Cheapest Way to Get a U.S. Degree? International Credits & Alternative Options

[DragonDF]

Hey everyone, 

I know there are a lot of info in the Wiki and here but I think my main doubt is a bit different. 

I’ve been researching ways to get a U.S. bachelor’s degree without spending a ridiculous amount of money (exchange USD x BRL = 1:6), and I wanted to see if anyone here has experience with this. It’s crazy how expensive tuition can be, especially when you’re paying per credit. But I noticed that some universities, like TESU, allow students to transfer up to 90 credits, which means you could do most of your coursework elsewhere and only pay for the final part of your degree in the U.S.
Basically, this is the main reason for this forum. 

From what I’ve seen, there are two main ways to do this. 

The first is taking alternative credits (in the USA and paying in Dollars) through programs like Saylor Academy, Sophia, CLEP, and Study.com. Some of these are incredibly cheap, and Saylor even offers free courses where you only pay for the final exam. Sophia is subscription-based, so if you work fast, you can knock out a bunch of courses in just a couple of months. CLEP exams are also a great way to get credits quickly without taking an entire class. The downside is that Study.com, while convenient, gets expensive over time, and CLEP exams, though cheaper than university courses, still add up if you’re taking many of them.

The second option is earning credits in a cheaper country and then transferring them through an international transcript evaluation service. Services like WES, ECE, and others can assess your foreign credits and convert them into the U.S. system. The evaluation process usually costs between $150 and $250, depending on how fast you need it done and which service you use. The advantage is that education costs in many countries are way lower than in the U.S., so if you can take equivalent courses abroad, you might save thousands of dollars. 

The downside is that international evaluations take time—sometimes weeks or even months. Plus, not all universities accept every credit, so you might end up with fewer transferable credits than expected. 

That said, if the process works smoothly, it could be a massive cost-saver compared to paying full U.S. tuition prices.

I’m curious—has anyone here actually done this? 

Is it better to just grind through Sophia, Saylor, and CLEP to get cheap credits fast, or is it worth the effort to transfer international credits? 

Any recommendations for the best evaluation services or universities that accept a lot of transfer credits from foreign countries? 

Would love to hear your thoughts!

[newdegree]

Hey everyone, 

I know there are a lot of info in the Wiki and here but I think my main doubt is a bit different. 

I’ve been researching ways to get a U.S. bachelor’s degree without spending a ridiculous amount of money (exchange USD x BRL = 1:6), and I wanted to see if anyone here has experience with this. It’s crazy how expensive tuition can be, especially when you’re paying per credit. But I noticed that some universities, like TESU, allow students to transfer up to 90 credits, which means you could do most of your coursework elsewhere and only pay for the final part of your degree in the U.S.
Basically, this is the main reason for this forum. 

From what I’ve seen, there are two main ways to do this. 

The first is taking alternative credits (in the USA and paying in Dollars) through programs like Saylor Academy, Sophia, CLEP, and Study.com. Some of these are incredibly cheap, and Saylor even offers free courses where you only pay for the final exam. Sophia is subscription-based, so if you work fast, you can knock out a bunch of courses in just a couple of months. CLEP exams are also a great way to get credits quickly without taking an entire class. The downside is that Study.com, while convenient, gets expensive over time, and CLEP exams, though cheaper than university courses, still add up if you’re taking many of them.

The second option is earning credits in a cheaper country and then transferring them through an international transcript evaluation service. Services like WES, ECE, and others can assess your foreign credits and convert them into the U.S. system. The evaluation process usually costs between $150 and $250, depending on how fast you need it done and which service you use. The advantage is that education costs in many countries are way lower than in the U.S., so if you can take equivalent courses abroad, you might save thousands of dollars. 

The downside is that international evaluations take time—sometimes weeks or even months. Plus, not all universities accept every credit, so you might end up with fewer transferable credits than expected. 

That said, if the process works smoothly, it could be a massive cost-saver compared to paying full U.S. tuition prices.

I’m curious—has anyone here actually done this? 

Is it better to just grind through Sophia, Saylor, and CLEP to get cheap credits fast, or is it worth the effort to transfer international credits? 

Any recommendations for the best evaluation services or universities that accept a lot of transfer credits from foreign countries? 

Would love to hear your thoughts!

I am a bit confused why would you want a bachelors degree if you have the following degrees?


1 Master's degree in Business Administration
6 post degrees: ...
1 Engineering degree
1 Law degree
1 Accounting degree 
1 Business Administration degree (finishing next 11 months)

What schools are your degrees from?

[DragonDF]

Hey everyone, 

I know there are a lot of info in the Wiki and here but I think my main doubt is a bit different. 

I’ve been researching ways to get a U.S. bachelor’s degree without spending a ridiculous amount of money (exchange USD x BRL = 1:6), and I wanted to see if anyone here has experience with this. It’s crazy how expensive tuition can be, especially when you’re paying per credit. But I noticed that some universities, like TESU, allow students to transfer up to 90 credits, which means you could do most of your coursework elsewhere and only pay for the final part of your degree in the U.S.
Basically, this is the main reason for this forum. 

From what I’ve seen, there are two main ways to do this. 

The first is taking alternative credits (in the USA and paying in Dollars) through programs like Saylor Academy, Sophia, CLEP, and Study.com. Some of these are incredibly cheap, and Saylor even offers free courses where you only pay for the final exam. Sophia is subscription-based, so if you work fast, you can knock out a bunch of courses in just a couple of months. CLEP exams are also a great way to get credits quickly without taking an entire class. The downside is that Study.com, while convenient, gets expensive over time, and CLEP exams, though cheaper than university courses, still add up if you’re taking many of them.

The second option is earning credits in a cheaper country and then transferring them through an international transcript evaluation service. Services like WES, ECE, and others can assess your foreign credits and convert them into the U.S. system. The evaluation process usually costs between $150 and $250, depending on how fast you need it done and which service you use. The advantage is that education costs in many countries are way lower than in the U.S., so if you can take equivalent courses abroad, you might save thousands of dollars. 

The downside is that international evaluations take time—sometimes weeks or even months. Plus, not all universities accept every credit, so you might end up with fewer transferable credits than expected. 

That said, if the process works smoothly, it could be a massive cost-saver compared to paying full U.S. tuition prices.

I’m curious—has anyone here actually done this? 

Is it better to just grind through Sophia, Saylor, and CLEP to get cheap credits fast, or is it worth the effort to transfer international credits? 

Any recommendations for the best evaluation services or universities that accept a lot of transfer credits from foreign countries? 

Would love to hear your thoughts!

I am a bit confused why would you want a bachelors degree if you have the following degrees?


1 Master's degree in Business Administration
6 post degrees: ...
1 Engineering degree
1 Law degree
1 Accounting degree 
1 Business Administration degree (finishing next 11 months)

What schools are your degrees from?

It is not for me but for my son (16y old). 

If you read my last thread you'll understand. 
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ency-Tests

The main doubt about the international transcript evaluations is cost x time x benefit. 

Because in third-world countries, you do not have Sophia, Saylor, or other options that will allow you to accelerate your classes. You have online courses but not at 'your pace'. 

Bring your experience.

[newdegree]

I understand , I was not aware of the post, UMPI would be the best option with a combination of Sophia credits and Cousera courses. There are a ton of options for alternative credits just depends what type of degree they are looking for. Only issue might be his age as some schools require a certain age for admissions.

[DragonDF]

I understand , I was not aware of the post, UMPI would be the best option with a combination of Sophia credits and Cousera courses. There are a ton of options for alternative credits just depends what type of degree they are looking for. Only issue might be his age as some schools require a certain age for admissions.

As he wants a Bachelor's in COMPUTER SCIENCE and UMPI does not have this option, the 'YOURPACE program' is for people over 20 years old, so he cannot choose UMPI as an option.

The best option until this moment is TESU.

It is important to remember: that he is already studying Bachelor's degree in systems analysis and development in Brazil. 
Maybe a scholarship can be the best option for the 'residency waiver' cost at TESU.

[bjcheung77]

And this is the reason I usually merge threads, you're creating a second thread of practically the same thing...

[DragonDF]

And this is the reason I usually merge threads, you're creating a second thread of practically the same thing...

It is not EXACTLY the same thing.

We are talking here about the possibility to get credits in foreign countries for low prices and doing a transcript evaluation for $150 - $180.

In my mind, this can be cheaper but I think it is not hackable, you can not do it fast. 

For example: my Administration degree is online and I have 4 courses:
STRATEGIC PLANNING
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
BUDGET MANAGEMENT
FUNDAMENTALS OF ADMINISTRATION

They are open until 4th April 2025. Something like 4 months for 4 courses. 

If I am not wrong, they will cost something near $42 .

4 courses - 4 months - $ 42
It could be 3 courses at the same time for the same price.

If you use Saylor and Sophia, you can do 30 courses for $79 (first month with 20% Off coupon code). Living just to study 14h / day. 

It is NOT possible to compare one and other possibilities. Especially if you think about TIME.

The USA has an evaluated Home Scholling process and laws. Online learning is far away from the other countries.


The question is the same, considering other countries and if you have or not some courses made:

Is it better to just grind through Sophia, Saylor, and CLEP to get cheap credits fast, or is it worth the effort to transfer international credits? 

Any recommendations for the best evaluation services or universities that accept a lot of transfer credits from foreign countries? 

Would love to hear your thoughts!

[ArshveerCheema]

Does it need to be from the US? What languages can your son read?

[DragonDF]

Does it need to be from the US? What languages can your son read?

Portuguese, English, Italian, and Spanish (not very well Spanish).

I'd like to know if there are options like Saylor (the cheapest one), Sophia, Study, and others that can bring fast credits that a candidate can transfer to TESU after international transcript evaluation in foreign countries. 

In the USA we can see cheap (and no so cheap) credits here:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sources_of_Credit


Free source of credits:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Fr..._of_Credit

I could not read about sources of credits outside the USA.
Let's think not about my 16y old son but me. A person with my experience would not need to do a lot of useless courses just to 'get credits' if I were a teacher of some of these courses in my country. TESU's PLA is a great way to understand your old experiences and turn them into credits.  

---
I could find a coupon code to Study_._com which gives you 68% off, bringing the price to something near $75/month. The same amount of Sophia with the difference you can do max. 5 courses per month and Sophia there is not limit.

I could see Study(.)com can give a $1,000 scholarship to transfer students.
https://study.com/resources/student-scholarships


Do you have experience in foreign sources of credits that can be used in US universities?