I have no idea what I'm doing with all of these credits but no four year degree.

[CakeOrDeath]

Hi all,

I have been in and out of college since the Summer of 1999 and I have three A.A.S. degrees (Two of which are from the CCAF). I have had more majors in that time then I can count, lots of extra credits for IT certifications, and two separate jobs in the Air Force so I ooze a disjointed hodgepodge of expensive, yet all together seemingly worthless college credits. That's really long for I suck at college.

I have started attending Excelsior college going the traditional online route and I just recently came across the degree by exam route. I do fairly well on certification exams so I hopeful that I can work hard and finish a four year degree quickly with this method. One problem though... I don't know what I'm doing. On paper I have 180 CC hours worth of college credit. Excelsior is shown as taking 117 credits to the university but due to not having hardly any to apply to the core major I am at around 30 credits to graduate. I would like something with an IT focus but at this point I would take a degree in underwater basket weaving for my first BA/BS degree and then continue on from there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[UptonSinclair]

I am not sure what route you have chosen with Excelsior, but their BSLS is an extremely flexible degree. Though it is a liberal arts degree you can choose to have a concentration in Computer Information Systems. This may or may not work for you depending on your goals. If you post your courses and credits on here, people are usually very helpful in degree planning. If you prefer the technical route at Excelsior there is a Technical Studies degree in Computer Technology, but Excelsior tends to be far pickier on credits applied toward Business and Technology.

I am a former Excelsior student who switched to the BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer Information Systems at Thomas Edison State College because of the flexibility. It is possible to complete most of the requirements through Straighterline, Penn Foster, CLEP, and DSST.

[CakeOrDeath]

The courses that I still need for my current degree plan BSPS in Technology Management:

ARTS AND SCIENCES COMPONENT TO INCLUDE: Needed
Written English 3.0 Comp 2
Humanities Requirement Needed
Natural Science/Math Requirement Needed

Total Arts and Sciences 3.0
Total Upper Level Arts and Science 6.0
Professional Core Needed
Leadership 3.0
Accounting 3.0
Project Management 3.0
Technology Management Core Needed
Technology and Society 3.0
Engineering Economics 3.0
Intro. to Energy Utilization 3.0
Integrated Technology Management Assessment 3.0
Total Professional Component 21.0
Total Upper Level Professional Component 15.0
ADDITIONAL CREDIT COMPONENT (45 CREDITS) TO INCLUDE: Needed
Any Collegiate-level Study 4.0
Total Additional Credit Component 4.0
Total Upper Level Additional Credit Component 4.0

I'm not sure if my any upper college level course credit would count my UL Arts and Sciences courses that I need to take or not. As best as I can tell, I need a second English class (3 CC), one LL science or arts class/test (3 CC), two UL science/arts classes (6 CC), possibly 4 UL CC of a random nature and the rest are core classes that are specific to the degree program. I could post a ton of unofficial college transcript stuff to include certifications here but I don't know how helpful that would be.

I was surprised at what they took and didn't take for certification credits. My CompTIA Project + certification did not knock out my project management class though the class that I took towards the degree was with WGU. My VMware certifications were not taken either nor was my 40 hour VCP 5 class or my CIW web foundations associate.

I guess the questions that I have at this point are:
1. Would TESC provide me with a better bang for the buck? If you had it to do over again Upton, would you have made the same switch and why was this a better fit/faster/better then Excelsior for you?

2. If I were to stay with Excelsior, are my remaining classes able to be tested out of?

3. Do TESC or CO require a focus for your major or is a general studies degree an option to later add additional degrees with a focus onto your accomplishments? I guess what I am asking is one of these schools more accepting of credits/certifications?

Thank you all again for reading and your help.

[UptonSinclair]

The degree you have chosen with Excelsior has several specific requirements, most of which you will not be able to test out of. This may seem like odd advice, but it may be worth your effort to apply to TESC and Charter Oak and see what they offer in the way of transfer credits. Just so that you are aware, Excelsior is far more flexible with their liberal studies degree.

If I had it to do over again, I would have avoided Excelsior and went with Thomas Edison. Excelsior's prices were pretty steep for courses and I wasn't impressed with the one I took. TESC is far more flexible in their acceptance of transfer credits but I am not sure about certificates since I have none. Out of my 184 credits, TESC transcribed 181. 59 of those were from CCAF. The applicability depends on the degree program. Charter Oak is pretty flexible as well, but they are not as generous with upper level credits for exams.

All three colleges offer general studies degrees of one type or another that allow an area of focus.

[cookderosa]

My suggestion is to un-enroll (or pause enrollment), read the forum for 1 month, then re-enroll. Investing 1 month here BEFORE spending another $1 on your education will save you buckets of time and money.

[JTP]

What IT certs do you have?

I just applied to both TESC and COSC and sent them my CompTIA A+ and Security+ transcripts.

Still waiting on my last college transcript to make it there/be input before I get my eval. If you have either of those certs I can let you know what they give me for it when it comes through.

[Exfactor]

Speaking with your advisor at Excelsior should be the first thing you should do.

[soliloquy]

I would pause enrollment and have credits evaluated for liberal arts degrees at TESC and COSC so you can really see your options.

[cookderosa]

Speaking with your advisor at Excelsior should be the first thing you should do.

I'd have to disagree..... advisors are wrong all the time, not to mention their advice is heavily bias in favor of the school they work for. The info is here, it's free, and there are altruistic people who can help. Knowing the information yourself is your best protection against making another misstep. Just my two-cents.

[Exfactor]

I'd have to disagree..... advisors are wrong all the time, not to mention their advice is heavily bias in favor of the school they work for. The info is here, it's free, and there are altruistic people who can help. Knowing the information yourself is your best protection against making another misstep. Just my two-cents.

All opinions are generally bias, even the ones posted on this very forum. If an individual is already enrolled in a program that he/she is unsure about logically it would appear best to speak with your advisor to explore your options (testing options), than to just withdraw ect.