UMPI History Degree- Need Sophia clarity

[MamaSparkles]

Your Location: Florida USA
Your Age: 35
What kind of degree do you want?: BA in History
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 3

School Name Total Credits: # 
Class Name, Credits, Grade- Sociology, 3 credits 

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 24

Provider Total Credits: # 
Class Name, Credits, Grade- 
All from Sophia Learning:
Ancient Greek Philosophers
Art History I
Art History II
College Readiness
Communication at work
Environmental Science
Human Biology
Intro to Information Technology
US History I
Any certifications or military experience? No

Classes currently in progress- 
Europe and the Mediterranean Ancient to Midevil- ASU-3credits
The Living World- ASU-4credits

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me. Here are my questions- 

I am planning on applying to UMPI for their BA in History. I have done research and looked at other degree plans, but I'm confused about a few things. 

#1 the 2 classes of a foreign language. Do you know if you took classes in high school if that counts or do they have to be at the college level? 

#2 On some of the maps to meet the general education requirements the same class was listed multiple times. So for example my Ancient Philiospohers class will meet all of the requirements that ancient philosophers can fill? 

#3 What classes would you suggest me taking at Sophia before applying? I am at the point in my life where I just want to be done with it all. I saw from other degree maps that you can take a bunch of history classes on study.com, however, I have learned that I lack the internal motivation to complete classes like that, so I feel like my best option for completing my degree would be to just get in with UMPI asap. I have a Sophia membership currently, so I am wanting to maximize that and then just deal with what I have to take at UMPI. *The only class I think I would take beforehand is Spanish 2 via Study if you have to have 2 college classes in a foreign language*

#4 Do you know if it is possible to minor in something at UMPI. I am specifically interested in the educational studies minor in the Liberal Arts degree. The reason that I don't pursue that directly and just take a bunch of history classes as electives is that I need a named degree in order to tutor kids in the future. The way the position is set up, in order for me to tutor/teach history I have to have a BA in History, not a liberal arts degree with history electives. 

I qualify for Pell grants and I'm okay with taking out a small number of student loans if I have to in order to just get things done. I am a homeschool mom that works part-time and I'm just ready to be done. 

[carrythenothing]

1. For the BA in History & Political Science, you need 6 college credits in a foreign language.

2. The same class can fulfill multiple learning objectives, but you still need a minimum of 40 credits in general education: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

[bjcheung77]

Welcome to the board and thanks for providing us some basic details! Having said that, you may still want to provide a bit more info from the template addendum on the last post, as it will give us a clearer picture of your current situation. UMPI is great for those who have the energy, time to get it quickly, other options exist for those who have commitments. Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

1) Yes and No, if your high school course was AP and you scored high enough then Yes. If not then you would want to see if UMPI would accept it using an exam to review your competency. I recall reading about people who scored high on an exam (such as Duolingo) was provided a waiver for that requirement, be sure to ask when you apply just to verify.

2) Some courses will fill multiple spots, just like COSC, courses can double dip on requirements. However, at the end of the day, you still need to take 40+ courses and end up with at least 120+ credits. I usually look at both the requirements and the number of courses you have to take, chose the ones that interest you the most that also fit the bill.

3/4) Take whatever you can that will maximize your interests and learning. just in the back of the mind, remember Sophia.org will mainly come in as lower level and you'll need at least 30 credits for residency at UMPI to complete the degree. You can go with the BA History and minor in Educational Studies if you prefer. You will need to do the bulk of your credits at UMPI for the BA Major/Minor especially the upper level requirements.

[ss20ts]

The only way a high school language will count is if you took the AP exam and scored a certain grade. The language requirement is 2 semesters of the same language. So you can't take something like French 101 and Spanish 101. American Sign Language is considered a foreign language as well.

I'd recommend getting the GEC completed, complete the electives, and some history courses in there. Come in as close to 90 usable transfer credits as possible. That will help you complete your UMPI degree faster. You can add on a minor after you're enrolled. I don't remember any of the education minor courses being offering on Sophia or Study. Children's lit is the only one I can think of that may be offered on Study, but I'm not sure about it.

[dfrecore]

To fulfill a college degree, you always need college credit. High school credit does not count (that's normally what someone might need to get INTO a school through the admissions process, like schools that require that you take 2 years of a foreign language to apply; but if a DEGREE requires something, it's college credit).

When you say that you "lack internal motivation" to complete courses, I question whether you will be able to get through a UMPI degree. A CBE program is ALL about internal motivation, since there aren't many deadlines to keep you moving. I would say that if you can't complete the 90 or so credits you need via alt-credit in a fairly short amount of time (6-9 months), then you might want to think about another program (TESU has a History degree for instance). Just something to think about.

[MamaSparkles]

To fulfill a college degree, you always need college credit.  High school credit does not count (that's normally what someone might need to get INTO a school through the admissions process, like schools that require that you take 2 years of a foreign language to apply; but if a DEGREE requires something, it's college credit).

When you say that you "lack internal motivation" to complete courses, I question whether you will be able to get through a UMPI degree.  A CBE program is ALL about internal motivation, since there aren't many deadlines to keep you moving.  I would say that if you can't complete the 90 or so credits you need via alt-credit in a fairly short amount of time (6-9 months), then you might want to think about another program (TESU has a History degree for instance).  Just something to think about.

Thanks for the clarity. I know that you always need college credit to get a college degree, I guess I was confused because where I live in Florida if you have taken 2 years of a language in high school you were exempt from having to take it in college. So that's what I meant by asking if they would "count". 

What I meant by I lack the internal motivation is that with Study.com and for the most part Sophia there is a lot of freedom to do the classes when I want. I can just pause my membership for a few months and come back to it if I don't feel like doing it and it's only $100 per month. Not to say $100 dollars isn't a lot of money, but $100 and $1400 is a big difference and I won't waste $1400, so I'm externally motivated to get the work done. 

I'll look into TESU's History degree and see what the requirements are for that. Thanks for the recommendation!

[withrown]

I'm the same way, mamasparkles.

I will say that sophia classes are easier to binge. I personally feel they are just better designed but, thats just me. credit by examination works better for me. So I'd recommend knocking out as many cleps as possible that will fit your degree plan. Especially since they are free!! That way you are not locked into one school vs the other but you can still make progress.

[ss20ts]

Thanks for the clarity. I know that you always need college credit to get a college degree, I guess I was confused because where I live in Florida if you have taken 2 years of a language in high school you were exempt from having to take it in college. So that's what I meant by asking if they would "count". 

That was probably specific to a specific college in Florida or the state system because you were a high school graduate. That doesn't hold up anywhere else.

[rachel83az]

I'm assuming that you did 2 years of Spanish in HS? If you did, you might be able to get at least 3 credits in an ACTFL reading exam. I would suggest a quick refresher on Duolingo to see how much you actually remember.