Need help with constructing a full path to B.A in Psychology - TESU.

[Shynepapin]

Hi Guys,

I'm new here and it was wonderful finding a whole lot of information for cheap education and also earning credits towards completing any degree basically from the BIG 3. I'm in a situation where I have a B.Sc in Psychology already but it's not from any of the schools in the United States. I have been here for for years now, couldn't afford to take classes for my Masters when I got here, all the option I had was survival, meaning I had to get out there and do what's always right and acceptable to make a living. It has never been easy but it has not gotten worse, I am an educationally oriented individual and I planned on getting back on track fast even if it's means burying myself in manageable debt, which I have little to none up to this day.

Right now, I'm ready to start earning credits towards a new Bachelors from an accredited school in the United States, as my previous B.Sc rarely gets acceptable now because UT at Arlington denied my admission last fall, so my plan is get one from the start using the resources shared on here and putting in a strong application into any Grad School for a Masters degree. I have looked at Sanantone's and JSD's BA in Psychology Path and also looked at the list of courses for a BA in Psychology at TESU, I know what's required of me, but since I am still very much at shock on how this is possible, its basically elating and I have been going through this forum for days, hardly closing the browser and have a lot of thread opened in different tabs. At this point it is overwhelming and I need help.

I am looking for anyone who would spare a little bit of time and work with me in structuring a road map or pathways to earning the BA in Psychology from TESU from just testing out. Here's the list of TESU courses needed to earn the 120 credits needed:

BA in Psychology Credit Distribution

Subject Category Credits
I. General Education Requirements 60
A. Intellectual and Practical Skills 15

Written Communication (6)

Oral Communication (3)

Quantitative Literacy (3)

Information Literacy (3)

B. Civic and Global Learning 9

Diversity (3)

Ethics (3)

Civic Engagement (3)

C. Knowledge of Human Cultures 12
D. Understanding the Physical and Natural World 4-7
E. General Education Electives 17-20
II. Area of Study: Psychology 39
A. Required Courses 30

Introduction to Psychology (3)

Research in Experimental Psychology (3)

Social Psychology (6)

History and Systems of Psychology (3)

Physiological Psychology (3)

Developmental Psychology (3)

Abnormal Psychology (3)

Statistics (3)

Ethics in the Social Sciences (3)

B. Capstone 3

LIB-495 Liberal Arts Capstone (3)

C. Psychology Electives* 6

Adolescent Psychology
Child Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Educational Psychology
Forensic Psychology Relations
Group Dynamics
Humanistic Psychology
Organizational Behavior
Personality
Psychology of Addiction
Psychology of Adulthood
Psychology of Aging
Psychology of Death & Dying
Psychology of Learning
Psychology of Love & Interpersonal
Psychology of Minority Experience
Sensation & Perception
Tests and Measurements

D. Requirements

Courses transferred to Thomas Edison State University are equated to the following levels: 100, 200, 300 or 400. A minimum of 18 credits equating to 300 or 400 are required.


III. Electives 21
Total 120.

Note 1:
The following TECEPÂ exam, DANTES DSST exam or Guided Study course may be used as an elective in the psychology area of study.

SOS-305-DE Drug and Alcohol Abuse (3 credits)
SOS-304-GS Drugs and Society (3 credits)

Note 2: SOS-304-GS Drugs and Society DUPLICATES SOS-305-DE Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

So, where and how I need help is what recommended sources for each of this courses or resources to earn this credits, so I can start build my road map and also go on ahead to start testing out. Remember, I wouldn't want to attend a community college, except if recommended and if it would help me with Gov't loans or grants, but I would really need very few credits there as I have limited time to do anything else other than to go out there and earning a living so survival bills reponsibility can be met.

If any one has a question, I would be happy to work with them, I am looking forward to hearing from JSD and Sonantone, I thought it would be better building my roadmap rather than using JSD's.

Thank you for the anticipated help guys, Shine.

[jsd]

Here are a ton of test out options for the area of study that I've built on our wiki:

JSD's BA in Psychology (after July 1st, 2015) | Degree Forum Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia

Combine this with one of the general ed plans, such as sanantone's, and you have a TESU pscyh degree

Sanantone's TESU General Education Options After July 1, 2015 | Degree Forum Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia

[Shynepapin]

Thank you for the direction, if any question pops up, I'll make sure to ask. Also, I wanted to ask about the two courses that can't be tested-out, the Capstone which you said have to be taken at TESU, do you mean actually attending classes, a Capstone is a research project, so I know how it goes but since I'm testing out, what are the other ways to get the credits the capstone.

Also, do I apply to TESU before I start testing or how do I start, just start testing out straight away, when I have the credits for the courses then I cantact TESU. I don't know what the process entails, other than taking tests to earn credits. So, this where I need some guidance.

Here are a ton of test out options for the area of study that I've built on out wiki:

JSD's BA in Psychology (after July 1st, 2015) | Degree Forum Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia

Combine this with one of the general plans, such as sanantone's, and you have a TESU pscyh degree
Sanantone's TESU General Education Options After July 1, 2015 | Degree Forum Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia

[KayV]

If you have a BSc from a non-US university, your first step should be to have those credits evaluated to see if you can use any toward a BA in Psychology. I have seen several mentions of World Educational Services (WES).
International Student Policies

[jsd]

Not physically attending a class in New Jersey, but it does need to be taken online with them.

But like KayV said, definitely have your existing credits evaluated first


Thomas Edison State University: Apply as an International Student

We will accept the credit recommendations from one of the following agencies when the recommendations are based on a course by course evaluation and sent on an official foreign credential evaluation to TESU:


Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI)
ACEI | The Global Source for Document Evaluation

Center for Applied Research, Evaluations & Education, Inc.
International Evaluation Service Center for Applied Research, Evaluation, and Education, Inc.

Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE)
http://www.ece.org

World Educational Services, Inc. (WES)
International Credential Evaluation | World Education Services

SDR Educational Consultants
SDR Educational Consultants

SpanTran Evaluation Services
http://www.spantran.com

Transcript Research
Transcript Research

[dfrecore]

I agree that you'd want to get your degree evaluated first before applying at TESU.

Another school to look at, especially from a cost standpoint, is Capella (the competency-based FlexPath program @ $2200/3-month quarter for unlimited courses). They will take international degrees (you don't have to get it evaluated first, you apply as an international student). And they are a Straighterline and Sophia partner school, which means that they will probably take all kinds of ACE-recommended courses just like the Big 3. And they take 135cr (quarter) out of the total 180cr needed, so 75% of the degree can be transferred in. So, even if they don't take your entire degree, they will probably be more lenient than some of the other schools in bringing in credit, and then letting you make up any missed credits cheaply.

The best thing though, is that they have a BA in Psychology, but then have 14 different Masters programs for Psychology. So, you have a lot of options. The cost is $2400/quarter there, so a great price for a masters degree if you can finish quickly.

[Shynepapin]

If you have a BSc from a non-US university, your first step should be to have those credits evaluated to see if you can use any toward a BA in Psychology. I have seen several mentions of World Educational Services (WES).
International Student Policies

I intend to do this, but I wouldn't want to put money on what might not actually be a contributing factor, and with the country I come from, the delay with processing and mailing and then the courier processing, some people have gone through hell waiting for 4 months and more. While the mail shouldn't take more than 2 to 3 weeks to get to ECE, I will prefer to use them as their services I little bit cheaper than WES. But, the most delay would be the processing of the transcript itself as I'm not even sure my school has started to update to the computer filing/cataloging system, previously it was all in paper and filed in a room.

So, I am trying right now, but I hope it does arrive before February, FYI, the school is even on strike right now and it seems that's how the year is going to be ending. I have been calling someone to do the ground work for me over there for a transcript request for a long time and that was the latest infomation I got yesterday and that's why I decided to just do the whole process from the start.

Any other suggestion is welcomed.

[Shynepapin]

I agree that you'd want to get your degree evaluated first before applying at TESU.

Another school to look at, especially from a cost standpoint, is Capella (the competency-based FlexPath program @ $2200/3-month quarter for unlimited courses). They will take international degrees (you don't have to get it evaluated first, you apply as an international student). And they are a Straighterline and Sophia partner school, which means that they will probably take all kinds of ACE-recommended courses just like the Big 3. And they take 135cr (quarter) out of the total 180cr needed, so 75% of the degree can be transferred in. So, even if they don't take your entire degree, they will probably be more lenient than some of the other schools in bringing in credit, and then letting you make up any missed credits cheaply.

The best thing though, is that they have a BA in Psychology, but then have 14 different Masters programs for Psychology. So, you have a lot of options. The cost is $2400/quarter there, so a great price for a masters degree if you can finish quickly.

I'm very skeptical about Capella, I have come to learn a lot from what happened to ITT-Tech, the criticisms that colleges like University of Phoenix and Southern New Hampshire University are getting, this really leaves room for doubt of employability as there is a sudden doubt now whenever you mention such of your resume. I am not just going to this just get a degree, I need it as a foundation to further my career in the United States.

I just tried to order my transcript from my college through this service ETX-NG, they are called Electronic Transcript Exchange Services, the moment I started filling out the form after registering, the first prompt I got was that my college does not have electronic filing exchange system yet and transcript would be sources by the company's rep, which means leg work and going through the college transcript process, digging through mountains of paper files, documented and reproduced, definately takes time for about $180 in cost when converted to dollars.

I am stuck here, delay is what I don't want but with the suggestions so far, it looks like it's inevitable.

[KayV]

If time is of the essence and you don't want to wait for transcripts, you can certainly start from scratch. I would STRONGLY encourage you to sign up for ALEKS immediately and do Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Precalculus or Trig, and Statistics. If you have to just pick two, do College Algebra and Stats.

ALEKS certification ends on December 31, 2016, so get that done first. You can search the forum for lots of tips on how to complete those classes quickly.

[Shynepapin]

If time is of the essence and you don't want to wait for transcripts, you can certainly start from scratch. I would STRONGLY encourage you to sign up for ALEKS immediately and do Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Precalculus or Trig, and Statistics. If you have to just pick two, do College Algebra and Stats.

ALEKS certification ends on December 31, 2016, so get that done first. You can search the forum for lots of tips on how to complete those classes quickly.

Thanks KayV, I already started looking at Aleks for the Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra. I'm making a list of courses and coming up with my planned route as of now, I would look into this more and find out if I also need to take the Precalculus Asap. Keep your suggestions coming, they are definitely putting on the right track asap.