Degree plan for GaTech OMSA admission

[denise99]

Hi,

I'm an international student who had completed A levels in math, accounting and economics. I recently learned about alternate credits and testing-out and hoping to gain some insight and guidance from the forum on a degree plan to accomplish my goal of entry into the Georgia Tech online masters in Analytics (OMSA) program.

I had done some research on the OMSA subreddit, basically GT wants to see a 3.0 GPA and additional math requirement of calculus 1-3 and linear algebra to be considered for admission into the program. Also, I believe the math requirements need to be in RA credits. With those conditions in mind, which degree should I do and how should I go about completing the credits as cheaply as possible. 

Initially I had wanted a math or computer science degree but whatever major is fine so long as it satisfies those entry requirements and can be done in a cheap way.

I'd really appreciate any advice and feedback!

[rachel83az]

You might as well get a math degree from TESU. By the time you take those courses, you're most of the way there anyway. Check out https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap and https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan to see where you can take these courses.

You might also want to pick up the free (other than additional classes) ASNSM in Computer Science along the way. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...er_Science This would require 6 courses in comp sci topics. Linear Algebra may or may not count, depending on its source. For a future career in data science, I would probably recommend the following from Study.com:
Programming in R
Programming in Python
Computer Science 303: Database Management
Business 104: Information Systems and Computer Applications
Computer Science 103: Computer Concepts & Applications

I would also suggest using CIS-107 ePack as an easy course at some point, as part of a flat-rate term.

Unfortunately, since you specifically need RA credit, the required math courses (Calc I-III & Linear Algebra) aren't THAT cheap, no matter where you go, so you might want to do 2 flat-rate terms at TESU to make sure you have enough UL credit. This would probably work out to be about the same cost as doing (for instance) a degree in Comp Sci and picking up the math courses on the side.

In addition, I'm going to suggest https://github.com/ossu/data-science to cover topics that you'll probably need at Georgia Tech but that aren't strictly prerequisites. Fortunately, this is free. All it costs you is your time.

[denise99]

You might as well get a math degree from TESU. By the time you take those courses, you're most of the way there anyway. Check out https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap and https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan to see where you can take these courses.

You might also want to pick up the free (other than additional classes) ASNSM in Computer Science along the way. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...er_Science This would require 6 courses in comp sci topics. Linear Algebra may or may not count, depending on its source. For a future career in data science, I would probably recommend the following from Study.com:
Programming in R
Programming in Python
Computer Science 303: Database Management
Business 104: Information Systems and Computer Applications
Computer Science 103: Computer Concepts & Applications

I would also suggest using CIS-107 ePack as an easy course at some point, as part of a flat-rate term.

Unfortunately, since you specifically need RA credit, the required math courses (Calc I-III & Linear Algebra) aren't THAT cheap, no matter where you go, so you might want to do 2 flat-rate terms at TESU to make sure you have enough UL credit. This would probably work out to be about the same cost as doing (for instance) a degree in Comp Sci and picking up the math courses on the side.

In addition, I'm going to suggest https://github.com/ossu/data-science to cover topics that you'll probably need at Georgia Tech but that aren't strictly prerequisites. Fortunately, this is free. All it costs you is your time.

Thank you for the suggestion on the free associate degree in computer science, definitely a bonus. Also those data science-related courses and the study.com credits, I would definitely read up the details and sign up if I decide to go that route. I have no idea what a flat rate term at TESU would cost, could you tell me more about it and the number of credits one is allowed to take per term? Also, do you mean I would be better off doing a computer science degree at TESU while picking up the requisite calculus and linear algebra courses with the flat rate term instead of a math degree which requires difficult to find upper-level credits? Finally, another question that has not been addressed is GaTech requires a GPA, does a degree from TESU come with GPA that can be used to apply for graduate school? Thanks for your help and advice.

[rachel83az]

One thing to bear in mind at TESU is that you do need at least 30 RA credits to get a degree from them. 6 absolutely MUST come from TESU (the cornerstone and the capstone courses). The remaining 24 can, in theory, come from anywhere. The bare minimum (assuming you're not taking any special math classes) for 24 RA credits is $1200. This cost must be taken into account when figuring out how much more you're paying, or saving, by taking courses at TESU.

If you don't take at least 16 credits from TESU (usually, it's now recommended to do 16 in a single term), the tuition and fees are at least $6600. Add that to the $1200 for the RA credits and your degree is going to cost $7800 + the cost of courses from places like Sophia.org, Study.com, etc.

If you take a single flat-rate term ( https://www.tesu.edu/tuition/flat-rate-tuition ) of 16 credits, the tuition you pay to TESU is reduced to slightly less than $5000 because you no longer have to pay the residency waiver fee of $3192. https://www.tesu.edu/tuition/fees.

Flat-rate terms kick in when you take 9 or more credits at once, to a maximum of 16. Bigger discounts (compared to per-credit tuition) are obviously to be found by taking as many credits at once as you can.

If you split your credits into 2 flat-rate terms of 15 credits each, you'll pay $9278 + graduation fee and any course extension fees. But, now you have 30 RA credits and you don't have to pay extra for those. You can fill out the remainder of your degree with cheap credits from alternate sources.

For a math degree, let's see what this actually breaks down to.
Calculus I - $425
Calculus II - about $550 + books
Calculus III - $699
Linear Algebra - $550-1000 (depending on source and whether UL/LL)
We're up to at least $2224 and we've only got 12 RA credits!
If you were to tack these credits onto just a comp sci degree as electives, your comp sci degree would likely wind up costing at least $9-10k after all was said and done.

Instead, let's look at taking as much as possible from TESU:
Take Calculus I @ ASU for $425

1st flat-rate term:
Cornerstone
Calculus II
Linear Algebra (UL)
MAT-301 History of Mathematics (UL)
MAT-361 College Geometry (UL)


2nd flat-rate term:
Calculus III (UL)
Capstone (UL)
MAT-401 Mathematical Logic (UL)
CIS-351 Software Engineering (UL, but easy, Comp Sci - we'll see why in a moment)

This would get you 15 UL credits + the capstone for a total of 18 UL credits - the required number. You would also have 30 RA credits at a cost of $9278 + $425 = $9703. You would then be able to fill out your gen eds and electives with mainly Sophia & SDC credits. The total cost of this will depend on exactly which courses you take and how long it takes, but it should be less than $1000. So, you've got all this for Now, here's where the fun begins!

You can get a Comp Sci + Math degree at the same time for approximately the same cost!
The Comp Sci AOS courses would become electives for the Math degree and vice versa. There is also some overlap in that you can take Discrete Math as an AOS elective for Math and it'll work as a AOS requirement for Comp Sci. Calculus I is required for both. Linear Algebra may also count as an AOS UL course for Comp Sci.

By taking Software Engineering (which is reported to be extremely easy for an UL course), you can take all of your remaining UL Comp Sci credits from Study.com and avoid the dreaded Network Technology TECEP.

You've now got two degrees (Comp Sci + Math) for approximately the same cost as doing JUST Comp Sci + required math electives.

[bjcheung77]

My suggestion is as follows: create a short list of colleges, institutes, universities that appeal to you and the degree program.  Review admissions requirements for each Masters program and complete those requirements en route to completing your undergrad.  You should also look at the courses offered at each Masters program as the content may differ, see if those subject areas or concentration  suit your needs.  Last but not least, don't focus on just one school such as the one you mentioned, if you don't get into GT, you should have a few backups.  I would create 3 Top choices and 3 back ups from the grad discussion sub forum...

Here are the 3 you should look at for your Top Choices, NYU, GT, UT-Austin... GT/UT program is roughly $10K, NYU is $16K if you get a 75% scholarship.  One of our forum members was able to get a NYU scholarship that was awarded to her, 75% of the cost right there slashed!  Anyways, for those interested in the rankings, I look at so many but these two are interesting to review... I've recently "ranked" GT/UT in a similar fashion as my top two choices as they're inexpensive and provide quality instruction.

US News, NYU is at #28 in the Nation - New York University Overall Rankings | US News Best Colleges
GT is at #38, tied with UT - Georgia Institute of Technology Overall Rankings | US News Best Colleges 
UT is at #38, same as GT - University of Texas at Austin Overall Rankings | US News Best Colleges
QS rankings are in this order NYU, UT-Austin, GT for both years...
QS World Rankings 2020 - QS World University Rankings: USA 2020 (topuniversities.com)
QS World Rankings 2021 - QS World US University Rankings 2021: Top Universities in United States 2021 | Top Universities

[Pats20]

Hi,

I'm an international student who had completed A levels in math, accounting and economics. I recently learned about alternate credits and testing-out and hoping to gain some insight and guidance from the forum on a degree plan to accomplish my goal of entry into the Georgia Tech online masters in Analytics (OMSA) program.

I had done some research on the OMSA subreddit, basically GT wants to see a 3.0 GPA and additional math requirement of calculus 1-3 and linear algebra to be considered for admission into the program. Also, I believe the math requirements need to be in RA credits. With those conditions in mind, which degree should I do and how should I go about completing the credits as cheaply as possible. 

Initially I had wanted a math or computer science degree but whatever major is fine so long as it satisfies those entry requirements and can be done in a cheap way.

I'd really appreciate any advice and feedback!

Did you speak to a representative of Georgia tech on the prerequisites? The website states a calculus and linear algebra requirement , it doesn’t say anything about calc 2-3 or that they must be RA. It seems I’ve heard of people getting accepted into the omscs program with Straighterline calc.

[denise99]

One thing to bear in mind at TESU is that you do need at least 30 RA credits to get a degree from them. 6 absolutely MUST come from TESU (the cornerstone and the capstone courses). The remaining 24 can, in theory, come from anywhere. The bare minimum (assuming you're not taking any special math classes) for 24 RA credits is $1200. This cost must be taken into account when figuring out how much more you're paying, or saving, by taking courses at TESU.

If you don't take at least 16 credits from TESU (usually, it's now recommended to do 16 in a single term), the tuition and fees are at least $6600. Add that to the $1200 for the RA credits and your degree is going to cost $7800 + the cost of courses from places like Sophia.org, Study.com, etc.

If you take a single flat-rate term  ( https://www.tesu.edu/tuition/flat-rate-tuition ) of 16 credits, the tuition you pay to TESU is reduced to slightly less than $5000 because you no longer have to pay the residency waiver fee of $3192. https://www.tesu.edu/tuition/fees.

Flat-rate terms kick in when you take 9 or more credits at once, to a maximum of 16. Bigger discounts (compared to per-credit tuition) are obviously to be found by taking as many credits at once as you can.

If you split your credits into 2 flat-rate terms of 15 credits each, you'll pay $9278 + graduation fee and any course extension fees. But, now you have 30 RA credits and you don't have to pay extra for those. You can fill out the remainder of your degree with cheap credits from alternate sources.

For a math degree, let's see what this actually breaks down to.
Calculus I - $425
Calculus II - about $550 + books
Calculus III - $699
Linear Algebra - $550-1000 (depending on source and whether UL/LL)
We're up to at least $2224 and we've only got 12 RA credits!
If you were to tack these credits onto just a comp sci degree as electives, your comp sci degree would likely wind up costing at least $9-10k after all was said and done.

Instead, let's look at taking as much as possible from TESU:
Take Calculus I @ ASU for $425

1st flat-rate term:
Cornerstone
Calculus II
Linear Algebra (UL)
MAT-301 History of Mathematics (UL)
MAT-361 College Geometry (UL)


2nd flat-rate term:
Calculus III (UL)
Capstone (UL)
MAT-401 Mathematical Logic (UL)
CIS-351 Software Engineering (UL, but easy, Comp Sci - we'll see why in a moment)

This would get you 15 UL credits + the capstone for a total of 18 UL credits - the required number. You would also have 30 RA credits at a cost of $9278 + $425 = $9703. You would then be able to fill out your gen eds and electives with mainly Sophia & SDC credits. The total cost of this will depend on exactly which courses you take and how long it takes, but it should be less than $1000. So, you've got all this for Now, here's where the fun begins!

You can get a Comp Sci + Math degree at the same time for approximately the same cost!
The Comp Sci AOS courses would become electives for the Math degree and vice versa. There is also some overlap in that you can take Discrete Math as an AOS elective for Math and it'll work as a AOS requirement for Comp Sci. Calculus I is required for both. Linear Algebra may also count as an AOS UL course for Comp Sci.

By taking Software Engineering (which is reported to be extremely easy for an UL course), you can take all of your remaining UL Comp Sci credits from Study.com and avoid the dreaded Network Technology TECEP.

You've now got two degrees (Comp Sci + Math) for approximately the same cost as doing JUST Comp Sci + required math electives.

Wow thank you so much for this very detailed breakdown of courses and fees for a Math/CS double degree at TESU, didn't know this could be done for under 10k, it helps greatly in my degree plan if I ever decide to do both. 

While taking advantage of the low flat tuition rate is a great way to save money, I would probably question my ability to complete 5 courses of high-level math and capstone each term, while maintaining a high enough grades so that GPA doesn't suffer. I think there is a lot of time and effort commitment for this dual degree, not sure if I'm ready to handle such a heavy workload as I have a day job and was thinking more of doing the degree part-time. Anyway, appreciate this huge post as it gave me lots to think about the degree and that I should start by doing the easier gen eds and take things a step at a time, we shall see where this leads to.

---

My suggestion is as follows: create a short list of colleges, institutes, universities that appeal to you and the degree program.  Review admissions requirements for each Masters program and complete those requirements en route to completing your undergrad.  You should also look at the courses offered at each Masters program as the content may differ, see if those subject areas or concentration  suit your needs.  Last but not least, don't focus on just one school such as the one you mentioned, if you don't get into GT, you should have a few backups.  I would create 3 Top choices and 3 back ups from the grad discussion sub forum...

Here are the 3 you should look at for your Top Choices, NYU, GT, UT-Austin... GT/UT program is roughly $10K, NYU is $16K if you get a 75% scholarship.  One of our forum members was able to get a NYU scholarship that was awarded to her, 75% of the cost right there slashed!  Anyways, for those interested in the rankings, I look at so many but these two are interesting to review... I've recently "ranked" GT/UT in a similar fashion as my top two choices as they're inexpensive and provide quality instruction.

US News, NYU is at #28 in the Nation - New York University Overall Rankings | US News Best Colleges
GT is at #38, tied with UT - Georgia Institute of Technology Overall Rankings | US News Best Colleges 
UT is at #38, same as GT - University of Texas at Austin Overall Rankings | US News Best Colleges
QS rankings are in this order NYU, UT-Austin, GT for both years...
QS World Rankings 2020 - QS World University Rankings: USA 2020 (topuniversities.com)
QS World Rankings 2021 - QS World US University Rankings 2021: Top Universities in United States 2021 | Top Universities

Thanks for the suggestion on looking at similar programs at other colleges. Yes UT-Austin MSDS is the other degree that is on my radar, they both cost 10k and have a great reputation. Haven't heard about the NYU program, would definitely read about it, not sure if the scholarship is available to international students though. It's exactly my plan to incorporate the pre-requisite courses into the bachelor's degree so that I won't need to do them as an additional admit requirement that I seek guidance from the group here, this forum has been both a great wealth of knowledge and inspiration.

---

Hi,

I'm an international student who had completed A levels in math, accounting and economics. I recently learned about alternate credits and testing-out and hoping to gain some insight and guidance from the forum on a degree plan to accomplish my goal of entry into the Georgia Tech online masters in Analytics (OMSA) program.

I had done some research on the OMSA subreddit, basically GT wants to see a 3.0 GPA and additional math requirement of calculus 1-3 and linear algebra to be considered for admission into the program. Also, I believe the math requirements need to be in RA credits. With those conditions in mind, which degree should I do and how should I go about completing the credits as cheaply as possible. 

Initially I had wanted a math or computer science degree but whatever major is fine so long as it satisfies those entry requirements and can be done in a cheap way.

I'd really appreciate any advice and feedback!

Did you speak to a representative of Georgia tech on the prerequisites? The website states a calculus and linear algebra requirement , it doesn’t say anything about calc 2-3 or that they must be RA. It seems I’ve heard of people getting accepted into the omscs program with Straighterline calc.

I did check with the students on OMSA those who got admitted from non-STEM backgrounds did additional math courses at Oakton cc to beef up their resume and admit chances. This has led me to plan a degree to include calculus 1-3 and linear algebra, it's iffy on the alternate credits as I heard some got in with them but they also have many years of experience working in the data science field, not sure if that figure into the adcom decision. The other route is to do the GTx Analytics MicroMasters in addition to a bachelor's degree.

[rachel83az]

If it helps: AFAIK, History of Math and College Geometry are relatively pretty easy courses at TESU. As in, you get UL credit, but most students wouldn't consider the content to be that difficult. Software Engineering, too, can be completed in just a couple of days.

I don't know what your budget is, but you COULD also split it up over 3-flat rate terms of 9 credits each and get a dual-degree for ~$15k.

[denise99]

If it helps: AFAIK, History of Math and College Geometry are relatively pretty easy courses at TESU. As in, you get UL credit, but most students wouldn't consider the content to be that difficult. Software Engineering, too, can be completed in just a couple of days.

I don't know what your budget is, but you COULD also split it up over 3-flat rate terms of 9 credits each and get a dual-degree for ~$15k.

Sounds good, that would take care of 9 easy credits, leaving me with 18 credits in calculus, linear algebra, logic, corner, and capstone. I'm not afraid of calculus as I had done them in A levels and shouldn't be insurmountable if split into 3 terms. Also, I figure I should speak to GT and UT to get their official words on whether alternate credits from Straighterline and Study.com are accepted for math pre-requisite. If it does this may save me a lot of time and money in the process. Will follow your degree plan and great advice on the forum as I pursue this path, thanks!

[rachel83az]

That reminds me: if you get your A levels evaluated by WES or another credential evaluation company (see list of evaluators here: https://www.tesu.edu/admissions/apply-in...al-student ) then you may be able to get credit for them, depending on your grades.