Help With Degree Planning

[arcangel27]

Dear DegreeForum,

Although I am already working on a Computer Science degree online, I would like help in setting up a BS in Psychology after I graduate (Starting near the end). I am trying to figure out which university to go to in the "Big Three" though due to my age I am limited to COSC or Excelsior. 



As I am already reasonably qualified (In the academic word, of course), I am trying to seek to complete this degree online at the fastest pace (And preferable at a good price). 

Is this possible to do with mostly self-paced courses or exams? 


If so, what would it entail? 

Best,

Arcangel "Of Gila"

[rachel83az]

How old are you? What school are you currently getting a degree from?

[arcangel27]

How old are you? What school are you currently getting a degree from?

Dear Rachel,

Good questions, I am 15 years old, and I am around 2/3 of the way finished with my computer science degree at UND. You may have seen me poking my head around this forum a little while back.

Psychology has been a subject that has always interested me, and before moving on to a Masters, I am interested in majoring in it.

I checked and COSC and Exelcior should be happy to give me an exception for the age limit, while TESU will not.

The question is (Aside from the Capstones) can I complete the vast majority of the coursework with study+exams? I have studied and am prepared to study extensively the subjects at hand.

On my current program, I am taking around five classes per semester and I am doing well without much effort, so a few days ago I took a CLEP Spanish exam without any preparation, and it went very well, ergo I belive this form of education will work very well for me in the long term.

Best,

"Archangel" Michael

[rachel83az]

It's too bad that TESU is out of the question right now because of your age. It's probably the only one that will work for what you want, aside from your age.

COSC is out of the question for other reasons, mainly pertaining to the lack of acceptance for most transfer credit. You'd have to take a lot of credits through them. At least 30 COSC credits, possibly more. It's quite expensive and time-consuming now. That leaves you with Excelsior.

Unfortunately, Excelsior is also likely out of the question. If your CS degree is a Bachelor's degree, you cannot get another Bachelor's degree from Excelsior. If you dig through their rules, it's not prohibited. But they simply won't allow it. They'll steer you towards a Master's degree.

[arcangel27]

How old are you? What school are you currently getting a degree from?

Dear Rachel,

Good questions, I am 15 years old, and I am around 2/3 of the way finished with my computer science degree at UND. You may have seen me poking my head around this forum a little while back.

Psychology has been a subject that has always interested me, and before moving on to a Masters, I am interested in majoring in it.

I checked and COSC and Exelcior should be happy to give me an exception for the age limit, while TESU will not.

The question is (Aside from the Capstones) can I complete the vast majority of the coursework with study+exams? I have studied and am prepared to study extensively the subjects at hand.

On my current program, I am taking around five classes per semester and I am doing well without much effort, so a few days ago I took a CLEP Spanish exam without any preparation, and it went very well, ergo I belive this form of education will work very well for me in the long term.

Best,

"Archangel" Michael

Dear Rachel,

Thank you for the response. I will contact TESU and see if I can make them change their minds. I am quite persuasive, and have managed to stir up management at many a university due to my age.

Best,

Arcangel Raphael

---

It's too bad that TESU is out of the question right now because of your age. It's probably the only one that will work for what you want, aside from your age.

COSC is out of the question for other reasons, mainly pertaining to the lack of acceptance for most transfer credit. You'd have to take a lot of credits through them. At least 30 COSC credits, possibly more. It's quite expensive and time-consuming now. That leaves you with Excelsior.

Unfortunately, Excelsior is also likely out of the question. If your CS degree is a Bachelor's degree, you cannot get another Bachelor's degree from Excelsior. If you dig through their rules, it's not prohibited. But they simply won't allow it. They'll steer you towards a Master's degree.

Dear Rachel,

With regards to Excelsior, can I just start a degree without informing them of any other degrees that may or may not be in progress at other schools?

Also, is there a credit transfer limit at Excelsior? I see that Study.com courses should work, which should make things easier. 

Best,

Archangel Gabriel

[davewill]

Dear Rachel,

Thank you for the response. I will contact TESU and see if I can make them change their minds. I am quite persuasive, and have managed to stir up management at many a university due to my age.

Best,

Arcangel Raphael

It may not work, but I think it's worth a shot.

Dear Rachel,

With regards to Excelsior, can I just start a degree without informing them of any other degrees that may or may not be in progress at other schools?

Also, is there a credit transfer limit at Excelsior? I see that Study.com courses should work, which should make things easier. 

Best,

Archangel Gabriel

You might succeed in getting enrolled, but before graduation, they will do an audit and they are likely to insist on seeing your up to date UND transcript. The National Student Clearinghouse gives schools visibility into what schools you've attended and what degrees you've earned, amongst other data.

[arcangel27]

Dear Rachel,

Thank you for the response. I will contact TESU and see if I can make them change their minds. I am quite persuasive, and have managed to stir up management at many a university due to my age.

Best,

Arcangel Raphael

It may not work, but I think it's worth a shot.

Dear Rachel,

With regards to Excelsior, can I just start a degree without informing them of any other degrees that may or may not be in progress at other schools?

Also, is there a credit transfer limit at Excelsior? I see that Study.com courses should work, which should make things easier. 

Best,

Archangel Gabriel

You might succeed in getting enrolled, but before graduation, they will do an audit and they are likely to insist on seeing your up to date UND transcript. The National Student Clearinghouse gives schools visibility into what schools you've attended and what degrees you've earned, amongst other data.

Thank you for the reply.

It still confuses me a bit, what is the issue with taking a degree at two different institutions? Can I do so even if I have not completed my CS bachelors, which I have not?

Best,

Arcangel Uriel

[davewill]

Thank you for the reply.

It still confuses me a bit, what is the issue with taking a degree at two different institutions? Can I do so even if I have not completed my CS bachelors, which I have not?

Best,

Arcangel Uriel

It's all about arbitrary rules different schools have. Some schools don't care, others will let you with permission, and others won't allow it at all. In the case of public institutions, part of the reason is that they are subsidized by the government, so they feel that their resources should be reserved for people who are trying to get their first bachelor's. A lot of schools are also have to reject lots of applicants, and again feel they should reserved the spots they do have for first timers.

I also think some schools hope that if you can't get another bachelor's, you'll decide to go on to grad school instead.

As far as doing them at the same time, even if you slipped that past them, they could come back and rescind a degree if you break the rules. That said, if UND will allow a second degree, you could try to reverse the order you recieve them.

[bjcheung77]

@arcangel27, depending on what you're really wanting to do and if you really need that second bachelors, I would do this instead and it'll allow you to skip the second bachelors and complete a masters instead.  The route is to continue on your current path with UND Bachelors in Comp Sci, then do a competency based Masters in Psychology at Walden.

My first recommendation is exactly that, UND Bach Comp Sci > Walden MS Psychology (in 2 terms or 6 months) > PHI CHI Society (while you're taking the MS Psych, not when you're done with the degree, otherwise you're waiting 3 months for the application/approval to go through, they just need you to start the program not finish the Masters)

If you have the energy, money, time to waste on that second bachelors as you really want that second piece of paper, then you can try COSC, Excelsior, TESU 'after, before, or concurrently' while you work on finishing your original goal of UND Bach Comp Sci, this is because of the concurrent/subsequent degree regulations within institutions.

My advice is to get more details from any institution you want to complete the degree from and be concise, honest, transparent.  You need to tell your story to staff so they understand exactly your reasons of taking a second degree at that institution, they'll try to help you as best they can with any regulations or restrictions, you can try to ask for exceptions, etc, it's not 100% going to work.

Here's advice I provided someone with a similar recommendation, NYU SPS for first Bachelors and then a second at Excelsior, as NYU does not allow second bachelors. This member (of both the sister board and here) has finished their Pierpont AAS and looking to complete the Bachelors.  Link: Help me choose... NYU or Excelsior for a BA. | DegreeInfo

[ss20ts]

Excelsior has VERY strict rules about second degrees. I went through this with them and they are an absolute nightmare. I would have to complete an additional 30 UL credits after my bachelor's degree was conferred. This means that any classes taken while waiting for the degree to confer or not used for the degree are useless to Excelsior. They pushed back really hard and were just about forcing me into their master's program which wasn't what I wanted. Go elsewhere for a second bachelor's degree. Why a bachelor's degree in Comp Sci and one in psych? Why not just double major at TESU?