Feeling Pressure to Enroll, Advice Needed!

[MDW2447]

I've literally spent the last two days combing through the forum, making spreadsheets, reading school catalogs etc, but now that I've come across the new info about the ACE transcript changes and *possible* difficulties with Sophia/TESU (disappearing then reappearing on provisional partnership lists), I'm SO confused! It seems the more I read, the more confused I get.

I want to begin coursework for a Bachelor's in Psychology. I have only 7 credits and a terrible GPA (do I need to worry about bad GPA?) from 20 years ago, so I'm essentially starting from scratch. 

3. Questions:
How to decide which school is best for my desired degree and starting with basically no credits?
Should I enroll now to lock in current catalogue (even when starting from scratch?)
Which learning method should I begin with? ModernState-CLEP, SDC, Sophia, etc...?

I know these questions have been previously answered on the forum, but for some reason I'm more confused now after reading through everything. 
I'm lost, and *REALLY* appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction.

Thank you 

[rachel83az]

You don't need to worry about your GPA. The GPA doesn't transfer to the new school. The school you go with may or may not even accept the courses as credits (depending on their grades) but as long as you're okay with that (it sounds like you are) then you're good. To answer your questions:

1. Since you have essentially no RA credits, COSC is right out. It's too expensive if you don't already have at least half the necessary RA credits. That leaves the choice between Excelsior and TESU. Do you NEED a BS degree? If so, Excelsior is definitely the way to go. For most jobs, it doesn't matter, however. The BA granted by TESU is perfectly valid.

2. You should apply now. You don't have to fully enroll with TESU (if you choose to go with them) immediately. But, yes, locking in the current catalog is a good idea. There may be no changes at all to the catalog but there could be and having the current catalog year might be a good idea.

3. Start with Sophia. It'll get you about 2/3rds of the way towards your goal if you finish everything that transfers. I should have a Psychology plan for TESU available in the next couple of days but this generic BALS plan should get you started (assuming you go with TESU). https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ge...egree_Plan The General Education Requirements are more or less the same for all degrees.  Even if you do choose Excelsior, start with Sophia BEFORE applying to Excelsior. With EC, taking at least 2 Sophia courses unlocks a $0 application (instead of $50) and lower tuition rates if you take 12+ credits with them. For a Psychology degree, this could be especially useful if you're not able to find enough UL credits to fill the requirements.

There is a possible Excelsior Psychology roadmap here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...gy-Roadmap

[rachel83az]

Okay, I went ahead and did the Psychology plan for TESU now. So you can better compare the differences between Excelsior and TESU (as far as Psychology requirements goes, at least.) https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan

[MDW2447]

Okay, I went ahead and did the Psychology plan for TESU now. So you can better compare the differences between Excelsior and TESU (as far as Psychology requirements goes, at least.) https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan

Rachel, WOW. Thank you SO much. This is above and beyond what I had hoped for. I've gone from feeling overwhelmed and down to feeling excited and hopeful!

If you don't mind, [u][b]I want to make sure I understand everything so I have a few follow-up questions:[/b][/u]
1. So just applying now will lock in the catalog? Do I need to enroll with the Medical Terminology TECEP trick?

2. Do I need to do anything special to bank the Sophia credits since ACE has changed there transcript procedure? (Similar question for Coopersmith and InstantCert Credits. I understand TESU wants SDC transcripts direct.)

3. I've had 2 years of private Spanish tutoring. Should I fit in a couple classes somewhere since they would be easy for me, such as electives?

4. The MSW program that I want to apply to after finished the BA requires the following, do you know of anything that would satisfy this?
-One course in Statistics (the course needs to cover tests of significance, data analysis, and inferential & descriptive statistics), preferably from a social science (Sociology Statistics, for example).

Again, thank you SO much. I'm eager to apply to TESU and get started!!   

[Ideas]

Many people decide not to enroll until they think they can finish in 12 months or less. It's a personal choice, though. Some want to lock things in now.

You'll need a statistics course of that type anyway for the Psych degree, so don't worry about that. It can be taken cheaply.

[rachel83az]

1. Just applying now WILL lock in the catalog. Since you have some prior CC credits (bad grades or not), you might as well send them in to see if TESU takes them. If so, that's less work you need to do now. If not, oh well. You get 2 evaluations before you have to enroll using the Medical Terminology trick. I would suggest holding off on this until you're ready to send in more transcripts.

2. You will need to create an account on YourAcclaim.com. Since you're just starting now, there should be no issues with banking your Sophia and InstantCert credits. Coopersmith is not ACE and they will also send transcripts directly to TESU.

3. InstantCert has Spanish (as you may already have seen) so, yes, that should be a relatively cheap and easy way to fill out the electives slots. SDC has a total of 3 Spanish courses: beginning spanish overlaps with InstantCert's Spanish and then there is Intermediate Spanish and Spanish in the Workplace. I would leave Spanish for last (or almost last). This will let you decide if you want to take 2 Spanish courses at SDC or you want to take Spanish from InstantCert and some other course from either InstantCert or (assuming you're in the US) OnlineDegree.com.

4. You're going to have to find out from the school exactly what they want. Sophia has Statistics but it MIGHT not be accepted by that program. ALEKS ($20/mo) has Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. But you'd need to start now because it expires at the end of the year. It might get renewed but there's always a risk that it won't. https://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pa...0d3a33232a If they won't accept any ACE statsitics, TESU has both Principles of Statistics and Statistics for the Health Professions. The ones at TESU are about $1500 each There is also Psychological Statistics at BYU for $848: https://is.byu.edu/catalog/PSYCH-308-M002 Some are fine with stats being an ACE course, others are going to require the extra money spent on getting RA stats.

Is this the program you want to enter? https://cahs.uc.edu/academic-programs/gr...ments.html If so, it appears that none of the big 3 are CSWE accredited and a degree from one of them won't count in this case. It also appears that none of the competency-based programs are CSWE accredited either. You're either going to have to choose a different Master's program or else spend a LOT more on a "properly" accredited Bachelor's degree. Personally, I would rather choose a different Master's program. If you post in the Graduate Degree section, there are people like bjcheung77 who are knowledgable in Master's degrees and can help you find something.

[MDW2447]

Is this the program you want to enter? https://cahs.uc.edu/academic-programs/gr...ments.html If so, it appears that none of the big 3 are CSWE accredited and a degree from one of them won't count in this case.  It also appears that none of the competency-based programs are CSWE accredited either. You're either going to have to choose a different Master's program or else spend a LOT more on a "properly" accredited Bachelor's degree. Personally, I would rather choose a different Master's program. If you post in the Graduate Degree section, there are people like bjcheung77 who are knowledgable in Master's degrees and can help you find something.

Wow. Once again Rachel, you've gone above and beyond. Thank you.

Yes, that is the program I was looking at. I may be wrong, but I was reading it as though you only need the CSWE accredited Bachelor's in Social Work IF you are applying to the accelerated 1 year Masters program. For the full and part time programs, it just says "a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university".

Ultimately, I want to be a licensed therapist, so I need to complete a MSW, MMHC or a MMFT in order to sit for the Ohio board's licensing exam. UC also has a MMHC program: https://cech.uc.edu/schools/human-servic...s/mhc.html

Thoughts? If I'm incorrect I definitely will be rethinking the whole thing.

Again, many thanks for your time and knowledge.

[rachel83az]

It does indeed appear that the CSWE requirement is only for the accelerated program (I missed that there was more to the page, oops!). However, I would still contact them and say that you are a current student of TESU and ask if a TESU degree is sufficient for entrance to the program. Tell them that you're a current TESU student (they won't be able to tell whether or not you are). I would also ask if Statistics needs to be a letter grade or if an ACE-recommended course is sufficient. It's not a big deal if the courses need a letter grade but it is serious if they don't accept TESU at all.

[MDW2447]

I would still contact them and say that you are a current student of TESU and ask if a TESU degree is sufficient for entrance to the program. Tell them that you're a current TESU student (they won't be able to tell whether or not you are). I would also ask if Statistics needs to be a letter grade or if an ACE-recommended course is sufficient. It's not a big deal if the courses need a letter grade but it is serious if they don't accept TESU at all.

All great suggestions. I’ll apply to TESU and call UC on Monday (and post updates for anyone else interested in the future).

[natshar]

Here is a list of CWSE schools that offer BSWs online: https://cswe.org/Accreditation/Directory...-Education

Many of these schools accept ACE or NCCRS credit as well.