Credit Banking & cheap/free credits - Asking for a friend

[rachel83az]

First off: what school? If it was NA, her old credits will need to go to a school that accepts NA credits. That would be Excelsior. Unless the CA Bar accepts that transcript directly. But, of course, she'd need to know how many credits she already has.

Option 1 for credits:
Credits: LawShelf. 5 courses (15 credits) for $105. Most of them should be relevant to your friend's interests. If she's got less than 45 credits, Google's Project Management cert (free through TADA) could be another 9 credits that are possibly relevant to her interests. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera Legal professionals do, after all, need to be able to manage time and tight deadlines for themselves.

Then, assuming the credits are RA, apply to TESU. Pay for Medical Terminology TECEP. Send in old transcripts. Send in new LawShelf credits. Wait for 60+ credits to post to transcript. Send off to CA Bar.

Total cost: $105 at LawShelf + $50 TESU application + $50 TECEP + transcript fees. Total: About $205.

Option 2 for credits:
Get the free Pierpont degree. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC

Assuming the old credits are RA, she would just need to take the 15-credit core Gen Ed requirements from Sophia. (Plus any additional courses needed to bring credit total to 60.) Total cost: likely $99 + old transcript fees. Cheaper than TESU!

If the old credits are NA, Pierpont won't accept them. In which case, she could speed through 60 Sophia credits plus the 1-credit ASU course. Total: approximately $99x2 for Sophia + $25 for ASU + $15 for ASU transcript = approximately $240. Slightly more than option 1 above, but she would have an Associate degree. The AAS could be useful in the future if she decides that law school isn't for her. It'd have a lot more merit than 60+ credits on a random transcript and 0 degrees.

Option 3 for credits
Excelsior. Send everything (old transcripts, new LawShelf/Google/Sophia credits) to Excelsior. This is, by far, the most expensive option. It costs at least 2x as much as the whole Pierpont degree, and that's before taking any additional credits!

Conclusion:
I would strongly urge that your friend get the Pierpont degree. If that's not possible or desired for whatever reason, the TESU credit banking is an acceptable answer. Not as desirable, IMO, but acceptable. In dead last, and lagging behind, would be Excelsior. I would not choose Excelsior unless she has no other option.