Advising needed Military

[dnorton]

Hello All.

I am an Staff Sergeant in the United States Army on Active duty. I could really use your advice on how to tackle my task at hand..........COLLEGE!!!!

I have done some research and shopped around but really this stuff is overwhelming to me.

Background on me:
Active duty 8 years and counting.
Off and on through college (Ashworth College: 9 credits, Ashford University 3 credits)
FEMA Courses

Here is what I have found out so far.

Ultimate Goal: BS in Criminal Justice.

I am not the smartest guy out there. I am terrible in algebra and I HATE writing papers every week.


*Ashford University
15 JST credits

They told me that I would get 25 credits from my JST so I went ahead and signed up with them. Took the first class and they cut my transfer credits to 15. I was pissed off so I dropped them.

* University of Phoenix
15 JST credits
3 Transfer credits from Ashford.

No idea on this school.

*Post University
33 JST Credits
12 possible transfer credits

Only thing I really don't like about this school is that they don't know about straighterline, They said I would have to invest the money do a course and play a game to see if it will transfer in.

Thomas Edison State University
21 FEMA Credits
3-9 JST
3 Transfer

Thing is with this one is that it is from the Associates in Enviromental, safety and security. I wouldn't mind getting it to add to my resume for promotion later on, but it's not my Ultimate goal. I fall in the 2010 catalog here and they said all I need is 9 credits for residency and the rest can be straighterline.

Thank you for anything you all can help me out with.

[tsimmns]

First, I'm not the best about giving advice as I've dropped the ball on education but am now trying to get back on track. First thing first, go register for all the DSST Dantes you think you can take before the end of the week. The reason I say this is because right now you get a free re-take. You should be easily able to knock out at least one or two if you they pass them on the re-take which is now free until May 31, but you have to take the test by April 30 to get the re-take in since it's a 30 day wait time. Me, I'm still trying to figure out how to sign up for one since I'm in the Guard and don't have daily access to the education office. It will probably be easier to just go talk to your education office and let them walk you through the steps and right now this is to good of an offer to pass up.

[dnorton]

I am sorry I forgot to mention this.

I am Active duty as a Army Recruiter. I am no where near an education center or a Military post that offers the CLEPS,DANTES etc for the Military for free.

[tsimmns]

Are you close to any colleges, just figure out what college is the closest to you and you can take the test there. It might be harder to get started, but a call maybe to Dantes or any Education Center might get you rolling. Maybe someone else on here can help a little more. I wish I would have started taking Cleps and DSST before 2010 because apparently you could take them as often as you wanted for free.

[dnorton]

I have two colleges near by, neither are "military friendly" but the downside is they only offer testing twice a month.

Any other ideas out there?

[dfrecore]

I have two colleges near by, neither are "military friendly" but the downside is they only offer testing twice a month.

Any other ideas out there?

If it were me, and I had this free option for a short time, i would seriously consider taking as many DSST's as possible to try to grab some free credits. If you don't pass something, you can go back and decide if you want to retake after 30 days, and actually study for it. Then, I would take all the CLEP's I could take. Your costs will go down considerably if you use this method to get even a few credits. At $80 a pop, it's definitely worth it to try to take advantage of this option.

Otherwise, most of the DSST's/CLEP's could be replaced by SL courses. They will be roughly $100 per course if you take 2-3 in a month.

I created a degree plan for you, being as generic as possible, and utilizing all the CLEP/DSST's possible. But obviously, you need to replace any courses you've already taken.

Also, I don't think TESU will let you switch to a different major and still use the same catalog, so you would have to switch to the current catalog.

Between CSU-Global and Propero, you can get almost all of the CJ requirements completed. There are some that are a little questionable, of course, since no one has posted this info to the forum to say that these courses have been accepted into the CJ degree, and what the TESU equivalency is. Always get pre-approval for any courses you're not sure of.

[cookderosa]

I have two colleges near by, neither are "military friendly" but the downside is they only offer testing twice a month.

Any other ideas out there?

Yes, and welcome!

First, look at each of your earned credits as earned credits. What any prior college did or didn't award for in transfer won't matter. When you apply anywhere new, you'll send original transcripts (including your JTS) and they'll all be newly assessed. So, what does that mean? Well, you'll see how in your post you showed credits rolling forward? That won't be the case at one of the big 3. These are exceptionally military friendly colleges and you'll get the most credit without a doubt.

So, the question, is whether or not it all fits into the slots.

If a person had a million credits in math, that wouldn't make a math degree because all degrees require a distribution of a certain number of English, a certain number of social science, etc. As such, having "credit" isn't enough- it's having credit that matches the distribution you want. That's what people here are good at. You found the right place.

So, don't worry what any school gave you- you have to start from step 1.

JTS credits- determined by the school you choose to graduate from
everything else- original credits only, no transfer.

TESC is great, however they don't take FEMA any more. My suggestion is to send the whole shebang to COSC Charter Oak State College. You have A LOT OF FEMA credit. I'd try and make it fit.

You can meet the degree distribution requirements without CLEP/DSST by using Straighterline, Sophia, Saylor, and others. :patriot:

[cookderosa]

I forgot to add - you can get your degree without College Algebra (I did) but you'll need some type of math. I took an online math class called Math for Liberal Arts. Not a problem. The thing about a class vs a test, is that a) it's open book work you do at your computer with access to your notes, etc. b) no one grade will sink you c) you can ask questions as you go

The other thing- online classes will ask you to write each week, and that's because the only way to communicate is via typing! In most cases, it's going to be a forum kinda like this site, where a question is asked and each student answers as well as commenting on each other's work. It's more formal than here obviously, because in almost every case it's graded (usually a very small % of overall score) but unless you're typing on a phone or something that makes typing physically challenging, it's nothing to worry about. Beyond that, some classes require papers.

Classes like Straighterline, Sophia, Study.com, etc. usually DON'T require homework- watch videos/read a book, do a quiz, etc. So these might be a great fit for the bulk of your credit. That said, it's good to do some writing, even if it's one or two classes, just to exercise that muscle a bit. Most of the degrees you're considering at the schools discussed here have one class requirement that you have to take, and that will have writing, so just keep that out there in the back of your mind. Getting a little practice ahead of that class will pay off. You CAN do it.

[KayV]

Here is the military admissions info for Charter Oak:
Getting Started - Military Transcripts | Charter Oak State College

Charter Oak has two programs that might fit your needs. One is the BS in Criminal Justice, of course:
Criminal Justice | Charter Oak State College

The other is a BS in Public Safety Administration:
Public Safety Administration | Charter Oak State College

[windyart]

Many colleges offer the CLEP, you would use this website https://clep.collegeboard.org/ and setup an account. Find nearby college that offers, contact them. Exam is free to you as a service member, you'd have to pay the college fee, which may be about $20.00.

Fewer offer Dantes/DSST. DSST | Get College Credit Setup an account. Do a search for institutions that offer them. Some will offer the exams as a "fully funded center" (should be no cost to you), other merely offer the exam, you may or may not have to pay for the exam, but surely the college fee. I'm not up on the details about taking DSST at off base centers, as I have taken all mine on base.
CLEP and DSST are well worth it in my book. I'd find the local institutions that offer and go.
Good luck!