Desperately Need Help To Get Started

[Risingstar]

Hello! I am so happy you all are here. You have been so helpful to so many and I know you will be able to help me. I am trying to get a degree affordably, fast and easy. I am not sure what I truly want to major in but I need to get the "Bachelors".  I am hoping one of you who is knowledgeable will be willing to help me achieve this. I am not sure which school to enroll in or which online programs to utilize for credits. I think I may have 6 credits from doing correspondence study as it was called 20 years ago at one of the Dakota Universities. I gotta track these down and hope they still maintain records from so long ago that will be acceptable. Plus I have college level Chemistry credits which I too hope will not be out of date. I  cannot see how either would be out of date but I do not know.

I think I may be interested in Psych or PolySci. Ultimately, just getting a degree is more important at this point. One I can finish fast. I study all the time but haven't studied for school or to pass a course in years .  Please help me providing a comprehensive plan so I can get started. I have had the hardest time starting. I believe I can do it having a solid plan to follow. 

Today, I was just about to sign up for TESU but then read a thread here and saw a coupon offer for WGU. Then I got confused and thought it would be better to ask you guys who are the pros and this degree game  . I have read your information several times but I believe it will help to have a plan customized for me. I will be most grateful for your help. Thank you!

[suzycupcake]

Hey good for you getting started - I know how hard that is and it's terrifying stepping into new grounds!

I know others will chime in about cost but for me, that wasn't an issue, I just need the degree ASAP. I went with TESU because I could transfer in 114 credits there and they had a Liberal Studies degree that only required 15 UL credits. Excelsior and COSC require 30. I liked that and I liked the flexibility that it offered as far as me being able to take classes that interest me because at almost 50, if I have to do this, I want to enjoy it and do it my way.

Hope that helps some! Good luck. Looking forward to following your journey!

[jamshid666]

Since you don't know what major you want to take, I recommend you use Modern States vouchers and take as many free CLEP exams as you can. Perhaps that will help you decide on what major you want, and all of the CLEPs would help you knock out all of the general education requirements that would be useful for any degree.

[dfrecore]

If I were you, and just needed ANY bachelor's to check-the-box, I would get a BALS or BSLS (Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, or Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies). TESU offers a BALS, with no need to choose a concentration, and it's very flexible - but more expensive than COSC. COSC offers both, so you can mix in more non-liberal arts courses. For the record, liberal arts courses include the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Math. Non-liberal-arts courses include everything else - business, computers, police/fire/emt, nursing, paralegal, etc. So Bachelor of SCIENCE and Bachelor of ARTS is a bit misleading, since the science side SOUNDS like more science, when that's not it at all. Also, TESU allows some computer science courses to come in as natural sciences, while COSC doesn't.

As for prior credits earned, I think schools keep their transcripts forever. So, you just need to request them to see what you have. No need to do anything right away, better to see what you have and then make a decision once you find more info here on the forum.

Anyway, if you are starting at the beginning, I recommend that you 1) read this forum a LOT over the next couple of weeks - like 1-2 hours a day, just reading each post that comes through starting with the first post in each thread and going all the way through it; 2) look at the COSC and TESU degrees and see if anything in particular interests you; and 3) determine your budget for getting a degree (somewhere in the $7-9k range). It might be a little less if you do a lot of CLEP exams through Modern States, or utilize OnlineDegree.com or Saylor, but in general, it's good to say it's about $100/course, for 38 courses, and then you'll have the cornerstone course, capstone course, and fees at the school.

Good luck!

[Life Long Learning]

All three of the BIG 3 are different and have pros and cons.  Excelsior Collge has the most flexible liberal arts degrees, but TESU has a few items that are also unique.

[dfrecore]

All three of the BIG 3 are different and have pros and cons.  Excelsior Collge has the most flexible liberal arts degrees, but TESU has a few items that are also unique.

I agree that they all have their pros and cons, but completely disagree about EC being the most flexible: "Degree depths (15 credits) in two different disciplines are required, and students may complete an optional Area of Focus by taking 21 or more credits in a single discipline."

TESU requires no degree depth, no concentration, you can use ANYTHING that's a liberal arts course to complete the area of study.  It's the most flexible of anything IMHO.

COSC is the cheapest - and since EC has the same 30cr of UL required, I'd go with cheap.  So EC is the loser there.  And TESU is easier to get the Area of Study done, with no concentration required, the added bonus of allowing computer science credits if you want, and only 18cr of UL required.  So EC is the loser there.

For a business degree, again, COSC is the cheapest.  And TESU has better accreditation and more concentrations available.  So again, EC loses to each of those.

The only time I think EC comes out ahead is if there is a particular degree that they have that the others don't, or you have a lot of credits that just happen to work out well for EC (like certifications or NA credits or something like that).  For someone starting with very few credits, they're better off choosing TESU or COSC.

[Risingstar]

Hey good for you getting started - I know how hard that is and it's terrifying stepping into new grounds!

I know others will chime in about cost but for me, that wasn't an issue, I just need the degree ASAP. I went with TESU because I could transfer in 114 credits there and they had a Liberal Studies degree that only required 15 UL credits. Excelsior and COSC require 30. I liked that and I liked the flexibility that it offered as far as me being able to take classes that interest me because at almost 50, if I have to do this, I want to enjoy it and do it my way.

Hope that helps some! Good luck. Looking forward to following your journey!

That does help. Thanks you.

---

Since you don't know what major you want to take, I recommend you use Modern States vouchers and take as many free CLEP exams as you can.  Perhaps that will help you decide on what major you want, and all of the CLEPs would help you knock out all of the general education requirements that would be useful for any degree.

I will check Modern States out again. Which test do you recommend taking to start that will build confidence?
Thank you for your reply.

---

Since you don't know what major you want to take, I recommend you use Modern States vouchers and take as many free CLEP exams as you can.  Perhaps that will help you decide on what major you want, and all of the CLEPs would help you knock out all of the general education requirements that would be useful for any degree.

I will check Modern States out again. Which test do you recommend taking to start that will build confidence?
Thank you for your reply.

---

If I were you, and just needed ANY bachelor's to check-the-box, I would get a BALS or BSLS (Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, or Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies).  TESU offers a BALS, with no need to choose a concentration, and it's very flexible - but more expensive than COSC.  COSC offers both, so you can mix in more non-liberal arts courses.  For the record, liberal arts courses include the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Math.  Non-liberal-arts courses include everything else - business, computers, police/fire/emt, nursing, paralegal, etc.  So Bachelor of SCIENCE and Bachelor of ARTS is a bit misleading, since the science side SOUNDS like more science, when that's not it at all.  Also, TESU allows some computer science courses to come in as natural sciences, while COSC doesn't.

As for prior credits earned, I think schools keep their transcripts forever.  So, you just need to request them to see what you have.  No need to do anything right away, better to see what you have and then make a decision once you find more info here on the forum.

Anyway, if you are starting at the beginning, I recommend that you 1) read this forum a LOT over the next couple of weeks - like 1-2 hours a day, just reading each post that comes through starting with the first post in each thread and going all the way through it; 2) look at the COSC and TESU degrees and see if anything in particular interests you; and 3) determine your budget for getting a degree (somewhere in the $7-9k range).  It might be a little less if you do a lot of CLEP exams through Modern States, or utilize OnlineDegree.com or Saylor, but in general, it's good to say it's about $100/course, for 38 courses, and then you'll have the cornerstone course, capstone course, and fees at the school.

Good luck!

Hi there. Thank you for your reply. Would you happen to have a plan for 2019 or would you mind including a link to the plans?

---

All three of the BIG 3 are different and have pros and cons.  Excelsior Collge has the most flexible liberal arts degrees, but TESU has a few items that are also unique.

Cool. Thanks.

---

All three of the BIG 3 are different and have pros and cons.  Excelsior Collge has the most flexible liberal arts degrees, but TESU has a few items that are also unique.

I agree that they all have their pros and cons, but completely disagree about EC being the most flexible: "Degree depths (15 credits) in two different disciplines are required, and students may complete an optional Area of Focus by taking 21 or more credits in a single discipline."

TESU requires no degree depth, no concentration, you can use ANYTHING that's a liberal arts course to complete the area of study.  It's the most flexible of anything IMHO.

COSC is the cheapest - and since EC has the same 30cr of UL required, I'd go with cheap.  So EC is the loser there.  And TESU is easier to get the Area of Study done, with no concentration required, the added bonus of allowing computer science credits if you want, and only 18cr of UL required.  So EC is the loser there.

For a business degree, again, COSC is the cheapest.  And TESU has better accreditation and more concentrations available.  So again, EC loses to each of those.

The only time I think EC comes out ahead is if there is a particular degree that they have that the others don't, or you have a lot of credits that just happen to work out well for EC (like certifications or NA credits or something like that).  For someone starting with very few credits, they're better off choosing TESU or COSC.

Thank you for your honest opinion. I have been looking into TESU and it seems preferable to most people here on the forum. I will look into them. I almost went forward with them before but thought perhaps I should just get some credits by testing out and then I got distracted. Thank you for your reply. 

[Risingstar]

If I were you, and just needed ANY bachelor's to check-the-box, I would get a BALS or BSLS (Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, or Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies).  TESU offers a BALS, with no need to choose a concentration, and it's very flexible - but more expensive than COSC.  COSC offers both, so you can mix in more non-liberal arts courses.  For the record, liberal arts courses include the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Math.  Non-liberal-arts courses include everything else - business, computers, police/fire/emt, nursing, paralegal, etc.  So Bachelor of SCIENCE and Bachelor of ARTS is a bit misleading, since the science side SOUNDS like more science, when that's not it at all.  Also, TESU allows some computer science courses to come in as natural sciences, while COSC doesn't.

As for prior credits earned, I think schools keep their transcripts forever.  So, you just need to request them to see what you have.  No need to do anything right away, better to see what you have and then make a decision once you find more info here on the forum.

Anyway, if you are starting at the beginning, I recommend that you 1) read this forum a LOT over the next couple of weeks - like 1-2 hours a day, just reading each post that comes through starting with the first post in each thread and going all the way through it; 2) look at the COSC and TESU degrees and see if anything in particular interests you; and 3) determine your budget for getting a degree (somewhere in the $7-9k range).  It might be a little less if you do a lot of CLEP exams through Modern States, or utilize OnlineDegree.com or Saylor, but in general, it's good to say it's about $100/course, for 38 courses, and then you'll have the cornerstone course, capstone course, and fees at the school.

Good luck!

I will take your advice and spend time here. I have in the past and there is so much information thank goodness but it started getting jumbled for me. I so desperately just wanted a plan to start. I guess there is no best way it's “just start”!

[quigongene]

As far as what CLEP to start with, I'd check out this list:

http://www.free-clep-prep.com/clep-difficulty-list.html

[natshar]

In my opinion the eaiset clep is the one you have the most knowledge of. Are you a history buff? Math nerd? Computer geek? English expert? Start with the subject you know the most about and go from there.