History and Proposed Schedule

[OE800_85]

Hey, I recently learnt about this whole process, and spent the last few days doing heavy planning for CLEP/DSST/ECE. I have 63 credits obtained from University, but I didn't finish, for I guess obvious reasons. I think this message can show that you shouldn't just give up, and there's always a way to finish, even if you started working, or live abroad (i'm in asia).

I think I'll study at Excelsior with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts.

Of the 63 credits I already completed, 42 were considered lower, and 21 considered upper level

I'm considering taking the following exams:

American Literature
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
College Composition
English Literature
Humanities

All 6 credit Lower level courses that qualify (i'm not sure about humanities, any help?) as English credits.

Also I'll probably take the following tests in different subjects

French
College Math

The French course can award 12 credits if you get a higher score, and the college math can give you another 6.


For upper courses I'm planning on doing:

Business Ethics and Society (DSST)
The American Dream (ECE)

The first is 3 credits, and the american dream is 6.

With all of those I'll have 120 credits, enough for a 4 year Bachelor degree!

What do you guys think of my plan? Do you think it's better to do something as a major instead? Or is the general liberal arts enough. I was thinking of doing teacher's college right after (I would have fulfilled 30 credits in English and 18 in Math)

[perriquit]

VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION:

Were your credits earned at a Regionally Accredited College or University?

[NAP]

That’s true. International credits may be treated differently than US credits. Have you had your credits evaluated at EC already through an application?

According to the post below, CLEP College Composition does not count for credit despite what the Student Guide says. This exam was changed about July 2010, so the policy may be different for it now; it is hard to know what the current policy is by reading the most recent Student Guide. Be sure to check on that.

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post77789

If you need the Written English Requirement, some inexpensive options include UExcel, ECE, StraighterLine. (CLEP does not count.)

I’m not sure if they count Literature as English, but the Humanities CLEP will be humanities not English.

Also, do some research on the American Dream ECE. It is very tempting because of the 6 UL credits, but there may be better options. I have been considering this exam, but after reading this site, I may reconsider:

American Dream ECE Study Guide - Free-Clep-Prep.com

Do you have your 2 depths and gen ed credits completed?

Welcome to the forum!


Forgot to mention: There is also a new capstone course requirement which is 3 UL credits.

[OE800_85]

Sadly I did hear about the capstone requirement, adds another 1000USD to my total cost! Also not long ago the GRE Test credits were eliminated, man I wish I learnt about all this sooner

My credits were earned at UWO (great school in Canada, should have kept up with my studies, lol) and Athabasca. Athabasca already accepted my credits from UWO and have transferred them onto my transcript there, ie: assigned them other similar courses at their institution.

According to Excelsior's website, Athabasca is listed as an international institution they directly accept transcripts from.

http://www.excelsior.edu/c/document_libr...upId=78666

If I do Liberal Studies, do I still need to have a concentration? I can show you a list of the courses I did at my brick'n'mortar Universities to give you a better idea:
(note: In Canada, first year courses are listed as 0XX, second/third as 1XX and 2XX, fourth as 3XX, and honours as 4XX)

From UWO: Transferred

Calculus 050A L
Calculus 081B L
Computer Science 026A L
Computer Science 027A L
Philosophy 020* L
Physics 020* L
Psychology 020* L
Computer Science 211A U
Statistics 222A L
Writing 101F L
Philosophy 142E* U
Astronomy 121B L
Math 222A U
Math 223B U

Stars denote 6 credit courses, all others are 3 credits

At Athabasca:

Political Economy 230 L
History 307 U
Nutrition for Health 331 U


In total that's 63 Credits
42 Lower Level
21 Upper Level

(I know the 100/200 thing gets very confusing, in that some are upper and lower, but this is how my university (athabasca) evaluates them)

Essentially I need 57 More Credits, my background is quite wide and it seems to fulfill most of the requirements, right? Do I need to do a concentration, as you guys mentioned?

Description of Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies from Excelsior:

Minimum of 120 semester hours. Within that total, at least 60 semester hours must be earned in the arts and sciences with at least 21 of those 60 semester hours earned at the upper or advanced level. The remaining 60 semester hours, of which at least 9 must be earned at the upper or advanced level, may be earned in applied professional courses, additional arts and science courses, or a combination of both.

So, more or less, it's 90 Lower Level and 30 Upper Level Credits.

And that means I'd need 48 lower Level and 9 Upper Level

The Lower Level I'm considering doing:

American Literature CLEP*
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP*
College Composition CLEP* (if they accept it now for credit)
English Literature CLEP*
Humanities CLEP*
French CLEP* (haha i'm near fluent in French already)
College Math CLEP* (i'm worried this might overlap what I've already studied in math...I've done Calculus (1 and 2), and Discrete Structures (it's a special math for Computer Programmers)

For the Upper Level I'm considering:

ECE American Dream (it sounds rough, but I'm quite used to essay exams by now, hell at least I can TYPE the essay, in school I'd be writing on that goddamn yellow paper with a semi-broken wrist by the end!)

The last one I guess I can make my capstone course, do you guys know which course that would be for Liberal Studies?


**Edit: ECE Literacy Instruction in the Elementary School is considered Upper Level and Education (I wonder if teacher's college would accept credit for this, or it could also count as an English credit)

Anyways I wanted to do a Major in English or in Math, but it seems impossible to do through tests, a Liberal Studies should be good enough for me.

As I understand, for most teacher's colleges, if you want to teach secondary, you need 30 Credits in one Subject (English) and 18 in another (Math), but it doesn't seem to matter what level they are.

I know I wrote a whole essay here (see, I kinda like them) but I hope you guys can help, any opinions/feedback would be really greatly appreciated!

[OE800_85]

Another note about The American Dream

Has the author not thought of just reading summaries of all the books Excelsior lists for this, perhaps on something like sparknotes or wikipedia? Literature exams are more about analysis, and I feel if you have a general idea on a topic and the bottom line, you can use that information to formulate your own opinions/views on it.

[NAP]

I agree; the recent policy changes are disappointing.

You are really flying blind without the current Liberal Arts catalog being available, yet. They may have made changes to some of the other policies, so I may not be giving you accurate information.

At least for now, you should be able to get an updated (11/2010) list of requirements by choosing the BSLS on this page and downloading the requirements at the bottom of the next page. (I know the catalog will have a lot more information, but this will give you something to work with.)

http://www.excelsior.edu/ecapps/degreePr...e.jsf?gw=1

(Arts & Sciences are the Humanities, Social Sciences, History, Natural Sciences, and Math categories. Free electives are Applied Professional or more Arts & Sciences.)


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Yes, you will need to have at least 2 Depths or a combination of depth and/or Area of Focus (minor) and/or Major. It looks like you already have one depth in math and are close to a second depth in Computer Science.

---Depth Requirement 1:
12 credits in a single arts and sciences discipline with 3 upper level

---Depth Requirement 2:
12 credits in a single applied professional or arts and sciences discipline with 3 upper level

---Area of Focus (optional):
21 credits in a single applied professional or arts and sciences discipline with 6 upper level

---Major Option (optional):
30-33 credits in single arts and sciences discipline with 15 upper level, plus Research and Writing in the Major (which is not required for a Math major)



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The Mathematics Major has specific course/exam requirements. Here is a list:

Mathematics Major

The required subjects and/or credits are as follows (a minimum of 2 semester hours is necessary to satisfy Core (I) and Intermediate and upper-level (II) course requirements):
15.00 semester hours at the lower level
18.00 semester hours at the upper level

I. Core Requirements

A1. The first semester of the Calculus Sequence.
A2. The second semester of the Calculus Sequence
A3. The third semester of the Calculus Sequence
B. Differential Equations
C. Linear Algebra

II. Intermediate and Upper Level Courses

It is required to complete at least six courses from this section, with a minimum of two courses from section A, two courses from section B, and one course from each subgroup of section C.
A. Analysis - such as Advanced Calculus, Real Analysis, Vector Analysis, Complex Analysis
B. Algebra - such as Abstract Algebra or Modern Algebra, Number Theory, Algebraic Structures
C1. Applied Mathematics - such as Combinatorics, Discrete Mathematics, Decision Theory, Graph Theory
C2. Applied Mathematics – such as Computer Methods or Numerical Analysis, Linear Programming, Mathematical Modeling, Multiple Regression Analysis, Statistics (must be calculus based)

**Please note that there may have been changes made to these requirements, since the last Liberal Arts Catalog was published.

***Also note, EC allows 9 credits in math below the level of Calculus plus Stats. (These will not count toward the credits for the math major.)

Here are some options for UL math credit - http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...e-uoi.html


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Thanks for the tip on American Dream. I haven’t looked into it thoroughly, yet, but I thought it was based on several textbooks and not individual novels. I’d much prefer to do math problems than write essays. I’m glad to see that you have both strengths.

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I had hoped to get a chance to look at this more for you, but here is what I have so far.

[OE800_85]

About the American Dream, just realized that it probably won't count as English/Literature anyways sadly, just as History, and it seems there are lots of other options for History anyways at that level

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About the Math Program, where are you finding these requirements? I can't find them anywhere on their site, just this...

http://www.excelsior.edu/ecapps/faces/De...tail&id=21

At Excelsior, for example, the degree conferred would be a Bachelor of Arts/Sciences in Liberal Arts with Major in Mathematics

Is this the program you're talking about? If so, where did you find the course requirements?


So essentially:


Mathematics Major

The required subjects and/or credits are as follows (a minimum of 2 semester hours is necessary to satisfy Core (I) and Intermediate and upper-level (II) course requirements):
15.00 semester hours at the lower level
18.00 semester hours at the upper level

I. Core Requirements

A1. The first semester of the Calculus Sequence. *Complete
A2. The second semester of the Calculus Sequence *Complete
A3. The third semester of the Calculus Sequence
B. Differential Equations
C. Linear Algebra

II. Intermediate and Upper Level Courses

It is required to complete at least six courses from this section, with a minimum of two courses from section A, two courses from section B, and one course from each subgroup of section C.
A. Analysis - such as Advanced Calculus, Real Analysis, Vector Analysis, Complex Analysis
B. Algebra - such as Abstract Algebra or Modern Algebra, Number Theory, Algebraic Structures
C1. Applied Mathematics - such as Combinatorics, Discrete Mathematics, Decision Theory, Graph Theory *Complete (discrete math)
C2. Applied Mathematics – such as Computer Methods or Numerical Analysis, Linear Programming, Mathematical Modeling, Multiple Regression Analysis, Statistics (must be calculus based) *Will ALEKS Stats Count?



So essentially I'd need at least 7 more courses in Math in order to graduate as a Math Major and ALEKS really wouldn't help at all towards this?

[OE800_85]

by the way, are there any other options to test out of those requirements?

[NAP]

.....
About the Math Program, where are you finding these requirements? I can't find them anywhere on their site, just this...

http://www.excelsior.edu/ecapps/faces/De...tail&id=21

At Excelsior, for example, the degree conferred would be a Bachelor of Arts/Sciences in Liberal Arts with Major in Mathematics

Is this the program you're talking about? If so, where did you find the course requirements?

......

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I am currently enrolled at EC as a math major. I was planning to use the Math GRE for this. I will need to consider all of my options on whether it is possible for me to move forward with my orignial plans or change my plans drastically.

I got the requirements out of the previous version of the Liberal Arts catalog.

.....
Statistics (must be calculus based) *Will ALEKS Stats Count??

I haven't gotten an answer on this, but Calculus does not seem to be a prereq of taking ALEKS Stats.

.....
So essentially I'd need at least 7 more courses in Math in order to graduate as a Math Major and ALEKS really wouldn't help at all towards this?

Correct; ALEKS is for Pre-Calc and lower.

.....
by the way, are there any other options to test out of those requirements?

From UL Math thread mentioned above:

Ohio University has exams for credit in many subjects, including Calculus 1-4, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equations (UL at EC). These math exams are 4 credits in quarter-hours (not semester hours) and are $288 for each exam.

Correspondence Course List


Also note: Ohio U may have some exams in English and/or Literature that may fit your needs.

[NAP]

Okay, I see that you are looking at other options (which is good) so I’ll just add a few more thoughts here for now.

Do not be surprised if you need to go through the international credit evaluation for your UWO credits. I have transcripts from several US colleges and needed to send them all in, even though I had transferred the credits to a university.

One of the options I have considered in order to get the most out of 2 GRE exams is COSC for the Liberal Studies concentration. This may work for a GRE and your UL credits. I haven’t seen anyone do it, so I don’t know if it is possible, but you may want to check it out.

Also try to find out more about the admissions requirements for teacher’s college. Can you use exams? Do you need a specific major? This will help you plan your undergrad degree.

And don’t feel bad about asking questions and trying different scenarios. College policies are difficult to navigate. The Big 3 is a whole new system to learn. You’re doing a great job with trying to figure it out and find the best degree for you!