COSC vs Excelsior... eventual plan for MSW

[studyingfortests]

Hi, all.

I've been reading through the forums over the past few days and absorbing a lot of awesome helpful info. I've applied and am going through the process of having my transcripts evaluated at COSC and Excelsior. Planning eventually on going for an MSW once I complete my undergrad. I'm confused about a few things, and hoping some kind folks can help clarify for me.

The intended degree is either BA/BS in liberal studies, with a human services concentration, or the BS in Social Sciences with the Human Services concentration.

I have a bunch of credits from several community colleges and two four-year schools, and a bunch of human services and psychology credits, with a bunch of  300 level human services classes.

The following is based on my understanding, either from admissions folks (or, at Excelsior, an academic advisor I managed to get in contact with), combined with stuff I've read here and on the COSC and Excelsior websites:

Excelsior has been looking very promising.
-- I'm a math phobe, and I've completed CSMLearn, which Excelsior will accept as my math credit (COSC will not)
-- Excelsior will, I'm told, apparently take any RA college course with a 300 or 400 level designation as an upper-level course (?!) I have a lot of these.
-- Excelsior's BS in Social Sciences with the Human Services concentration seems like it might be better for admission to an MSW program than a BA Liberal Studies
-- But they won't take the CLEP English Comp and as I understand it, will only take either Straighterline's English course or their $400 UExcel exam
-- They will not accept about 30 credits (which I may or may not need) from a certification I hold in massage therapy; Charter Oak will.
-- No lab science requirement, less specific core requirements. This probably fits better into the credits I've earned.

COSC has some advantages, but also some disadvantages:
-- They will accept (I think) my CLEP English Composition as my English requirement
-- They will take the 30 credits for my massage therapy credential. (Mostly as electives, and I think mostly lower level). May or may not be crucial.
-- But they will not accept CSMLearn as a math credit
-- They'd require one credit of lab science (I have credits for science without lab that they will take)
-- Their distribution requirements seem a lot pickier than Excelsior


I think that at Excelsior, I would be mostly done with requirements based on the courses I currently have.  The ones missing I could do with SDC, Saylor, Coopersmith, and perhaps a couple of DSST/CLEP exams. However, the Excelsior BS in Social Sciences with Human Services concentrations appears to have a lot of specific course requirements. I have a certificate in human services, but it osn't as broad. So I might have to take a bunch of extra Human Services courses or exams to get the concentration. It's not clear to me if that's worth it to give me a better shot applying to the MSW, or if the Liberal Studies degree (either at COSC or at Excelsior) with the Human Services concentration would be just as good. The COSC degree would basically require no additional Human Services credits to qualify for the concentration.


I'm planning on doing Research Methods via UExcel. I took a basic stats years ago but didn'\t finish it, and I use some basic stats on a daily basis so I think I can pull off the stats needed for Research Methods without taking a new stats class, which makes Excelsior a bit more appealing (if I have to take a math at COSC, I'd probably do stats.)

I'm sure there are other questions I'll have, but if anyone has insights to some/all of the above, it would be much appreciated!

[rachel83az]

I can't help with most of your questions but you should have two additional options for English Comp if you go with Excelsior: They should accept both Sophia (cheap) and TECEPs (easy). Having to redo credits is no fun but it could be faster and easier than COSC's requirements.

If you do choose COSC, Sophia's College Algebra and/or Introduction to Statistics aren't going to be quite as easy as CSM Learn but they are still way easier than a full-blown math course. Some people with math difficulties have preferred Sophia's Algebra and others have preferred Sophia's Statistics. Thankfully, with their subscription model, you can try out both courses and see which one might be easier for you.

[bjcheung77]

It's best to list your courses you have completed and if you have already applied to any of the Big 3 or competency based degree providers, if an evaluation has been done, you can copy/paste or send a screenshot of your academic evaluation so we can see what is missing. From the look of things, if you have 15 UL Social Science courses completed, you can get a TESU BALS with a Social Science concentration already done, without the need for more Upper Level, but that will come with a cost... as it should be the most expensive of the Big 3. Which state are you in?

[dfrecore]

If you list your courses completed, we can tell you which option is better. Do this:

School, RA or NA, semester-based or quarter-based
Course #, full course name, number of credits, grade if less than a C

repeat for each school, listing all credits completed at that school

I do these all the time, doesn't take long to see what school will be optimum for you

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And, most MSW programs don't care what your degree in, so I really wouldn't get hung up on that.

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Last thing to remember - it's not about what a school will or won't accept (looking backwards), it's what you have LEFT TO COMPLETE and how much that will cost (looking forward).

[studyingfortests]

If you list your courses completed, we can tell you which option is better.  Do this:

School, RA or NA, semester-based or quarter-based
Course #, full course name, number of credits, grade if less than a C

repeat for each school, listing all credits completed at that school

I do these all the time, doesn't take long to see what school will be optimum for you

---

And, most MSW programs don't care what your degree in, so I really wouldn't get hung up on that.

---

Last thing to remember - it's not about what a school will or won't accept (looking backwards), it's what you have LEFT TO COMPLETE and how much that will cost (looking forward).

Awesome!  This will take a bit to assemble, but I'll put it together and post.  Thanks!

[studyingfortests]

Hi, folks.

Here's my list-o-credits.  All are RA schools.  All credits are A or B's except for a couple of C's.

(Quarter credits - Community College)
Many of the ones in the first group below appear to be repeats. They were different course materials/topics, but with same course codes, so I doubt I'll be able to transfer more than one of each unique course code or class title.
These credits are from the early 1980s.

DAPR 226        Microcomputers                                            4
DAPR 106        Principles of Data Processing                          3
MUSC 134        Recording System Service I                            3
MUSC 198        Seminar & Project: Multichannel Recording      3
MUSC 135        Recording System Service II                           3
MUSC 198        Seminar & Project: Advanced Mixdown Tech     3
MUSC 198        Seminar and Project: Multichannel Recording    4
MUSC 227        Multichannel Recording Tech                           3
MUSC 227        Multichannel Recording Tech                           3
MUSC 229        Advanced Recording Tech                               3
MUSC 228        Editing and Mixdown Techinques                     3



(Semester credits - 4 year college)
These credits are from the late 1980s.
HEAL 205        Principles of Accident Causation & Prevention      3
HEAL 402        Driver Education Instruction                              3

THEA 117        Production Techinques: Lighting                         2
THEA 118        Production Techniques: Sound                           2
PSYC 100        Study of Behavior                                             4
LRNS 102        Mastering Skills of Fast Readin                           1
GEOL 118        Planets/Moons/Meteorites                                 2
MATH 995        Private Reading: Approach to Statistics               1
PSYC 995        Private Reading: Adolescence                             1
ENG 104         Writing Papers                                                  2
PSYC 216        Developmental Psych                                         3
EXCO 037        Therapeutic Massage Techniques                        3
PSYC 219        Memory and Cognition                                       3
CHEM 163        Applied Biochemistry: Cancer                             3
PSYC 995        Private Reading: Children and Peer Status            3
PSYC 503        Research Assistant                                             2

(Semester Credits - Community College)
The credits below are all from 2014-2018
HUMSR 101       Intro to Human Services                                   3

GERON 304/HSER 310  Ethical Issues & Client Rights                  3
HSER 340/PSYC 400   Intro to Chem Dependency                       3
HSER 330/PSYC 365   Psych: Issues of Diverse Populations          3
HSER 360        Techniques for Interviewing and Counseling         3
PSYC 481        Honors Abnormal Behavior                                  3
HSER 362        Practices in Human Services                                3
HSER 365        Techniques for Group Counseling                         3
HSER 498        Work Experience in Human Services (Internship)   2
HSER 498        Work Experience in Human Services (Internship)   2
HSER 341        Physiology & Pharmacology of Alcohol and Drugs  3

ADS 102        Physiology and Pharmacology of Addiction              3
ADS 103        Case Management and Documentation                   3
ADS 105        Co-Occurring Disorders                                         3
ADS 108        Codependency and Family Systems                        3
SOC 101        Introduction to Sociology                                      3

(Non-traditional credit)
CSMLearn (2019)    CSM Course (Quantitative)
CLEP (2021)       Analyzing & Interpreting Lit
CLEP (2021)       College Composition


Thanks in advance for all your help and suggestions and advice!

[dfrecore]

Ok, questions about your courses:

For the 4yr school, it's unclear how these credits are classified; when you go to the school's catalog, you need to look up "course numbering system" and see what they classify 900-level courses as (maybe developmental? if so, none of the Big 3 will take these):
MATH 995 Private Reading: Approach to Statistics 1
PSYC 995 Private Reading: Adolescence 1
PSYC 995 Private Reading: Children and Peer Status 3

4yr school - what is this course?
ENG 104 Writing Papers 2

For this CLEP, was it with Essay?
CLEP (2021) College Composition
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, did you ever determine which degree you want?

[Alpha]

If your plan is to graduate and enter into an MSW program it might be a good idea to spend a little time on the CSWE site.
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) - Home
It will provide some interesting information including a list of all accredited MSW programs in the country as well as all the online programs.  Generally speaking MSW programs prefer candidates with a Liberal Arts background and so you might want to keep that in mind as you continue to plan your undergrad program.  Good luck

[studyingfortests]

Ok, questions about your courses:

For the 4yr school, it's unclear how these credits are classified; when you go to the school's catalog, you need to look up "course numbering system" and see what they classify 900-level courses as (maybe developmental? if so, none of the Big 3 will take these):
MATH 995        Private Reading: Approach to Statistics               1
PSYC 995        Private Reading: Adolescence                             1
PSYC 995        Private Reading: Children and Peer Status            3

4yr school - what is this course?
ENG 104         Writing Papers                                                  2

For this CLEP, was it with Essay?
CLEP (2021)       College Composition
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, did you ever determine which degree you want?

--------------------------
I can't find anything whatsoever in the college catalog that lists the numbering system.  However, I do remember that developmental level courses started with a 0  (047-01 Developmental Mathematics, for example) and those earned no credit at all.

The 995 is a designation for an individual study course where you meet one-on-one with the professor. I believe  COSC told me those would count as psychology credits, but I don't know if they'd count as upper level.  The content certainly was upper level.

ENG 104 was a semester-long writing intensive course that involved writing and critiquing papers. It used a text called "Read to Write" which involved teaching writing skills by analyzing written prose.  The course qualified for the school's "writing intensive" requirement.

--------------------------

As for the degree, I'm sort of torn.  It seems like the social sciences with human services concentration would have the closest similarity to social work-type course work, but I've heard several here comment that masters program schools don't really care about the undergraduate major.  If the major truly doesn't matter that much, then the simplest liberal studies that gets me out the quickest would probably be the best... but I'm open to comments and input.

As for the CLEP, it was English Comp with essay. The Analyzing Literature did not have the essay.

Thanks very much!

[dfrecore]

[quote pid='335099' dateline='1618952368']
As for the degree, I'm sort of torn.  It seems like the social sciences with human services concentration would have the closest similarity to social work-type course work, but I've heard several here comment that masters program schools don't really care about the undergraduate major.  If the major truly doesn't matter that much, then the simplest liberal studies that gets me out the quickest would probably be the best... but I'm open to comments and input.

[/quote]

So TESU's Human Services degree will be hard to find 18cr of UL for in the "professional track"; COSC doesn't have a Human Services degree.  EC doesn't have a Human Services degree that I can find.

Where did you see this degree?
_______________________________

Found it.

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[quote pid='335099' dateline='1618952368']
As for the degree, I'm sort of torn.  It seems like the social sciences with human services concentration would have the closest similarity to social work-type course work, but I've heard several here comment that masters program schools don't really care about the undergraduate major.  If the major truly doesn't matter that much, then the simplest liberal studies that gets me out the quickest would probably be the best... but I'm open to comments and input.

So TESU's Human Services degree will be hard to find 18cr of UL for in the "professional track"; COSC doesn't have a Human Services degree.  EC doesn't have a Human Services degree that I can find.

Where did you see this degree?
_______________________________

Found it.
[/quote]

I think the main issue at EC is going to be getting the courses you need; they have specific requirements.

I think in this case, since you have so many "non-normal" credits (ones we don't see much so can't give you info on how the schools will treat them), you should apply at all of the Big 3 and see what they bring everything in as, and then see what the easiest option to finish is.  I'd apply at EC as a SS/HumSvc major, but be prepared to change to the BSLA if it too hard to find the courses you need inexpensively.