IT degree with A levels & 7 years of work experience

[Sherwood]

I wrote an email to Shea Cushman of UMPI to ask if they accept the Duolingo English test. 
https://www.umpi.edu/campus-directory/shea-cushman/
 
I did a practice test on Duolingo English, and it gave me an estimated score of 115-145, which I guess should be enough.
 
 
An important possible stumbling block regarding an AICE accreditation or any other accreditation for UMPI:
 
I wrote that I finished a 2-year vocational school, but in reality, I actually finished 10 out of 12 school classes in Lithuania and a 4-year vocational school abroad (first 2 are a high school replacement basically).
I have a diploma from there, but that school has been closed for about 10 years now (absorbed by a bigger institution).
So in case no one recognizes it, I would be considered to not have even finished high school.
Maybe the transcripts from the two other universities after it would prove that I actually did finish it, since you can't enroll in a university without finishing high school.


I'm eager to start with Sophia, but my credentials are my biggest concern at the moment.

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@rachel83az

UMPI also requires a physical science and a biological science, at least one of which needs a lab.

Is it all possible to do this lab online? And is it difficult?

[Tomas]

They accept Duolingo, minimum score 105:
https://online.umpi.edu/faqs/

It shouldn't be a a problem if school is out of operation.

[rachel83az]

Yes, the Sophia.org labs are 100% online. If you've already been doing any science at all, it'll probably be extremely easy for you.

[bjcheung77]

Have you applied and sent all your transcripts for evaluations? If not, then you won't be able to do anything until an acceptance and evaluation of your credits can come through. I would suggest getting some credits from Sophia.org that you know you need to do, so create a spreadsheet and plug everything in from the WIKI.

[Sherwood]

AICE is about $200 for the first transcript and $100 for subsequent transcripts. They're one of the more permissive (or, rather, realistic) evaluators out there. If it's too burdensome to get the right transcripts, you can just spend the money on Sophia instead. Two transcript evaluations of $300 total would pay for 3 months of Sophia. That should be more than sufficient to fill out your GEC requirements at UMPI.

The AICE website has a list of 9 evaluators:
https://aice-eval.org/endorsed-members/

I'm guessing by AICE you mean this one?
https://acei-global.org/

I checked the requirements for this particular one, and it seems they mostly need a notarized color copy + another one translated to English. And all of it sent by mail.
I will get my Diploma and transcripts evaluated then.

Honestly I think it would be quicker to just pass everything at Sophia, but I'm afraid that 10 out of 12 school classes in Lithuania wouldn't be enough to apply to UMPI.

[bjcheung77]

Yes, it's the ACEI global evaluation... Same 4 letters, but it was transcribed differently.

[rachel83az]

Sorry, yes, ACEI is the correct one in this instance.

And I'm not sure what you mean about "Honestly I think it would be quicker to just pass everything at Sophia, but I'm afraid that 10 out of 12 school classes in Lithuania wouldn't be enough to apply to UMPI."

People have applied to UMPI with 0 prior university credit and all transfer credits from only Sophia and maybe Study.com.

[dfrecore]

Sorry, yes, ACEI is the correct one in this instance.

And I'm not sure what you mean about "Honestly I think it would be quicker to just pass everything at Sophia, but I'm afraid that 10 out of 12 school classes in Lithuania wouldn't be enough to apply to UMPI."

People have applied to UMPI with 0 prior university credit and all transfer credits from only Sophia and maybe Study.com.

I think it's the lack of high school graduation that may be what OP is worrying about.

[rachel83az]

Oh, duh. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if that counts as a "HS diploma" or not will be to get those Lithuanian credits evaluated ASAP.

[Sherwood]

Oh, duh. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if that counts as a "HS diploma" or not will be to get those Lithuanian credits evaluated ASAP.

I'm more worried about those 4 years in a vocational school because 2 years from that actually go as a HS diploma.

I've already contacted all the AICE companies on the list. Now I need to translate the diploma into English, notarize it, and send a copy over to them.

 There are two possible problems with the vocational school:

1. It was a legitimate brick-and-mortar place that has been closed for about 10 years. 
   There are thousands of people who have graduated from it since it's been in operation for many decades. It was actually called "The Chemistry and Technology College of D.I. Mendeleev". Rumor has it that he was part of its opening, but I'm not sure.
   
2. The vocational school was in Russia, and given how bad a rap it has these days, I'm a bit afraid of possible prejudices.