Degree path guidance for new dad

[Tarka]

Hi all, lurked a bit around here a couple of years ago and sort of started but had two kids in the last 3 years that took priority. I want to start getting serious again in getting my BSBA but I rarely have the time to read through old posts anymore so I thought I create an account here and start my own thread. The reason I don’t have that much time anymore is that I’m a 38 year old family man, working full time with a second side job, with previously mentioned baby and toddler and trying to study whenever I get the chance.  


My priorities are both to get the degree as cheap and as fast as possible. (Cheap as in I’m still dealing with thousands in medicals bills after my son’s birth; and fast as in I want to earn more and pay it off as fast as possible and start providing a much better life for my family)    I have over 10 years of experience in my field but I feel I’m not even getting called for most senior level interviews because I lack a degree. I feel that the current company I’m working for won’t be around much longer because of mismanagement and financial issues, maybe another year if we’re lucky.  


When I started researching about 3 years ago, it seemed that TESU was the best possible avenue and I wanted to do the BSBA with an AOS in Ops management from them, but from what I can gather now they have become a lot more expensive?


I’ve done a few of the online credit options in the last 3 years and I’ve also done 3 CLEPs in the last month through Modern States, so far I’ve completed:  

• Sophia - Developing Effective Teams - 98
  
• Sophia - The Essentials of Managing Conflict - 83
  
• TEEX - Cyber Security for Everyone
  
• TEEX - Cyber Security for Business Professionals
  
• TEEX -Cyber Security for IT Professionals
  
• CLEP - College Composition - 51
  
• CLEP - American Government - 62
  
• CLEP - Information Systems - 79
  

So what is my best (least expensive) option going forward for my BSBA, how do I apply what I’ve done so far and can someone point me towards or provide an updated degree plan for that option. Thanks in advance for helping me along my journey towards my degree.

[dfrecore]

Cheapest is going to be either COSC or WGU.  COSC is going to allow for the most free courses (CLEP, FEMA, TEEX, etc), and then you can do the UL coursework necessary through either Davar or Study.com.

WGU is going to be a bit different - you'll have to plan carefully, and take 90cr, so that you could finish in a single term.

I have a COSC plan that should work, and a WGU one as well.

For both, I tried to use all of the CLEP/MS courses possible, then Saylor/Online Degree, then Study.com or SL to get discounts.

[allvia]

Also onlinedegree has quite a few gen eds at very low cost ($9 per course for exam fee- https://www.onlinedegree.com/free-courses/). COSC will take them, but WGU will not as they only take ACE not NCCRS. With the work and family schedule you have described I think COSC would be the better low cost option for you - as WGU can be cheaper (if you finish in one term), but it is all about dedicating time (6 months) vs being able to piecemeal courses as time and money allow. 

elbebopkid posted a very good thread at the end of 2018 on obtaining a BSBA from COSC - https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Transcript

[David.Hamad]

Cheapest is going to be either COSC or WGU.  COSC is going to allow for the most free courses (CLEP, FEMA, TEEX, etc), and then you can do the UL coursework necessary through either Davar or Study.com.

WGU is going to be a bit different - you'll have to plan carefully, and take 90cr, so that you could finish in a single term.

I have a COSC plan that should work, and a WGU one as well.

For both, I tried to use all of the CLEP/MS courses possible, then Saylor/Online Degree, then Study.com or SL to get discounts.

Thank you 

[Tarka]

Cheapest is going to be either COSC or WGU.  COSC is going to allow for the most free courses (CLEP, FEMA, TEEX, etc), and then you can do the UL coursework necessary through either Davar or Study.com.

WGU is going to be a bit different - you'll have to plan carefully, and take 90cr, so that you could finish in a single term.

I have a COSC plan that should work, and a WGU one as well.

For both, I tried to use all of the CLEP/MS courses possible, then Saylor/Online Degree, then Study.com or SL to get discounts.

Wow, many thanks Dfrecore. It looks like COSC might be the way to go because it allows more freedom in what types of courses I can transfer in. 

A few question then for the COSC plan:  

• I need to complete everything in the check box area and then apply it to the plan above right?
  
• Analyzing and Interpreting literature features twice on the plan, is that correct?
  
• I  can do all the courses, that first 75 credits, apart from the concentration, before even contacting COSC and enrolling? 
  
• Also, I see the COSC plan doesn't include any Algebra, but business stats instead. Is that correct, no Algebra? I feared trying to complete an Algebra course, we weren't good friends in high school  it will be great if I don't have to. 
  
• So study.com is $100 per course, don't they have a subscription model as well?
  

  

Also onlinedegree has quite a few gen eds at very low cost ($9 per course for exam fee- https://www.onlinedegree.com/free-courses/). COSC will take them, but WGU will not as they only take ACE not NCCRS. With the work and family schedule you have described I think COSC would be the better low cost option for you - as WGU can be cheaper (if you finish in one term), but it is all about dedicating time (6 months) vs being able to piecemeal courses as time and money allow. 

elbebopkid posted a very good thread at the end of 2018 on obtaining a BSBA from COSC - https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Transcript

Thanks allvia, yeah, as I've mentioned above. COSC seems like the better option, life can throw a lot of curve balls and if I don't complete the WGU in one term it might end up costing a lot more. I'll look that thread and onlinedegree, thanks for the links.

[dfrecore]

Cheapest is going to be either COSC or WGU.  COSC is going to allow for the most free courses (CLEP, FEMA, TEEX, etc), and then you can do the UL coursework necessary through either Davar or Study.com.

WGU is going to be a bit different - you'll have to plan carefully, and take 90cr, so that you could finish in a single term.

I have a COSC plan that should work, and a WGU one as well.

For both, I tried to use all of the CLEP/MS courses possible, then Saylor/Online Degree, then Study.com or SL to get discounts.

Wow, many thanks Dfrecore. It looks like COSC might be the way to go because it allows more freedom in what types of courses I can transfer in. 

A few question then for the COSC plan:  

• I need to complete everything in the check box area and then apply it to the plan above right?
  
• Analyzing and Interpreting literature features twice on the plan, is that correct?
  
• I  can do all the courses, that first 75 credits, apart from the concentration, before even contacting COSC and enrolling? 
  
• Also, I see the COSC plan doesn't include any Algebra, but business stats instead. Is that correct, no Algebra? I feared trying to complete an Algebra course, we weren't good friends in high school  it will be great if I don't have to. 
  
• So study.com is $100 per course, don't they have a subscription model as well?
  

  

COSC works differently than TESU, the checkbox area means you have to cover those areas (it spells out what would work on their website), and you can use a course for multiple things if that works.  So A&I Lit works in 2 places, and that should be fine.

COSC requires Business Stats for their BSBA, but no Algebra.  I would double check with them, before you start, to see if any of the course providers has a Business Stats course that will work there (I'm not certain on that one course).

Study.com's subscription model is $199/mo, and includes 2 courses for credit in that month.  So, it works out to be ABOUT $100/course.  Obviously, if you go slower and don't finish a course, then it will take longer and cost more.  If you go faster and can do more than 2 courses per month, then each additional course is $70, and would average out to be less than $100/course.

You should not enroll at COSC until you have 100+ credits.  You pay for each term you're enrolled there.  So you don't want to waste money doing that.  Luckily, they don't change their requirements nearly as often as TESU, you should be fine.

[TwinMom]

Cheapest is going to be either COSC or WGU.  COSC is going to allow for the most free courses (CLEP, FEMA, TEEX, etc), and then you can do the UL coursework necessary through either Davar or Study.com.

WGU is going to be a bit different - you'll have to plan carefully, and take 90cr, so that you could finish in a single term.

I have a COSC plan that should work, and a WGU one as well.

For both, I tried to use all of the CLEP/MS courses possible, then Saylor/Online Degree, then Study.com or SL to get discounts.

Would you please show me where it states the 10% at COSC by using a SDC course?  I can't find the info anywhere on CO website.

[Merlin]

[...]
as I've mentioned above. COSC seems like the better option, life can throw a lot of curve balls and if I don't complete the WGU in one term it might end up costing a lot more. I'll look that thread and onlinedegree, thanks for the links.

If you plan it correctly, completing WGU in a single term should be doable by most people. Ideally, you would transfer in 90 credit hours from places like prior colleges, CLEP/DSST, Straighterline, and Study.com. That would leave you with a balance of 30 credits (10 courses) to complete in 6 months. You'd be looking at completing 1 course every 2-3 weeks in order to meet that goal.

WGU undergrad courses appear to take about as long to complete as the comparable courses from StraighterLine or Study.com. So, most courses will take anywhere from a day to a few weeks to complete, depending on your prior knowledge and ability to absorb new information. Completing a course every 2-3 weeks seems very reasonable. Assuming you can put in 20 hours or more per week towards your studies at least. This also assumes nothing comes up to derail your plans, as you mentioned.

If you can complete everything in one term, WGU is cheaper and faster than any of the big 3. Even if it takes 2 terms instead of 1, you're still coming in around the same price as TESU, but COSC should come in cheaper at that point. WGU will still be faster to complete a degree in either case.

One thing that didn't occur to me until I already completed my TESU degree is that attending WGU also means you could get financial aid, where you generally won't qualify at TESU or COSC since you won't be taking enough courses to meet the minimum requirements. This may not be valuable to you, but I know it could be a dealbreaker for some folks.

[quigongene]

Getting to the 90 CU mark at WGU isn't even really required. I came in with only (HAH!) 67 of the required 122 CUs and still finished my degree in less than 4 months. Do the free online courses from TEEX and Sophia to get used to online learning, and the WGU courses are relatively easy.

[dfrecore]

Getting to the 90 CU mark at WGU isn't even really required.  I came in with only (HAH!) 67 of the required 122 CUs and still finished my degree in less than 4 months.  Do the free online courses from TEEX and Sophia to get used to online learning, and the WGU courses are relatively easy.

I'm not sure you're the norm.  The OP specifically said he was a busy dad of a 1 and 3 yo, I'm not sure he's going to be able to dedicate the time you did.

It also depends on the degree.  IT is going to be different than business for most people.