My Plan Moving Forward relating to BAin4Weeks Post and FIU/UMP/COSCI

[arcangel27]

Dear DegreeForum,


I may have made some mistakes moving forward, but I since my father is paying for the majority of my studies (I am 15 years old) I hope that can be forgiven.

I am a French - US citizen, and began my university studies at age 10, at which time I started in-person courses at a community college.

At the beginning, as the United States university system was so novel to me, I just reveled in learning as much as I could over the past 5 years, having finished these classes at my community college (I took a computer science class as you see below my first image at another university, but that was solely a single class):

Community college image of non-official transcript:
https://ufile.io/e31dbiki
Completing in total 53 credits with a 3.24 GPA
And as aforementioned, there is 1 other 3 unit Computer science 1 class taken at another university.

Then I started UND's online BS degree in Computer Science, here is a link to the required courses: https://und.edu/programs/computer-scienc...ments.html

And here are all the courses that I have taken at UND (Image linked): https://ufile.io/ifjwb21k
Completing in total 79 credits with a GPA of 3.269.


In total, I have 123 credits, but most of them are not valid for my degree, which is rather painful to think about, seeing as if I had started the right path at 10 years old, I would have graduated a semester ago... Sigh...

As you can see, I have a while to go on my current path, but I have now figured out there are better solutions out there for those that want to avoid the slow-paced Exam, Homework, Lecture grind of "regular" online university which is basically the same as in person university with due dates, and limited self-paced or test-out educational opportunities.

But on the path that I am right now, it will take me two years of constant 5-class semester schedule to complete all the computer science class + finish up the rest of the electives. Seeing as I have not transferred much into UND, I can take as many Saylor/Study.com/Sophia/CLEP courses as I want, more or less, could one of you please check this out with me and see if there is any way for me to finish my degree more quickly with these tools?

With my nonexistent progress in the degree at UND, I am also looking at switching over to a FIU, COSC, SNHU (I attempted a transfer with my father, and apparently I am better off at UND) or any other university that will give me either a faster BS or just a BA. FIU is nice, but for a BA I can only transfer 90 credits, leaving a year of full UND study to go assuming everything I would like transfers and I finish some courses.

I have only run a cursory check on Excilsor, COSC, Pierpont, UMPI (I am interested in this one), and am basically looking for something with the good reputation of FIU, SNHU, or UND and allow me to transfer enough credits to get this degree over with Saylor/e.t.c classes and test-outs in a semester + summer if this is the direction I am to take.

Otherwise I can finish in just a year at FIU perhaps, and if so could someone check if all my scattered extra credits in various could lead to some kind of Dual degree with a few extra test-out classes? I am open to anything, including commencing work on my masters while finishing my bachelors. 

Let me know your thoughts please, I am in a bit of a pickle with regards to the decision making, and my time is generally becoming more and more limited for coursework as I am starting a company.

Best Regards,

Carmello

[dfrecore]

The link you posted for your UND courses is not working, it wants me to log in, so I can't see it (same with the link to your CC courses). The 2 files you attached at the bottom of your post do work, so I would put your UND courses in that way so we can see them.

[FastTrackDegree]

Does it have to be a CS degree? Otherwise consider Excelsior.

BALS, BPS in Business Management or the BPS in Technology Management (a few extra courses) can all be finished fast. You can go back later and get a CS degree if you need it. And If you have the power... I would look into if you can get a scholarship for a Master's degree or a second Bachelor's degree somewhere. The Open University will take you at 16.

[dfrecore]

I would say that TESU would be a good option, because they have a BACS that is available via alt-credit - but you have to be 18 to enroll. UMPI YourPace does not have a CompSci degree, but even if it did, you have to be 20 to enroll.

Excelsior does not have a CompSci degree. Neither does COSC.

Pierpont requires you to be 20 - and even then, it's just as associates degree.

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This leaves you with UND, SNHU, or FIU as viable options. SNHU and FIU will both require 30cr of residency, which would be at least a year FT. But, it really depends on the academic calendar as to what each term will look like.

FIU looks like it's on a regular semester system, although it looks like they have 4 shorter terms within each term - but I have no idea if they will have the courses you need in those shorter terms. So you'd have to investigate that. It also looks like they'll take CLEP & DSST, and possibly ACE (Straighterline and Saylor are listed, Sophia and Study.com are not, so you would want to check on those specifically).

SNHU operates a bit differently - you can take 6 8-week terms per year - so if you took 2 courses each term, you could do 36cr in 1 year. They will take all kinds of ACE credit as well.

UND requires a LOT of credits there - 60cr in your major alone, and that doesn't include the 40cr of pre-reqs/co-reqs. Looks like they take CLEP.

FHSU is another option - they do accept CLEP.
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Practically every other school you look at will require at LEAST 30cr be taken there. So your best bet is to apply to several schools, and see where your credits land.

What you want to do, is to look FORWARD, rather than BACKWARD. Backward is saying "what have I already taken" and does you no good. Forward is saying "what will it take to complete my degree?" This is what you want to do.

So, for each school that has a degree that you like, you need to create a degree plan, plug in what you've already completed, plug in the courses you can do alternatively via ACE, CLEP, or DSST - and then figure out what you have remaining to do at that school, and what each term looks like. And don't forget cost. This will enable you to compare apples-to-apples when you have the plans all laid out in front of you.

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I was able to open the UND doc - and I show that you have 33cr at UND - so a total of 89cr, not 123. Where are the other 34cr you say you have?

[arcangel27]

The link you posted for your UND courses is not working, it wants me to log in, so I can't see it (same with the link to your CC courses).  The 2 files you attached at the bottom of your post do work, so I would put your UND courses in that way so we can see them.

This UND Link? https://und.edu/programs/computer-scienc...ments.html

It should be open to the world.

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I would say that TESU would be a good option, because they have a BACS that is available via alt-credit - but you have to be 18 to enroll.  UMPI YourPace does not have a CompSci degree, but even if it did, you have to be 20 to enroll.

Excelsior does not have a CompSci degree. Neither does COSC.

Pierpont requires you to be 20 - and even then, it's just as associates degree.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This leaves you with UND, SNHU, or FIU as viable options.  SNHU and FIU will both require 30cr of residency, which would be at least a year FT.  But, it really depends on the academic calendar as to what each term will look like.

FIU looks like it's on a regular semester system, although it looks like they have 4 shorter terms within each term - but I have no idea if they will have the courses you need in those shorter terms.  So you'd have to investigate that.  It also looks like they'll take CLEP & DSST, and possibly ACE (Straighterline and Saylor are listed, Sophia and Study.com are not, so you would want to check on those specifically).

SNHU operates a bit differently - you can take 6 8-week terms per year - so if you took 2 courses each term, you could do 36cr in 1 year.  They will take all kinds of ACE credit as well.

UND requires a LOT of credits there - 60cr in your major alone, and that doesn't include the 40cr of pre-reqs/co-reqs.  Looks like they take CLEP.

FHSU is another option - they do accept CLEP.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Practically every other school you look at will require at LEAST 30cr be taken there.  So your best bet is to apply to several schools, and see where your credits land.

What you want to do, is to look FORWARD, rather than BACKWARD.  Backward is saying "what have I already taken" and does you no good.  Forward is saying "what will it take to complete my degree?"  This is what you want to do.

So, for each school that has a degree that you like, you need to create a degree plan, plug in what you've already completed, plug in the courses you can do alternatively via ACE, CLEP, or DSST - and then figure out what you have remaining to do at that school, and what each term looks like.  And don't forget cost.  This will enable you to compare apples-to-apples when you have the plans all laid out in front of you.

---

I was able to open the UND doc - and I show that you have 33cr at UND - so a total of 89cr, not 123.  Where are the other 34cr you say you have?

Thank you, also please note that TESU does not like younger students. Also, with regards to the credits, you can see many more from WNC, UNR in all the images linked. Unfortunately they are mostly 100-200 level classes, but still quite a few credits for not having a degree, and even worse, only having finished a small part of that said degree.

---

I would say that TESU would be a good option, because they have a BACS that is available via alt-credit - but you have to be 18 to enroll.  UMPI YourPace does not have a CompSci degree, but even if it did, you have to be 20 to enroll.

Excelsior does not have a CompSci degree. Neither does COSC.

Pierpont requires you to be 20 - and even then, it's just as associates degree.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This leaves you with UND, SNHU, or FIU as viable options.  SNHU and FIU will both require 30cr of residency, which would be at least a year FT.  But, it really depends on the academic calendar as to what each term will look like.

FIU looks like it's on a regular semester system, although it looks like they have 4 shorter terms within each term - but I have no idea if they will have the courses you need in those shorter terms.  So you'd have to investigate that.  It also looks like they'll take CLEP & DSST, and possibly ACE (Straighterline and Saylor are listed, Sophia and Study.com are not, so you would want to check on those specifically).

SNHU operates a bit differently - you can take 6 8-week terms per year - so if you took 2 courses each term, you could do 36cr in 1 year.  They will take all kinds of ACE credit as well.

UND requires a LOT of credits there - 60cr in your major alone, and that doesn't include the 40cr of pre-reqs/co-reqs.  Looks like they take CLEP.

FHSU is another option - they do accept CLEP.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Practically every other school you look at will require at LEAST 30cr be taken there.  So your best bet is to apply to several schools, and see where your credits land.

What you want to do, is to look FORWARD, rather than BACKWARD.  Backward is saying "what have I already taken" and does you no good.  Forward is saying "what will it take to complete my degree?"  This is what you want to do.

So, for each school that has a degree that you like, you need to create a degree plan, plug in what you've already completed, plug in the courses you can do alternatively via ACE, CLEP, or DSST - and then figure out what you have remaining to do at that school, and what each term looks like.  And don't forget cost.  This will enable you to compare apples-to-apples when you have the plans all laid out in front of you.

---

I was able to open the UND doc - and I show that you have 33cr at UND - so a total of 89cr, not 123.  Where are the other 34cr you say you have?

Also with regards to the UND required credits, it should not be a problem as I have taken most of the required credits at UND rather than at WNC/UNR.

Best,

Carmello

[dfrecore]

The link to your CC courses shows 53cr earned.
The link to your UND courses shows 33cr earned.

The 1st attachment at the bottom of the post is a duplicate of your CC - 53cr.
The 2nd attachment at the bottom of the post is for 1 course - 3cr.

I'm not seeing where you have 79cr from UND. I'm also not seeing a total of 123cr. I show 89cr total between 3 schools.

[davewill]

I would say that TESU would be a good option, because they have a BACS that is available via alt-credit - but you have to be 18 to enroll.  ...

I think that in this instance, it would be worth trying TESU. I know they don't often grant exceptions to the age restriction, but they also don't often get 15 year olds with 89 college credits and who have been taking college level courses for 4 years. It might make a difference.

Of course, if I were in the OP's shoes, I might be thinking instead about what top university could give me a full-ride scholarship and really nuture me as a student.

[dfrecore]

I would say that TESU would be a good option, because they have a BACS that is available via alt-credit - but you have to be 18 to enroll.  ...

I think that in this instance, it would be worth trying TESU. I know they don't often grant exceptions to the age restriction, but they also don't often get 15 year olds with 89 college credits and who have been taking college level courses for 4 years. It might make a difference.

Of course, if I were in the OP's shoes, I might be thinking instead about what top university could give me a full-ride scholarship and really nuture me as a student.

They already require a waiver if you're 18, the normal age to enroll is 20.  So my guess is, they are going to be a pain about it.  They're not known for their willingness to work with students...good customer service is not exactly their forte.

Looking at other schools is definitely an option.  But he specifically said he doesn't want to spend the time (in years, or even in daily work) since he's starting a company.  So my guess is, the fastest/easiest option going forward, even if the cost is more than what we usually advise on here.

[arcangel27]

The link to your CC courses shows 53cr earned.
The link to your UND courses shows 33cr earned.

The 1st attachment at the bottom of the post is a duplicate of your CC - 53cr.
The 2nd attachment at the bottom of the post is for 1 course - 3cr.

I'm not seeing where you have 79cr from UND.  I'm also not seeing a total of 123cr.  I show 89cr total between 3 schools.

You are right, apologies, I can do calculus but seemingly not basic math   

I erroneously counted the accumulative credits as one, you are right, 89 Credits in total.

[dfrecore]

The link to your CC courses shows 53cr earned.
The link to your UND courses shows 33cr earned.

The 1st attachment at the bottom of the post is a duplicate of your CC - 53cr.
The 2nd attachment at the bottom of the post is for 1 course - 3cr.

I'm not seeing where you have 79cr from UND.  I'm also not seeing a total of 123cr.  I show 89cr total between 3 schools.

You are right, apologies, I can do calculus but seemingly not basic math   

I erroneously counted the accumulative credits as one, you are right, 89 Credits in total.

I can do basic math, but not Calculus, so we are even!