Degree Plan for Computer Science ASAP

[elcastor21]

Your Location: El Salvador
Your Age: 23
What kind of degree do you want?: BSc. Computer Science, maybe open to Computing and Information Technology
Current Regional Accredited Credits: US 0, Salvadoran 3, 10 ECTS


Universidad de El Salvador: 3 credits
Experimental Methods(introduction to physics) 3 cr.hrs.

International University of Applied Sciences
Computer Science I                                    5 ECTS
Java and Java Class Library                        5 ECTS


Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: None yet, planning doing Sophia/Saylor, whatever as needed.
Budget: Preferrable no more than US$230 any given month, but if I had to put a raw full number here, would be around $4,500-6000
Commitments: Working full time
Dedicated time to study: I can study as much as needed, but my time budget would be around 20-25 hours a week
Timeline: Ending before November 2025
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: None at the time


Hi, I have been a lurker of this and the sister forum for a while,  I'm looking to pursue a career in CS, have already over 5 years of experience but need the degree to grow on the corporate ladder, have had bad experiences in brick and mortar so I inscribed on an online university, but is not flexible enough for my working schedule and have to do synchronous classes at inconvenient times, so I'm planning getting a degree in CS elsewhere, have the aforementioned credits but cannot use them much without an evaluation.

I was planning, as I have seen here and elsewhere, doing an Advanced Level 5 Diploma on Information Technology from LSIB(https://www.lsib.co.uk/course-details.as...=Diploma#0) and then top it up with a BSc. from Derby; But was looking for any other cheaper/faster suggestions here(I was taking an eye into TESU or WGU, sadly cannot do the last not being in the US). My final objective would be making a MSc. in Cybersecurity anywhere with solid accreditation and then an MBA from ENEB/Isabel I.

Very thanks in advance you all.

[dfrecore]

Follow this except disregard the dual degree (BSBA CIS) if you want. Start with Sophia, save up $130/mo while you're doing it to help pay for your final term at TESU. But you will need about $5000 to get the degree if you do a FT/FR single 15cr term.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...z_version)

[elcastor21]

Follow this except disregard the dual degree (BSBA CIS) if you want.  Start with Sophia, save up $130/mo while you're doing it to help pay for your final term at TESU.  But you will need about $5000 to get the degree if you do a FT/FR single 15cr term.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...z_version)

Hi, thanks, I'm still enrolled in IU Applied Sciences(currently on pause until November) I see the degree from TESU needs 24 RA credits(something like 40 ECTS) can I continue there to get the 24 credits and then pass to TESU?

This is the IU Degree Plan: https://res.cloudinary.com/iubh/image/up..._en_fs.pdf

Which of those subjects would transfer successfully to TESU, so I can get the best out of the $200-300 a foreign course evaluation would cost me anyways.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Also, I would want to know which TECEPs apply to BSCS, in case I don't fulfill the RA Credit with the previous courses and the flat-rate term.

[rachel83az]

IU is way, way more expensive than what you could get at XAMK or Metropolia. XAMK courses can be as cheap as FREE (plus the cost of transcript evaluation) while Metropolia has both free and cheap courses (plus the cost of transcript evaluation). I'm not sure what kind of discounts you're getting with IU, but I think you could just about pay for an entire evaluation with every course you complete?

A TESU BACS has 30 credits of electives. This can be literally anything you want. Whether you continue with IU or go with XAMK/Metropolia, don't worry too much about whether/where it will fit. Whether a course goes into electives or elsewhere in a degree, it will still count as RA credit for TESU purposes.

The only TECEP that applies directly to the BACS is Network Technology. The rest will either be used in the general education area or in electives.

[Avidreader]

Heads up, do the actfl exam while their ace eligibility is still active (they just extended accredited status the rest of 2023). You speak Spanish so if you get the highest score on the exam, you could get a whopping 36 US credits where 12 are highly coveted Upper Division courses for around 330 USD for all 4 exams. Also try to sign up for the tecep exams while they are still free. That could be another 15 credits where some are upper level. By just passing 5 tecep exams and scoring the highest on the Spanish exam, you could have at least 50 credits.

[rachel83az]

ACE is not the same as RA. While the ACTFL exams are a good way to earn credit, they are essentially useless for a BACS degree. The UL credit provided by the ACTFL exams cannot be used in the Comp Sci AOS. They also will not count toward the 30 RA credit requirement.

ACTFL exams are good for people who want a degree from UMPI or who want a BALS from TESU; possibly Excelsior. They're not very good for anyone else unless they're part of a very careful plan.

[dfrecore]

ACE is not the same as RA. While the ACTFL exams are a good way to earn credit, they are essentially useless for a BACS degree. The UL credit provided by the ACTFL exams cannot be used in the Comp Sci AOS. They also will not count toward the 30 RA credit requirement.

ACTFL exams are good for people who want a degree from UMPI or who want a BALS from TESU; possibly Excelsior. They're not very good for anyone else unless they're part of a very careful plan.

Agreed - UL foreign language credits are great in a BALS where they're used in the AoS, but not at all useful in a BACS.  Not a single UL will be used as such, and you'll still need 15cr of UL in the AoS.

Not that a bunch of credits in something easy like the OPIc exam isn't nice to have, but the UL will do you no good for this particular degree.

[bjcheung77]

@elcastor21, how much are you paying monthly with IU? Is it because they have a monthly plan that you're going with them for now? Welcome to the board, great first post as you've completed the basic template and last post addendum asking for more details. If you're looking at US degree and need a combo type of degree for Business/Info Sys, you can go for the UMPI Project Management & Info Systems degree. If you're looking at UK degree options, then a Level 4/5/6 and top-up combo would work as well. I suggest you take some time to review this thread here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...us-student

[elcastor21]

I'm not sure what kind of discounts you're getting with IU

That's true, I pay US$230 per month, max 6 courses each 6 months. 

The only TECEP that applies directly to the BACS is Network Technology. The rest will either be used in the general education area or in electives.

Thanks, thats what I saw on the site but seemed odd to be only a course...

---

Heads up, do the actfl exam while their ace eligibility is still active (they just extended accredited status the rest of 2023). You speak Spanish so if you get the highest score on the exam, you could get a whopping 36 US credits where 12 are highly coveted Upper Division courses for around 330 USD for all 4 exams. Also try to sign up for the tecep exams while they are still free. That could be another 15 credits where some are upper level. By just passing 5 tecep exams and scoring the highest on the Spanish exam, you could have at least 50 credits.

Thanks for the info,  @Avidreader, but from other threads I gather free TECEPs are only for New Jersey residents, right?

Noted the ACTFL, very thanks again.

---

@elcastor21, how much are you paying monthly with IU?  Is it because they have a monthly plan that you're going with them for now?  Welcome to the board, great first post as you've completed the basic template and last post addendum asking for more details.  If you're looking at US degree and need a combo type of degree for Business/Info Sys, you can go for the UMPI Project Management & Info Systems degree.  If you're looking at UK degree options, then a Level 4/5/6 and top-up combo would work as well.  I suggest you take some time to review this thread here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...us-student

I currently pay 185EUR ($230-240 a month,that's why that's my budget, that's counting bank transfer and conversion to euros)

I was considering Purdue Global, but from reviews here and Reddit, I see they can be very time consuming, would rather take something hard and short term than pretty much having another full time job out of doing papers.

 I had also started to enroll into UoPeople, but stopped because the Ministry of Education doesn't give equivalency to a Licenciatura to a NA Bachelors from US (even if you work in the private sector, if you don't have MINEDs evaluation of your degree, it's as good as a Degree Mill like St. Regis or Almeda)

The Level 5 IT > Top-Up into Derby sounds tempting as my Employer can pay tech certifications(Work in IT), and can try telling them to pay for the L5IT, and can get it faster(at around 21 months), can take pauses at needed (pay-per-subject modality); But I also wanted to ask here for better/faster/cheaper options before taking such approach.(Also it's just slightly over my budget)

UMPI Project Management & Info Systems

That seems to be only normal studies, cannot find it in YourPace, only Bach. Liberal Arts with Management Information Systems minor, is that it?

Going to read further into that thread.

[rachel83az]

The BABA Project Management degree at UMPI is actually Project Management & Information Systems on the diploma.