Hello, I've been lurking for a few weeks and only recently have heard of CLEPs and the ability to test out at the Big Three schools and am interested in pursuing such a path. My general situation is that I am interested in teaching English abroad which requires an accredited BA/BS in order to obtain a visa and so for my purposes a degree in any field will do. My problem is that navigating through the jungle of bureaucracy has never been my forte, so I am hoping some of the more experienced users here can help point me in the right direction. Here's my overall situation:
--I'd like to earn a BA degree in the shortest amount of time feasible and for the lowest possible cost, preferably by testing out.
--I previously attended a trade school high school which was supposed to grant me 15 college credits. I also attended two different community colleges years back for 2-3 semesters and so should have some credits from them as well, so I reckon I should have somewhere between 20-30 credits which I plan on confirming in the coming days.
--I live in New Jersey and so Thomas Edison State University seems the obvious choice, though I could be wrong here.
--Of the various BAs I see on the website, the topics I am most familiar and comfortable with and thus would be easiest for me would be religion and history.
Given those facts, I suppose I am wondering:
1) What would be the best course of action for me? Can anyone suggest a path to fulfilling my goal or lend me some advice?
2) If I work on the degree full time (currently do freelance work and am able to take the time off), in how short of a time could I feasibly complete the degree? I'd like to do so sooner than later, which is why I am interested in testing out with CLEPs to begin with, but I also realize that overworking can prove detrimental.
Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate it. Again, I always tend to get confused with trying to navigate what (to me) is like a labyrinth of creating a degree plan and all the steps involved, so if anyone can help point me in the right direction I'd be very much obliged.
--I'd like to earn a BA degree in the shortest amount of time feasible and for the lowest possible cost, preferably by testing out.
--I previously attended a trade school high school which was supposed to grant me 15 college credits. I also attended two different community colleges years back for 2-3 semesters and so should have some credits from them as well, so I reckon I should have somewhere between 20-30 credits which I plan on confirming in the coming days.
--I live in New Jersey and so Thomas Edison State University seems the obvious choice, though I could be wrong here.
--Of the various BAs I see on the website, the topics I am most familiar and comfortable with and thus would be easiest for me would be religion and history.
Given those facts, I suppose I am wondering:
1) What would be the best course of action for me? Can anyone suggest a path to fulfilling my goal or lend me some advice?
2) If I work on the degree full time (currently do freelance work and am able to take the time off), in how short of a time could I feasibly complete the degree? I'd like to do so sooner than later, which is why I am interested in testing out with CLEPs to begin with, but I also realize that overworking can prove detrimental.
Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate it. Again, I always tend to get confused with trying to navigate what (to me) is like a labyrinth of creating a degree plan and all the steps involved, so if anyone can help point me in the right direction I'd be very much obliged.
![[-]](https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/images/collapse.png)
