HOLY SMOKES I'M DONE!!!!

[indigoshuffle]

CONGRATULATIONS!! Good for you!!

[MDW2447]

Thank you so much for posting your spreadsheet. I'm going to use it as inspiration for how I layout mine. I'm just getting started and it's very inspiring to see that someone has recently done it!

[ldmoose]

Hopefully this will help someone who is looking for UL credits for TESU BALS degree. This is what I took:

SDC History 306: The American Civil War Era
transferred as
HIS-450 The American Civil War Era

SDC Psychology 310: Psychology of Personality
transferred as
PSY-352 Psychology of Personality

Coopersmith PSY-340 Sport and Exercise Psychology
transferred as
PSY-334 Psychology of Sport

Coopersmith PSY-305 Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior
transferred as
PSY-338 Drugs & Drug Dependence

TEEX Death Investigation
transferred as
AOJ-340 Criminalistics

Things are always changing so I definitely recommend checking with TESU (Advising) first to verify that a course you plan to take will fulfill the intended requirement. I found the advisors to be very prompt and helpful whenever I emailed them.

I also recommend taking as many Sophia courses as possible to fulfill LL requirements. I loved Sophia and even ended up taking their Intro to Stats to fulfill Quantitative Literacy. I had planned to take the CSM course (which sounds like a fantastic option) but Sophia got me through stats so I went that route instead!

[inkleind]

I was always told that I didn't need a degree to succeed.

So, instead, I traveled.

I backpacked South America, hiked the Rockies, climbed canyons in Utah, fell asleep on a beach in Guam, lived on a sailboat.

Working in the recreational aquatics industry, my advanced certifications landed me a job that put me on the front page of the newspaper, led to articles in industry magazines, and launched a management career in recreation. I ping-ponged around the country, living in 7 different states, slowly working my way up until Executive Director titles were accessible.

I learned how to write my resume and cover letters that celebrated accomplishments, without ever mentioning education, and gratefully, I had some amazing mentors put faith in me along the way.

? But, I felt like a fraud.

So, to prove it to myself and the world,

? I TESTED OUT OF UNIVERSITY ?

Today, after 3 hard years of exams, I graduated from Thomas Edison State University with my B.S. in Business Administration without ever taking a class.

I proved to myself that I am capable of more than I can imagine and I can't wait to see what comes next.

[ss20ts]

I was always told that I didn't need a degree to succeed.

So, instead, I traveled.

I backpacked South America, hiked the Rockies, climbed canyons in Utah, fell asleep on a beach in Guam, lived on a sailboat.

Working in the recreational aquatics industry, my advanced certifications landed me a job that put me on the front page of the newspaper, led to articles in industry magazines, and launched a management career in recreation. I ping-ponged around the country, living in 7 different states, slowly working my way up until Executive Director titles were accessible.

I learned how to write my resume and cover letters that celebrated accomplishments, without ever mentioning education, and gratefully, I had some amazing mentors put faith in me along the way.

? But, I felt like a fraud.

So, to prove it to myself and the world,

? I TESTED OUT OF UNIVERSITY ?

Today, after 3 hard years of exams, I graduated from Thomas Edison State University with my B.S. in Business Administration without ever taking a class.

I proved to myself that I am capable of more than I can imagine and I can't wait to see what comes next.

How did you complete a TESU degree without Info Lit and Capstone? Those are TESU classes so I'm confused how you never took a class. 

[rachel83az]

Were you on an ooooooooooold catalog? Looking at the spreadsheet in the first post, you do appear to have Technical Writing where the cornerstone should be and no capstone.

[bjcheung77]

[/quote]

How did you complete a TESU degree without Info Lit and Capstone? Those are TESU classes so I'm confused how you never took a class. 
[/quote]

For individuals on the earlier catalog years (pre-2018), the last time individuals got a chance "to not take a class" was to complete the Strategic Management TECEP that was offered for the last time in June 2017... The BSBA was the last one to go (*tears to my eyes*). all other degrees that have a capstone added was started in the 2012 catalog year...

[cerich67]

I was always told that I didn't need a degree to succeed.

So, instead, I traveled.

I backpacked South America, hiked the Rockies, climbed canyons in Utah, fell asleep on a beach in Guam, lived on a sailboat.

Working in the recreational aquatics industry, my advanced certifications landed me a job that put me on the front page of the newspaper, led to articles in industry magazines, and launched a management career in recreation. I ping-ponged around the country, living in 7 different states, slowly working my way up until Executive Director titles were accessible.

I learned how to write my resume and cover letters that celebrated accomplishments, without ever mentioning education, and gratefully, I had some amazing mentors put faith in me along the way.

? But, I felt like a fraud.

So, to prove it to myself and the world,

? I TESTED OUT OF UNIVERSITY ?

Today, after 3 hard years of exams, I graduated from Thomas Edison State University with my B.S. in Business Administration without ever taking a class.

I proved to myself that I am capable of more than I can imagine and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Hmmm.. I am in the recreational dive industry, we cross paths?

[inkleind]

Yeah, I was on the old catalog and the Stat Mgmt TECEP was my very first exam, I saw on here that it was going away and that got me to pull the trigger on making this happen.

It's absolutely bonkers to me that those of us who were able to do it this way actually did it. I mean how many people in the world can say they tested out of university!?! It blows my mind and really makes me feel so stoked on life. Getting that diploma in the mail yesterday, I'm just riding so high today.

I've been working on my personal brand, this last post was a copy/paste from LinkedIn with the pic of the diploma. I'd love to connect with any and all of you over there!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakevia/

And no, I don't think we crossed paths @cerich67 - I was an Aquatics Director for the YMCA and other organizations. My advanced certs were Instructor Trainer certs for lifeguarding, swim instructors, swim coaching, and pool chemicals/pumps.

[inkleind]

Checking in almost 4 years later. Wanted to give an update to inspire everyone working on this.

I don't know if my degree helped me or not, no hiring person has specifically told me that I needed it, but my salary has more than tripled since I first started testing out way back in 2017. First, I was in a motorcycle crash in 2019 that led to me leaving the non-profit world and finding an individual contributor customer success manager role in tech. That's led to sales and partnership roles and I've continued to increase my base pay ever since.

I often find myself mentioning management theories or referencing stuff like the Peter Principle, things I learned from studying for the tests. Even though I only studied to test out, the learning stuck and I believe I am better at my job, especially in sales, marketing, and business management, than I was before the degree. So, while no one is specifically hiring me because of my degree, I am surprised by how often what I learned has helped me be more than I was and that alone was worth the investment. That education has more than paid for itself.

Now I'm looking at what's next. I am enjoying a nice six figure income but sales isn't where I want to be long term, I miss having an impact like I did in non-profit work. I'm looking at possibly going back for a Masters in counseling or a J.D. to practice law. Both wildly different futures but with American politics the way they are, I can see both having a strong future. I desperately want to stop relying on others for a paycheck and I could see both of these paths leading to sustainable self employment.

Anyway, this forum changed my life and I am still incredibly grateful for all the help and advice. Way back in June of 2017, TESU got rid of being able to completely test out but thanks to y'all, I got in before that expired. I appreciate all of you and for everyone still working, you've got this!!