Degree completely by exams?

[kellen1]

Kellen, spend some time on the degree forum wiki, there are a ton of degree plans there and it will give you better perspective on whats possible. TESC Degree Plans - Degree Forum Wiki

COSC will let you design a degree plan and it could include meteorology/geology but to do it you will have to find some upper level (300-400 level) classes somewhere to fill out the concentration. You can likely do this with about 15 upper level and 15 lower level classes related to that field with another 3 credits via the capstone. you will need a total of 30 upper level courses, but only half those need to be in the subject field.

thanks for the link Does (300-400 level) mean I have to attend classes in person or doing coursework ?Lets say I have taken several tests related to this degree ,would I have to ask a college advisor which courses or exams are next to take to get BA?

[rebel100]

thanks for the link Does (300-400 level) mean I have to attend classes in person or doing coursework ?Lets say I have taken several tests related to this degree ,would I have to ask a college adviser which courses or exams are next to take to get BA?

300-400 level simply means junior/senior level work. Some schools like the Big 3 allow upper level credit for DSST/CLEP, TECEP and Excelsior Exams...so it is possible to test out of a degree completely (or nearly completely)...but not in just any subject. Liberal Studies and Business are the types of degrees that you can test out of as a rule.

[rebel100]

Overall, for a bachelors, your gonna need 120 credits broken down roughly as follows:

30-36 general eds: math, social science, English comp, humanities, etc...

30 or so general ed electives (AA) or 30 or so professional type credits: computer science, paramedic, some other job specific college credit (AS)

30 additional credits...what these can be depends on the major pursued and the school. Might be more professional credt, upper or lower level credit, can be gen ed type credit...really depends on the specific degree pursued.

18-30 Upper level credits in the field of study...there re a couple of exceptions that allow just 18 UL credits...but generally you need 30 UL credits with 18 of them in the field of study. I was able to break this up into health care and organizational leadership (18 credits each) for a dual (sort of) major.

The "Big 3" are Charter Oak State College, Thomas Edison State College, and Excelsior College...these schools are unique in that they are geared towards non traditional learning and will accept 112-120 credits via exam or transferred in from other sources and grant you a degree based mostly on that work...in other words they have low residency requirements and accept a bunch of exams for credit.

Becoming more clear?

[kellen1]

I think im getting it now lol.Though I gotta ask can I do first some exams/tests in the field im interested prior enrollment in any of those big 3's you mentioned ?

[rebel100]

you can take as many exams as you wish prior to enrollment...just be sure that the exams you take will apply to the degree your seeking. Best plan is to figure out what you want to take, find a degree plan for it and get started. Most around this forum don't apply to a school till they are nearing the finish line ... typically less than 30 credits to go.

[irnbru]

Hi guys,

I'm located in Europe and really interested in pursuing a college degree with CEPL and DSST methods.However my question is how many exams do I need to take in one subject 'm interested in earning my first degree? And once I get my first credits , would I just need to find a college that has CEPL /DSST awards? Sorry for those questions but I'm relatively new to this whole thing and any advice would be appreciated .
My goal would be something related to Physical Geology or Meteorology

-Kellen

Hey Kellen,

As someone who did this from outside the US, there are a few questions you probably want to ask yourself.

1. Why do you want to study the subject you're approximately describing?

2. Do you know what the structure of classes for that subject might look like?

3. Are you prepared to travel in order to take exams? (The nearest test centre for you is probably London).

Okie, this forum is mostly (but not exclusively) geared for students studying at Charter Oak State College (COSC), Excelsior College (EC) or Thomas Edison State College (TESC) - AKA 'The Big Three'. You will want to research each of those colleges by visiting their websites, getting a copy of the respective student handbooks and checking out degree requirements/specifications. You definitely want to be searching this forum.

Cost will be a very different beast when working outside of the US. Expect to fly to take exams. Be advised that international matriculation/graduation fees for TESC might run you 4000USD+ and that's before you've taken any courses.

This forum heavily works with CLEP and DSST tests. These tests are mostly for satisfying general education requirements - the exceptions to this are primarily in the subjects areas of upper level Business and the Social Sciences.

You are going to need to learn a bit of US lingo to work around the 'college' system our cousins use

You will still need to take classes at one of these colleges in order to satisfy your degree requirements in any programme of study.

If you're looking to study something new to you, rather than take an exam and pass because you already know the syllabus, then you will obviously be working a lot harder. For more uncommon majors, particularly in the hard sciences, you will have to research where to take classes required for your major, when they are available and budget accordingly.

If all of that hasn't put you off (and you can see there are plenty people here which it hasn't ) then start your research now.

Good luck!

irnbru

[kellen1]

Irnbru-there is a plenty of test centers where I live for those exams.Since this morning I started to some research regarding my degree planing .Anyways thanks for advice ,will keep you posted .

[irnbru]

Irnbru-there is a plenty of test centers where I live for those exams.Since this morning I started to some research regarding my degree planing .Anyways thanks for advice ,will keep you posted .

Cool, are you in Germany; US forces or family? If so, there is an active representation of your peers on this forum and they could definitely aid you with available financial assistance.

Or, are you close to Israel/Jerusalem? The centres there have strong, active relationships with TESC.

Honestly, the only test centres I could find in Europe were London/Manchester in the UK, US military education centres mostly based out of Germany, one site in Italy which I'm not sure is active any more and the sites in and around Israel and Middle East.

[kellen1]

Cool, are you in Germany; US forces or family? If so, there is an active representation of your peers on this forum and they could definitely aid you with available financial assistance.

Or, are you close to Isreal? The centres there have strong, active relationships with TESC.

Honestly, the only test centres I could find in Europe were London/Manchester in the UK, US military education centres mostly based out of Germany, one site in Italy which I'm not sure is active any more and the sites in and around Isreal and Middle East.

Yup Im in Germany(not US Military related). I found like at least 8 test centers near me so accessing them wouldn't be a problem .I'm thinking about taking Straighterline courses before DSST to get my first credits .I need to warm myself up somehow right ?LOL. DSST exams are pricey so therefore Im sticking with Straighterline and might find some portfolio work .

[irnbru]

Ah right. Have you looked at Freie Universitat Berlin? There are a lot of other mainland-European, distance-learning opportunities which a natural German speaker could take advantage of. Then again there're 12 credits up for grabs for a good score on the German CLEP

edit: You've probably gathered that things change often. Just so that you are aware, from 1 Nov 12, any final exam-based courses with Straighterline will require the final exam to be proctored. Have a look for the recent thread with all the chat in it. You maybe want to quickly head over to SL and sign up for a course tonight to get in before deadline. Save English Composition I & II for later, though as these aren't proctored but are excellent courses.

If you have easy access to test centres, that's brilliant. You might also want to look at ALEKS for a source of maths credits - potential to pick up 12 credits fairly quickly.