Job Loss to Utah Master's/PhD Dreams: Suggestions for Fast-Tracking a Bachelor's

[rachel83az]

While waiting for your current possible credits to evaluate, I would strongly suggest starting with Sophia. You almost certainly have no credits in US History, for instance, so you can do that. Sophia also has math, science, and humanities courses that will be required for a degree.

If you don't want to start with the general education credits, you could certainly start with a Google certificate or two. Depending on the country where you live, this may be an exceptionally inexpensive way to get (mostly elective) credits.

Do NOT take the SOS-110 or any other TESU classes until you are otherwise nearly done with your degree. However, you should certainly apply and pay for the Medical Terminology TECEP as soon as possible in order to fully enroll.

[davewill]

The first step is to apply to TESU. That will lock in your catalog. You can wait to enroll (by signing up for the TECEP) until you actually have some credit to send in.

Here's the page on international student applications. Note that you will need to satify the English language requirement.
https://www.tesu.edu/admissions/apply-in...al-student

[dfrecore]

If you list any languages you're fluent in, we can give you more info - Chinese is not a language, you'd have to specify Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. And let us know if you are fluent in speaking, writing, reading, and/or listening.

[SeaSun]

Basically, I would follow what I mentioned earlier, evaluate current international credits, work on Sophia.org first or the CSM Learn course, Study.com, then TESU (edx and capstone last). Essentially by following the template from LevelUP or Rachel83AZ, you want to work on the 'easier' courses first, one provider at a time, CSM is just 1 course, keep laddering provider by provider so you don't pay a second subscription for something else...  Last but not least, if you can invest in a second monitor, it will really help you multi-task.

Thanks @bjcheung77 , yes, making a list of provider and taking them one provider at a time seem very reasonable, I will do it after evaluating the credit which will wait until after the enrollment.

But I still want to overlap some courses that match what I am doing at the moment, which is preparing for technical interviews, which involves a lot of reading of Algorithm and Software Design Patterns and language-specific stuff.

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While waiting for your current possible credits to evaluate, I would strongly suggest starting with Sophia. You almost certainly have no credits in US History, for instance, so you can do that. Sophia also has math, science, and humanities courses that will be required for a degree.

If you don't want to start with the general education credits, you could certainly start with a Google certificate or two. Depending on the country where you live, this may be an exceptionally inexpensive way to get (mostly elective) credits.

Do NOT take the SOS-110 or any other TESU classes until you are otherwise nearly done with your degree. However, you should certainly apply and pay for the Medical Terminology TECEP as soon as possible in order to fully enroll.

hi @rachel83az, thanks for responding!

yes, you are correct that I didn't have any courses on US History or Western culture or philosophy or anything for that matter, which reminds me that I need to list all the courses I had taken in the vocational college to see if I can have any implication from what kind of course I can take during the waiting.

As for the certificate, I couldn't find any match or I missed it in any Sample Degree Plan that says we can use the certificate to substitute the credit, so I'm not sure what certificate I should take. 

And I really hope that my current study for the technical interview(Algorithm, Software Design Pattern, Programming language features, etc) can overlap with anything that can be used for creddit.
Maybe that Edx's MicroBachelor's is an idea? (I read that IBM's Fullstack Application will be counted as 3 credits towards TESU... and only 3 credits..........)
Or Google's UX or Project Management or IT certificate? (I can't find any source saying these certificate will be counted as credits, but I do see some other people mention it's useful)


As for Medical Terminology TECEP, I have some questions when reading the WIKI, so it seems I can just take the course but can drop it once my status becomes enrolled.
And it also seems I have to repeat this procedure every 12 month?

Also I notice that comparing to SNHU, it seems the fee for each credit is higher in TESU. 
And when you said don't take any courses in TESU until the degree is almost finished. 
Does this mean that we have to take some courses at TESU? With a kind of high credit fee?


Thanks again!

---

The first step is to apply to TESU. That will lock in your catalog. You can wait to enroll (by signing up for the TECEP) until you actually have some credit to send in.

Here's the page on international student applications. Note that you will need to satify the English language requirement.
https://www.tesu.edu/admissions/apply-in...al-student

Hi @davewill 

thanks for the pointer!

Yeah, I see that now. I will proceed to do the application.

And I wonder if my study at the University Of The People can prove my English language requirement, but I will send the inquiry to admission office or someone who's in charge of this.

Thanks again!

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If you list any languages you're fluent in, we can give you more info - Chinese is not a language, you'd have to specify Mandarin, Cantonese, etc.  And let us know if you are fluent in speaking, writing, reading, and/or listening.

hi @dfrecore, thanks for responding!

Yeah, so, I know both Mandarin and Cantonese.

And for Mandarin, I can do all of the things you mentioned.
But for Cantonese, mmm... since I never take any formal education in it(Cantonese to me is like mother tone kind of thing?), I'm not sure I can be very certain about I know how to "write" it.

[rachel83az]

hi @rachel83az, thanks for responding!

yes, you are correct that I didn't have any courses on US History or Western culture or philosophy or anything for that matter, which reminds me that I need to list all the courses I had taken in the vocational college to see if I can have any implication from what kind of course I can take during the waiting.

As for the certificate, I couldn't find any match or I missed it in any Sample Degree Plan that says we can use the certificate to substitute the credit, so I'm not sure what certificate I should take. 

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera These would be mostly free electives. Free electives at TESU can be anything you want. You can fill these electives with credits from Sophia, Coursera, or ACTFL language exams. The ACTFL credits would probably be easiest for you, but the Coursera certificates would probably have the most utility for future job opportunities.

The reason why the Coursera certificates are not on the degree plan itself is because there has been some inconsistent reporting regarding usage. Sometimes, they leave off the programming language credits, for whatever reason. The IBM Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate should, at least, have CLD-420 Architecting Cloud Solutions and that should work for a Comp Sci degree.

And I really hope that my current study for the technical interview(Algorithm, Software Design Pattern, Programming language features, etc) can overlap with anything that can be used for creddit.

Those studies will definitely come in useful for the AOS courses: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ience_Plan If you want, you can combine your current studies with either Study.com courses or Coursera certificates to make sure you get credit for what you're learning.

Maybe that Edx's MicroBachelor's is an idea? (I read that IBM's Fullstack Application will be counted as 3 credits towards TESU... and only 3 credits..........)

No. The "microbachelor" is a misnomer. The one that bjcheung77 is referring to is simply a class that is required for every single TESU degree, not just Computer Science. However, TESU only accepts the edX version towards a Computer Science degree. I would save that until later. It's pretty useless for your current needs.

Or Google's UX or Project Management or IT certificate? (I can't find any source saying these certificate will be counted as credits, but I do see some other people mention it's useful)

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera The IT certificate may only be worth 3 credits. It is a new/updated version and we haven't had any reports of students transferring in the new 15-credit version.

As for Medical Terminology TECEP, I have some questions when reading the WIKI, so it seems I can just take the course but can drop it once my status becomes enrolled.
And it also seems I have to repeat this procedure every 12 month?

Do NOT drop it. Simply do not take the exam. You can ignore it and it will never show up on your transcript. And, yes, it should be done every 11-13 months, as long as you're not taking actual classes. If you take any TESU classes, that resets the clock back to "12 months" from that date.

Also I notice that comparing to SNHU, it seems the fee for each credit is higher in TESU. 
And when you said don't take any courses in TESU until the degree is almost finished. 
Does this mean that we have to take some courses at TESU? With a kind of high credit fee?

SNHU costs less per credit, but you MUST take 30 credits with SNHU. Tuition for SNHU is $320 x 30 credits = $9600. Plus whatever credits you transfer in from elsewhere. 

TESU generally costs more per credit, but you only NEED 6 TESU credits: SOS-110 and the degree capstone. If you take the edX version, you only need 3 TESU credits + edX cornerstone class. For a Comp Sci student, this gives you a few choices:

1. Complete the edX single-class "microbachelor" for about $400. Complete the capstone for $1557. Pay the residency waiver fee of (about) $3300. Total cost, not counting courses taken at Sophia, Coursera, Study.com, etc.: about $5200.
2. Take the capstone and cornerstone at TESU. Transfer in everything else. Pay the residency waiver fee of (about) $3300. Total fees to TESU, not counting courses taken at Sophia, Coursera, Study.com, etc.: about $6400
3. Complete a single flat-rate 16-credit term at TESU that consists of the capstone, the cornerstone, PLA-100, Software Engineering, and 2 easy courses or ePacks of your choice. No waiver fee is due if you complete at least 16 TESU credits. Total cost for the flat-rate term is $4778. Does not count Sophia/Study.com/etc. https://www.tesu.edu/tuition/flat-rate-tuition
 

Regardless of which path you choose, these classes should probably be taken near the end of your degree. They won't allow you to sign up for the capstone, at least, until you've completed most of your required courses.

And I wonder if my study at the University Of The People can prove my English language requirement, but I will send the inquiry to admission office or someone who's in charge of this.

Unfortunately, UoPeople is a "nationally accredited" university. As such, TESU does not accept its credit because TESU does not count it as being a "real" university. TESU only accepts credits from Regionally Accredited universities as being "real" American credits.

This gives you a couple of options. You can complete the TOEFL or IELTS exams. I understand that this can be prohibitively expensive for many students. The other option would be to complete 9 credits from either TEL Learning or Arizona State Universal Learner. TEL Learning classes are $200 each. ASU Universal Learner classes are $425 each.

Yeah, so, I know both Mandarin and Cantonese.

And for Mandarin, I can do all of the things you mentioned.
But for Cantonese, mmm... since I never take any formal education in it(Cantonese to me is like mother tone kind of thing?), I'm not sure I can be very certain about I know how to "write" it.

Mandarin and Cantonese both have only an oral ACTFL exam. You set an appointment and talk to the examiner in Mandarin or Cantonese for 15-30 minutes. This costs $145 per exam and each language's oral exam can be worth up to 12 credits. Unless you go with a Liberal Studies degree (which I would not suggest in your situation), these credits would only count as electives.

Coursera credits will be more difficult/time-consuming, but will probably be more worthwhile to you in the long run.

[dfrecore]

For the ACTFL, you can do the OPIc exam in Mandarin for less than the OPI, which is the only way to get Cantonese (OPIc is computerized, OPI is with a live person); so if you got the highest score, you'd get 6cr UL and 6cr LL - I think it's worth doing, both for the ease (you'd be done with up to 12cr in like 30 minutes) and having those UL credits, even if it's an elective. Sure beats having to take Spanish at Sophia.

[rachel83az]

The OPIc is NOT available for either Mandarin or Cantonese. I checked the LanguageTesting website before posting. I get that the OPIc is ACE-recommended for Mandarin, but that means nothing if you can't take the test. https://www.languagetesting.com/lti/prod...ent_id/228?

[bjcheung77]

@seaSun, I would contact them and see if you can get the OPI and the WRT for the max total of ACE credit.
If you're in China, you've got it easier as you're speaking Mandarin and using Simplified characters.
If you're in HK/Macau, you'll be speaking Cantonese and using Traditional characters.
If you're in Taiwan/Singapore, you'll be speaking Mandarin and also using Traditional characters.

Basically, I would go for both Cantonese, Mandarin OPI and inquire about the WRT for extra college credit.
College Credit: https://www.languagetesting.com/language...ege-credit
Credit Recommendations: https://www.languagetesting.com/credit-r...ssessments
Contact US/Support Link: https://www.languagetesting.com/contact-us/support