Excelsior unofficial transcript eval confusion

[Lioness088]

This is the unofficial eval I received from Excelsior today and I am totally confused to say the least. I'm not sure how many hours they're saying I need? I have 104 credits from a local university. I didn't think I needed a depth/s if I had a major? Does this mean they have it set up to where I won't be able to test out of much besides Research methods and abnormal psych? I feel like I'm reading a different language here lol tho it's probably easier than it looks to understand. Anyone who has already been thru this could you please please help me???? Also, I thought this would help those of you who haven't gotten your evals yet so hopefully this will help you understand yours as well. Thanks so much!

Unofficial Summary - Bachelor of Science - Psychology Major (BS)

Credits from the following sources were used in this evaluation:
1) CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

Listed below are the requirements you still need to complete:

I. General Education (Arts & Sciences Requirement)
15.00 semester hours at the upper level

Quantitative Requirement
All baccalaureate degree students are required to take a course (equal to at least 2 semester hours or 3 quarter hours) in quantitative reasoning. You may satisfy this requirement by taking a college level course or examination such as college algebra, trigonometry, or statistics.

Please Note: MATH*141 and SOC*3833 will be reviewed upon enrollment for the Quantitative requirement

Depth Requirements

A depth in the Arts & Sciences

A second depth in any academic area, including applied professional/elective

A depth consists of 12.00 credit hours in one subject area of your choice in the arts and sciences or applied professional area of which 3.00 credit hours must be upper level. An average of "C" is required in this area. These credits are typically part of and not necessarily in addition to the credits listed above or below.

AND

II. Applied Professional Credit or Additional Arts & Sciences
7.00 semester hours lower level in any academic area
5.00 semester hours upper level in any academic area

Information Literacy Requirement

Major
You expressed an interest in earning a major in Psychology. The required subjects and/or credits you need to complete are as follows (a minimum of 2 semester hours is necessary to satisfy Core (I) and Intermediate and upper-level (II) course requirements):
12.00 semester hours at the lower level
12.00 semester hours at the upper level

I. Core Requirements
B. Statistics
C. Research Methods/Experimental Psy/ Design
D. History & Systems/Hist of Psych/Psychological Foundations
E. Research and Writing

II. Intermediate and upper-level courses
Five different courses are required. You need a minimum of
4additional courses from the following:
A. Biopsychology and Physiological Foundations
C. Social Influences
D. Abnormal Psychology
E. Cognitive Bases

[Joel]

I’m not sure how many hours they're saying I need?

The way I read it, you'll need 15 UL arts & science credits, 3 credits of quantitative reasoning (pending an official review of your Central University credits), 7 LL credits in any academic area, 5 UL credits in any academic area and 1 credit of information literacy, plus the credit you'll need if you decide to pursue the psych major.

The additional depth will likely be taken care of using the credits above, just make sure you plan it out to avoid taking unnecessary exams/courses.

I didn't think I needed a depth/s if I had a major?

A major satisfies one of the depth requirements. You will still need a second depth

Does this mean they have it set up to where I won't be able to test out of much besides Research methods and abnormal psych?

Based on other posts on the forum, I believe that a score above the 80th percentile on the psych GRE would satisfy most, if not all of the psych major requirements. I don't believe you'll find individual exams to meet each requirement.

[Lioness088]

Will fema credits help with ne thing I need ya think?

[Joel]

Will fema credits help with ne thing I need ya think?

They should take care of the 7 LL applied professional credits, but that's it.

Search the forum for the proceedure on getting EC to accept FEMA credits. I believe they have to be on another school's transcript which costs something like 30 or 60 dollars per credit. You could take CLEP/DSST for less than that. Just a thought.

[Lioness088]

i've looked at fema til my eyeballs were about to melt lol. yeah what you say makes sense, can get 3 clep credits for 90ish bucks. BRILLIANT idea I actually didn't think of that. Thank you so much for all your very good answers Joel!

[cookderosa]

i've looked at fema til my eyeballs were about to melt lol. yeah what you say makes sense, can get 3 clep credits for 90ish bucks. BRILLIANT idea I actually didn't think of that. Thank you so much for all your very good answers Joel!

>>

Quick question- did you also apply to TESC to compare which one will give you the most credit? I know you have over 100, but it's all about filling the blanks as you know. One thing about TESC, is that any class 200 or higher can be used for your major. (which may mean add'l testing options) and FEMA is free for TESC students. I know it's another $75 and transcripts, but just tossing out ideas.

[Lioness088]

I made a mistake I have 94 credits not 104, don't know where I got 104. I did look at TESC but the Psych was a BA and I'd always heard employers would rather have a BS tho not sure. I looked at the social sciences like what you have Jennifer but I don't really know what to do with that degree. I thought I was so set on what I was going to do but that eval kinda disheartened me I guess. I'm really considering being eval'd by TESC but doesn't it take awhile with them? But if I'm going for a masters degree I guess it doesn't matter what BS BA I have perhaps.
Do you take it as I need 64 credits still at EC? That's counting the soc/psych stat class i have but think i can subtract from what i think is 64, plus I have a survey of math aka college math class they'll eval later too. If 63 is correct that would seem as if there was alot they didn't use but I have no way of telling.

[lwmcc]

I made a mistake I have 94 credits not 104, don't know where I got 104. I did look at TESC but the Psych was a BA and I'd always heard employers would rather have a BS tho not sure. I looked at the social sciences like what you have Jennifer but I don't really know what to do with that degree. I thought I was so set on what I was going to do but that eval kinda disheartened me I guess. I'm really considering being eval'd by TESC but doesn't it take awhile with them? But if I'm going for a masters degree I guess it doesn't matter what BS BA I have perhaps.
Do you take it as I need 64 credits still at EC? That's counting the soc/psych stat class i have but think i can subtract from what i think is 64, plus I have a survey of math aka college math class they'll eval later too. If 63 is correct that would seem as if there was alot they didn't use but I have no way of telling.

Regarding BA vs. BS, for most schools the only real difference between the two is where 30 asstd credits fall and whether those credits are GenEd (i.e., arts & sciences) or applied professional (i.e., everything college level outside of the arts & sciences). For a BA, you need a total of 60 GenEd credits, plus 30 or 33 credits within your major, if your major happens to be one that falls into the arts & sciences, which equates to a total of 90 or 93 credits in the arts & sciences. For a BS, you need a total of 60 credits in GenEd, and then the other 60 credits can be either GenEd (arts & sciences) or applied professional, depending on your particular major's requirements.

Regarding the BA in Psych at TESC, you can test out of the entire degree if you want to, including all of the Psych courses. I'm currently pursuing that path, and I'm now 7 tests away from being done with the BA Psych, having started in Oct. '08. Excelsior recently changed their Psych major requirements to include two courses (maybe more) that cannot be tested out of and that they don't offer at all, so to meet their requirements, you either have to score well on the GRE or find the courses elsewhere. Also, if you already have a Statistics class, TESC will allow you to apply that as your math requirement.

I found it to be well worth spending the extra money to apply to and compare both TESC and Excelsior before making my final choice on which school to enroll in. In my analysis, I found that for about the same cost as an Associates + Bachelors at Excelsior, I could get two Bachelors at TESC, and I could complete them faster. I'm certainly not saying that TESC is a better option, per se, than Excelsior, but for me, TESC was a better choice. You may find that to be the case, as well, if tyou have TESC exaluate your transfer coursework.
- Lia

[Lioness088]

I'm actually really considering tesc now that I know bout having to take two psych classes elsewhere for their psych bs at excelsior. that just seems stupid to have to do that. so gonna send in my stuff tonight to tesc. but i won't get a gpa with the tesec's from tesc right? if i test out completely that is?
cookderosa, what made you pick the social sciences degree as opposed to psych. as a terminal degree it doesn't seem to be much you can do with either looks like. i've read about the social sciences degree and didn't see any good jobs i could get with it unless there's something i haven't seen yet?

[cookderosa]

I'm actually really considering tesc now that I know bout having to take two psych classes elsewhere for their psych bs at excelsior. that just seems stupid to have to do that. so gonna send in my stuff tonight to tesc. but i won't get a gpa with the tesec's from tesc right? if i test out completely that is?
cookderosa, what made you pick the social sciences degree as opposed to psych. as a terminal degree it doesn't seem to be much you can do with either looks like. i've read about the social sciences degree and didn't see any good jobs i could get with it unless there's something i haven't seen yet?

>>

My situation is specific to me, so while I'm happy to answer your question, please don't take it as my endorsement. (lol sounds like a PSA)
TESC's social science concentration (like their natural science or humanities concentration) allows any blend from that department. (liberal arts would allow blending all three areas) A major, would be specifically courses from the sub area of the concentration (psychology only for example)

I didn't choose that track for career purposes, I picked it because I found it both interesting AND I was considering a master's degree in gastronomy. Gastronomy looks at food (my field) through a social science lens (anthropology of food, culture, history, social behavior, social influence, etc). I did not choose the gastronomy program after all (University of Adelaide), I went with a less expensive program (Harvard University).

If I wanted this to be my only degree and the exit point for my education, I wouldn't have gone this way. Like a degree in liberal arts, you are really too general for any practical application. I would be able to go into a number of areas though, like social services/corrections/drug rehab/adult ed or GED teacher. Honestly, those all pay around the $30K range, so it's not really something an adult would do for a career change unless they felt an internal drive for the field.

BA and BS are essentially identical. The differences are in the colleges, not the actual degree. I can direct you to resources if you want to bang your head on this issue further LOL. It's completely irrelevant.

If you completely test out of your degree, you won't have a GPA, that's true. I took 1 year of full time classes at TESC and local schools- so while I did test, I did a combo. I ended up with a kickin' GPA and a national honor society membership as a result. (I was accepted in to GOOD grad schools- and I'm a big supporter of taking courses IN major, while that isn't always talked about on this board)

I think a person's last degree is the most important. When I went to culinary school, at the time, that was my only educational plan. (it's considered a terminal degree) I picked the best school in the country- and it served me well. I never really considered my TESC degree as career preparation- I just viewed it as a "check box" to start grad school. If I were to plan my BA/BS as my exit point- I would choose it carefully. A BA/BS in psych isn't an exit point for psychologists though- you'd need a PhD. Lots to think about and I think I'm rambling...I'll shut up now.

I forgot to ask- what do YOU want to do as a career? That will really determine the best path for you.