Getting started with BALS (Template Q&A)

[CiggyTardust]

Hello everyone, I’m Gino!

Firstly I want to thank you for your time.  I’ve scoured many of the threads and resources here and I couldn’t do this without you!  I very much need help figuring out the best course forward to complete my degree.  I posted a thread a few days back asking some questions (which some of you graciously answered) but need further clarity so I copied bjcheung77’s template and filled it out below.  Could you assist me in forming a plan on how best to accomplish this?  Thank you!

1) Basic info about yourself: My name is Gino and I’m looking to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (or equivalent degree).  I work full-time in IT and live near a CLEP center so testing out is my preferred approach as I’m fairly good at tests.  

Have you read the Beginner’s Guide?  - Yes
Have you read the Wiki? - Most of it, yes
Do you have any certificates? Credits from previous studies? - CompTIA A+ Certification for IT and 33 credits from two other schools

2) Answer the following questions, so I can better gauge which of the 3 you're looking at - cheap, easy, or fast.

A) Are you close to a testing site for CLEP? How far and how long would it take you to get there and back?  Yes, I am close to a CLEP testing center.  It’s about 20-30 minutes round trip from my house depending on traffic.  

B) Do you have time to study and test at a site or would you rather do everything online for a little extra in price?  Not sure about the time required to test at a site, but yes I would prefer this over doing stuff online.  I want to minimize coursework and just test out of as much as possible.

C) What is your price range you're looking at for the degree and time you want to set to complete the degree?  I’d like to complete the remaining ~90 credits of my degree in a year if possible.  Price range?  $5000 or less.  My job will likely reimburse me for these costs so I'm not too concerned about it being super cheap.

D) Are you leaning towards cheap, easy, fast or a combo of them all? Rank them in priority.  1) Fast 2) Easy 3) Cheap.  I am working full time so will only have a few hours each evening to commit, and some time on weekends.  

3) Have you applied to the school of choice, are you currently enrolled (taking a course)? Not yet.  Still trying to determine which school will be best.  Leaning toward TESU only because most here seem to go with that school.

Do you have an academic evaluation? Not yet.  Applying this week to get the evaluation.
Attached are my credits that have been completed so far.  

4) What exactly are you looking for help with or advice on?  

I need help with the following:

1. Which school of the Big 3 would fit my needs best?
   
2. What kind of time commitment do the online approaches like SL and Study.com require for a course?  Is it significantly more than CLEP testing?  FAST is my priority here.
   
3. I need help building a spreadsheet to plan the next year based on the credits I already have.  I’ve looked at a few on this site but some links are either down or not up-to-date for 2019.  I’m also not sure how my credits would transfer onto the spreadsheet.
   
4. If I transferred my credits from the first school I attended to another school, do I need to have transcripts from both schools sent to TESU or just the most recent?
   

[Merlin]

I need help with the following:

1. Which school of the Big 3 would fit my needs best?
   
2. What kind of time commitment do the online approaches like SL and Study.com require for a course?  Is it significantly more than CLEP testing?  FAST is my priority here.
   
3. I need help building a spreadsheet to plan the next year based on the credits I already have.  I’ve looked at a few on this site but some links are either down or not up-to-date for 2019.  I’m also not sure how my credits would transfer onto the spreadsheet.
   
4. If I transferred my credits from the first school I attended to another school, do I need to have transcripts from both schools sent to TESU or just the most recent?
   

1. This is pretty open. Part of it will depend on what degree you're interested in and part will depend on what courses you've already taken. Most people around here tend to aim for the TESU BA in Liberal Studies since its the easiest/fastest option for many.
   
2. I found I could get through Study.com courses faster than I could prepare for a CLEP/DSST exam. But your experience may vary. In either case, subjects you already know will take the least amount of time. You might want to focus on credit by exam for those areas. For subjects you're coming into cold you might want to consider taking courses via Study.com or Straighterline, or one of the other alternatives.
   
3. dfrecore can usually help with that once you know what degree you're aiming for.
   
4. You always need to send original transcripts from all schools attended, not just the most recent.
   

[dfrecore]

You need to post your transcript from your first school so we can see what those actual courses are. Seeing what another school brings them in as isn't helpful (especially when you just get elective credit for it). For other posters who read this: post ALL of your transcripts, rather than the one from your final school.

Once you post that, I'll do a TESU degree plan for you. You might also consider doing COSC, depending on your remaining credits, but TESU will probably be the fastest/easiest at this point (due to no science lab course, not having 2 sciences, and needing 30cr of UL).

[davewill]

If you go to TESU, you're going to want to take at least a couple of courses from Study.com, just for the discounts. So go ahead and do that as quickly as you can identify a couple of courses that you will need. Additionally try a CLEP or two. Then you'll know from your own experience which format you prefer or is faster for you.

[CiggyTardust]

You need to post your transcript from your first school so we can see what those actual courses are.  Seeing what another school brings them in as isn't helpful (especially when you just get elective credit for it).  For other posters who read this: post ALL of your transcripts, rather than the one from your final school.

Once you post that, I'll do a TESU degree plan for you.  You might also consider doing COSC, depending on your remaining credits, but TESU will probably be the fastest/easiest at this point (due to no science lab course, not having 2 sciences, and needing 30cr of UL).

Thank you for your willingness to help!  Sorry, I forgot to post the actual course titles and info.  Is the below information adequate?  

School 1:  Taylor University - Semester System (2004-2005)


Course:  BIB 110, Biblical Literature I, 3 Credits
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ELEC 2999, Elective/AA Degree, 3 Credits


Course:  CAC 125, Sem I New Majors Orientation, 1 Credit
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ELEC 2999, Elective/AA Degree, 1 Credit


Course:  CAS 120, Interpersonal Communication, 3 Credits
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ELEC 2999, Elective/AA Degree, 3 Credits


Course: IAS 101,New Student Orientation, 1 Credit
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ELEC 2999, Elective/AA Degree, 1 Credits


Course: POS 222, Comparative Politics, 3 Credits
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as: CPO 2001, Comparative Government, 3 Credits


Course:  CAM 150, Basic Reporting for Media WR, 3 Credits
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ELEC 2999, Elective/AA Degree, 3 Credits


Course:  CAS 110,  Public Speaking, 3 Creditsr
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  SPC 2608 Oral Communications/Research, 3 Credits


Course:  COS 104, Computing & Info Concepts, 2 Credits
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:   ELEC 2999, Elective/AA Degree, 2 Credits


Course:  ECO 202, Principles of Macroeconomics, 3 Credits
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ECO 2013, Principles of Macroeconomics, 3 Credits


Course: Eng 110, Expository Writing, 3 Credits, Grade of D
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ENC 1101 Introduction to Composition
Repeated in 2016: Not included in GPA


Course:  IAS 252, Develop Processes Leadership, 1 Credit, Grade of D
Transferred to Term Summer 2016 as:  ELEC 2999, Elective AA Degree, 1 Credit


School 2:  Daytona State College (Summer 2016)


Program:  Associate of Arts AA Degree


Course:  ENC 1101, Introduction to Composition, 3 Credits (Replacing D Grade Eng 110)
Course:  MAT 1033, Intermediate Algebra, 4 Credits


Total Credits earned:  33

[bjcheung77]

FYI, my signature link has examples (post #31), I just created two newer spreadsheets and pasted them 12/23/2018
For your reference, there might be some helpful tips within this previous thread: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...e-to-start

[dfrecore]

Here's one for you.

[CiggyTardust]

Here's one for you.

Thank you so much!  I will look it over and come back here with any questions that come up.  Your time is appreciated 

[CiggyTardust]

So I've submitted my application and transcripts to TESU for an evaluation so I'm waiting on that.  I do have a quick question about ACE credit banking:  I've completed my first free course (Cyber 101 - Cybersecurity for Everyone) and now I'm wondering about banking my credits with ACE.  I did create an account with the "Registry and Transcript System"; is that what I need?  There is also a paid membership on the site so I'm not sure which is needed.  

*Edit* I figured it out.  How urgent is it that I bank these credits?  Should I do it after completing each course?

[Supermind]

Usually, we transfer ACE credits after gathering a certain number of credits. This is bcos it costs $ 20 to make the first transfer, and $ 15 for successive transfers. But in this case, you could consider transferring as soon as you complete other TEEX courses. If you only plan to take one course, you should transfer it. TEEX courses expire end of this month, and you want your credits sent in before that.