expensive would depend on whether or not it is possible to transfer all/most credits in for an Excelsior degree.

For available concentrations:

• UMPI: As mentioned, Accounting, Management/Leadership, Project Management
  
• COSC: I think it's possible to get Human Resources, Organizational Management, and General Business. They have more concentrations but not all of them are possible through alternate means.
  
• TESU: Accounting, Finance, Computer Information Systems, Human Resources Management (I think), General Management, Marketing
  
• EC: Again, not entirely sure that you can get this through completely alternate means. However, could be worth it if you really want/need Logistics (the only concentration that isn't available elsewhere). 
  

So... which Business degree do you actually want?

[natshar]

Welcome! Yes, that link is extremely outdated. A lot of things have changed! The most updated/relevant information is on the wiki here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Degree_Forum_Wiki It's still not 100% complete, but it should be easier than trying to sort through everything on the forum by yourself.

For a business degree, I would highly recommend UMPI: https://online.umpi.edu/programs/ They have business degrees in Accounting, Management/Leadership, or Project Management. You would start by registering for Sophia.org and taking everything but the English Comp classes before applying to UMPI. Sophia.org is $79/mo. and you should be able to complete everything in 3-4 months when not taking English Comp.

Charter Oak and Thomas Edison are options if you specifically want/need a BSBA as opposed to a BA in Business, but they require 24 RA (credits from actual schools) credits. It's possible to get these RA credits for $1600 or less but it is still something to consider.

I'm not sure that it is possible to get a business degree at Excelsior any longer without taking multiple (relatively expensive, compared to other means) classes through them.

Of these, UMPI would almost certainly be the most affordable option. I think COSC would be the next most affordable. Whether TESU or Excelsior would be the most expensive would depend on whether or not it is possible to transfer all/most credits in for an Excelsior degree.

For available concentrations:

• UMPI: As mentioned, Accounting, Management/Leadership, Project Management
  
• COSC: I think it's possible to get Human Resources, Organizational Management, and General Business. They have more concentrations but not all of them are possible through alternate means.
  
• TESU: Accounting, Finance, Computer Information Systems, Human Resources Management (I think), General Management, Marketing
  
• EC: Again, not entirely sure that you can get this through completely alternate means. However, could be worth it if you really want/need Logistics (the only concentration that isn't available elsewhere). 
  

So... which Business degree do you actually want?

Surprised you didn't mention WGU they also could be a good option. You can transfer in 90 credits. Wgu is only like 4k for 6 months so cheaper than umpi possibly.

[rachel83az]

Surprised you didn't mention WGU they also could be a good option. You can transfer in 90 credits. Wgu is only like 4k for 6 months so cheaper than umpi possibly.

I forgot about WGU, to be honest. They are a good option for some people but they aren't that much cheaper than UMPI. Plus, if it takes you 8 months to finish your degree, you're paying about $6700 at WGU vs. $5600 at UMPI. But there are other reasons why WGU might not be a good fit:

• No electives. This results in
  
• Less ability to transfer credits
  
• No international students, unless you're US military
  

[natshar]

Price comparison:

WGU: 3335 for 6 months
UMPI: 1400 for 2 months

[ss20ts]

Hello! I am looking to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in business. I was never able to afford to go to college, so learning about possibly earning a degree through examinations had me eager to do some research. I stumbled across this link: http://bain4weeks.com/1stYearBus.html but I believe the information is outdated. There are a lot of threads on here, and it is difficult to sift through the information, so I was wondering if I could ask for advice here.

I have no college credit as I never attended college. I am looking for the cheapest and easiest way to get my degree through examinations. I have learned about Charter Oak State College and Excelsior College, but I am not entirely certain of which exams I should register and study for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Looking at that website is kind of funny. It's soooo old and outdated. The last copyright on it is from 2004. DANTES don't exist anymore. Not sure what ECE was....EXCEl exams maybe? Honestly this plan is soooo unrealistic! There is no way you could possibly study those subjects and pass 3 exams in a day. Not possible. You would already need to know topic really well. 

In many areas of the country the CLEP testing centers have been closed since last March. Your best bet is to research degree programs. The most common are Excelsior College (EC), Thomas Edison State University (TESU), and Charter Oak State College (COSC). There's also WGU and UMPI. 

Before deciding on taking exams for many of your course, I would find out if CLEP testing centers are even open near you. I would start with 1 and see how you do. Not everyone is testing material. There are many other paths such as taking courses through Sophia and Study.com. I would look at the business degrees at the schools listed above and see which one you are most interested in as a starting point. WGU and UMPi are competency based programs so you'll move through their courses at your own pace. You won't be tied to a semester schedule. There's a ton of info on this forum, but definitely ask questions to your specific needs.

[davewill]

It's amazing how many people found their way here starting with that old website. While the info is badly out of date, the story is still compelling, I think.

[rachel83az]

Looking at that website is kind of funny. It's soooo old and outdated. The last copyright on it is from 2004. DANTES don't exist anymore. Not sure what ECE was....EXCEl exams maybe? Honestly this plan is soooo unrealistic! There is no way you could possibly study those subjects and pass 3 exams in a day. Not possible. You would already need to know topic really well. 

Yeah, ECE = Excelsior College Examinations. I don't know when the name change occurred. But I do remember stumbling on that site way back when and being enamored with the whole idea. Not with the actual speed but with the relative ease.

To some extent, I do think it would have been possible to pass multiple CLEP exams in one day. If you view CLEP exams as the final exam for your self-study courses, it's not unusual to have actual college course final exams be scheduled back-to-back. But I do agree that you wouldn't be able to keep up that momentum. Especially for the GRE study that would've been necessary to get the UL credits.

By the by, I do think it's a bit of a shame that schools no longer grant credits for passing a GRE subject exam. But we have many more degree options these days, so I guess the trade-off has been worth it.

[StoicJ]

I stumbled across this link: http://bain4weeks.com/1stYearBus.html but I believe the information is outdated. There are a lot of threads on here, and it is difficult to sift through the information, so I was wondering if I could ask for advice here.

  I stumbled across that one, too. It was outdated when I found it, but I did some research and discovered that I could still, at that time, complete a biz admin degree through Excelsior just through testing, and for right around $3000. That wasn't so long ago, but man how things have changed!

Basically, the days of a business degree through testing are gone for now. There are still a HOST of good options out there, though. Take some time and invest some serious thought into what you hope to gain from your schooling, and use that to tailor a plan.

Best of luck on your journey!

[bjcheung77]

Nostalgia! - I started my journey a couple of years before the BAin4weeks using the Bears Guides, reading as much info I had access to at the library when I was in my final years of high school, I used those guides as stepping stones before I found the BAin4weeks. I recall someone studying for months and then taking a flight from Asia to the USA and completed 89 credits in 4 days of exams!

Technically, for 3/4ths of the degree, using the BAin4weeks still work for the Big 3 as you can get 90 credits through CLEP, and if you needed the UL to round out the degree, the TECEP/UEXCELS will get you to 113/114. You just need to do the cornerstone/capstone at the school, be it COSC/EC or TESU.

However, with so many ACE providers and the new rules at COSC/TESU, you need at least 24 RA credits at a community college or 4 year college/university, (plus cornerstone/capstone) and 30 RA credits total to complete the degree, it may be a good option to check out competency based degrees from Brandman (soon to be UMass Global), UMPI, WGU and the like as they take up to 90 ACE credits for transfer.