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Hi everyone.
I've been reading and researching this new-found (for me, at least) credit by exam method of getting a college degree and found my way through the maze most of the way, however. The wall I keep running into is how to navigate the CLEP/DANTES/TESC exams and align them with the requirements of the desired degree from the college chosen, hopefully not to waste time on unnecessary or untransferable exams? I'm sure I'll have a big "duh!" moment once someone answers this question, but until then, how do you "veterans" do it?
I'm shooting for a BA in Psychology, I have 19 credits from a community college, and need 101 more credit. I still haven't decided, yet, between Excelsior and Thomas Edison. They both have pros and cons, however, I'm looking for the quickest route to my BA.
One more question I have is whether I can take CLEP exams w/out assigning any college as the recipient of the exam score? Can I have my CLEP scores/credit transferred to another college in the future (if I change colleges)?
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For psychology, TESC and Excelsior will be close in speed of completion. TESC will be the cheaper option using the Per Credit Tuition Plan. Just make sure you include 7 TECEPs to meet the residency requirements for this tuition plan, and you'll be good to go.
Sanantone's General Education Options - Degree Forum Wiki
Sanantone's BA in Psychology - Degree Forum Wiki
Graduate of Not VUL or ENEB
MS, MSS and Graduate Cert
AAS, AS, BA, and BS
CLEP
Intro Psych 70, US His I 64, Intro Soc 63, Intro Edu Psych 70, A&I Lit 64, Bio 68, Prin Man 69, Prin Mar 68
DSST
Life Dev Psych 62, Fund Coun 68, Intro Comp 469, Intro Astr 56, Env & Hum 70, HTYH 456, MIS 451, Prin Sup 453, HRM 62, Bus Eth 458
ALEKS
Int Alg, Coll Alg
TEEX
4 credits
TECEP
Fed Inc Tax, Sci of Nutr, Micro, Strat Man, Med Term, Pub Relations
CSU
Sys Analysis & Design, Programming, Cyber
SL
Intro to Comm, Microbio, Acc I
Uexcel
A&P
Davar
Macro, Intro to Fin, Man Acc
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]Hi everyone. hi! Welcome to the board!
I've been reading and researching this new-found (for me, at least) credit by exam method of getting a college degree and found my way through the maze most of the way, however. The wall I keep running into is how to navigate the CLEP/DANTES/TESC exams and align them with the requirements of the desired degree from the college chosen, hopefully not to waste time on unnecessary or untransferable exams? That's the bottom line. Most schools, including Thomas Edison and Excelsior have charts that show the equivalences.
I'm sure I'll have a big "duh!" moment once someone answers this question, but until then, how do you "veterans" do it? Use the charts.
I'm shooting for a BA in Psychology, I have 19 credits from a community college, and need 101 more credit. I still haven't decided, yet, between Excelsior and Thomas Edison. They both have pros and cons, however, I'm looking for the quickest route to my BA.
One more question I have is whether I can take CLEP exams w/out assigning any college as the recipient of the exam score?
Of course! You don't need to pick a college yet either. You can take an exam or two to get your feet wet. When you take the exam and it asks you to id a college, just leave it blank and move on. When you're ready, you'll pay 1 fee for a transcript to CLEP and 1 fee for a transcript to DSST and they will have alllllll of your passing scores on them! Easy and cheap. About $40 if memory serves me.
Can I have my CLEP scores/credit transferred to another college in the future (if I change colleges)? Yes, and that will probably be required. Anytime you go anywhere (except unless you go back to your CC) you'll have to send official transcripts from all your credit sources. So, one from the CC, one from CLEP, one from DSST, and any others you accumulate. Keep in mind the costs associated with having many transcripts (I have 7) so every time you do this, you have to spend some money. This may happen in the future for grad school, certain employers, etc. A round of mine runs me about $130. Adds up. So, when you price shop for credit on the front end of your degree, just kinda keep it in the back of your mind that streamlining your credit from fewer sources can save some money.
Here is the link to TESC's charts. You'll pan down and click on the brand you want (CLEP, DSST, etc.) and the full table will open up. Exam Programs
Excelsior College | National exams for credit
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Most of us veterans have an idea where stuff fits from experience. There are couple of documents that will help you get an understanding of what fits into the various sections of the degrees.
Excelsior - https://my.excelsior.edu/documents/78666...afcce7119e
TESC - General Education Courses
It is a bit overwhelming at first, but you will get more comfortable with it over time.
TESC 2015 - BSBA, Computer Information Systems
TESC 2019 - 21 Post-bachelor accounting credits
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Back2College2014 Wrote:The wall I keep running into is how to navigate the CLEP/DANTES/TESC exams and align them with the requirements of the desired degree from the college chosen, hopefully not to waste time on unnecessary or untransferable exams? If you're aiming for TESC or Excelsior, select from the degree plans below. Use Sanantone and UptonSinclair's lists to select the courses/exams you wish to fit into your degree plan. Post your degree plan here and get feedback. 
Thomas Edison State College: Psychology
https://my.excelsior.edu/documents/78666...5c3d27eed0
https://my.excelsior.edu/documents/78666...b5b6b43e7b
Quote:I'm shooting for a BA in Psychology, I have 19 credits from a community college, and need 101 more credit. I still haven't decided, yet, between Excelsior and Thomas Edison. They both have pros and cons, however, I'm looking for the quickest route to my BA.
If you're looking for quick, I think TESC will offer you the most flexibility. You don't have to decide immediately though... take a couple tests (that will transfer to either colleges) then decide which would work better for you. You could also make degree plans for each then compare them.
Btw, *highfives* from a fellow psychology major! Best wishes as you begin this journey of CBEs. Keep asking questions and reading the threads here... you'll soon find that you understand very well how this whole thing works.
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Just a reminder that until you actually enroll, the requirements for the degree can change.
I enrolled at Excelsior when you could completely test out, use a subject GRE for 30 units of credit, only needed one math class, didn't need a capstone, etc. Now that has all changed. So, if you are wanting to use a specific set of requirements at a specific college, then enroll while you can get those requirements.
Denise
MS - Management and Leadership, WGU 2022
BS - Liberal Arts - Depths in Healthcare and Psychology, Excelsior College 2014
Certificate - Workers Comp Admin, UC Davis Extension, 1995
AA - Licensed Vocational Nursing and Selected Studies, Mesa College 1989
Certificate - Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN), Mesa College 1977
Also, someday maybe a MS in Forensic Psychology, just for fun. Oh, and a BS in Animal Behavior. And, maybe when I'm 85 a PhD in something fun.
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Absolutely crucial information above. Requirements change all the time which is one reason why I enrolled before taking CLEP tests. If you take a long time to complete your degree you may end up paying for residency classes or yearly fees. Once you have 12 credits in the bag at Excelsior there isn't any further yearly fees unless you are enrolling under the exam only policy. You are smarter to enroll under a residency requirement and start gaining credits through exam and paying the difference once it comes time to graduate if you used almost exclusively CBE credit. You still need the Capstone 3 credits and the INL 1 credit in addition to all your CBE credit. 8 more credits means you can take your time under your enrollment to gather those credits if need be.
Don't forget that gaining college credit by taking exams is one of the reason's we're here. That's mainly possible through the flashcards made available by the owner of this forum : InstantCert Plus of course your hard work in learning and reviewing
******
Current Credits
Irish Education
FETAC Level 6 Adv Cert in Admin
Spreadsheets 5 U.S credits A ,Word Processing 2.5 U.S credits A
Business Management 5.0 U.S credits A Web Authoring 2.5 U.S credits A Communications 5.0 U.S credits A Manual and Computerized Bookkeeping 2.5 U.S Credits A
ECDL (European Computer Drivers License) ICS SKILLS 5 credits
Strayer University Marketing 100 (paid for by Starbucks) A 4.5 quarter hours
CLEP U.S History I 74, U.S History II 69, Western Civ II 61, Western Civ I 64, HG&D 60, Humanities 60, biz law 67,Am Gov 57.
DSST: Biz ethics & s 450, Art WW 424
EC CCS 120 A , EC ENG 101 A, EC BUS 312 H.R A , EC ENG 102 A,
B&M ACC 151 B, B&M ACC 152 (starting) Nat Scies,
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That's the beauty of the Per Credit Tuition Plan at TESC. All you need to do is take one TECEP per year at $111 to stay enrolled. You can always switch tuition plans later.
Graduate of Not VUL or ENEB
MS, MSS and Graduate Cert
AAS, AS, BA, and BS
CLEP
Intro Psych 70, US His I 64, Intro Soc 63, Intro Edu Psych 70, A&I Lit 64, Bio 68, Prin Man 69, Prin Mar 68
DSST
Life Dev Psych 62, Fund Coun 68, Intro Comp 469, Intro Astr 56, Env & Hum 70, HTYH 456, MIS 451, Prin Sup 453, HRM 62, Bus Eth 458
ALEKS
Int Alg, Coll Alg
TEEX
4 credits
TECEP
Fed Inc Tax, Sci of Nutr, Micro, Strat Man, Med Term, Pub Relations
CSU
Sys Analysis & Design, Programming, Cyber
SL
Intro to Comm, Microbio, Acc I
Uexcel
A&P
Davar
Macro, Intro to Fin, Man Acc
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sanantone Wrote:That's the beauty of the Per Credit Tuition Plan at TESC. All you need to do is take one TECEP per year at $111 to stay enrolled. You can always switch tuition plans later.
Sanantone,
That is indeed beautiful! TESC seems to outshine in recent times regarding their enrollment procedure and residency requirements. I'm almost a bit jealous
Don't forget that gaining college credit by taking exams is one of the reason's we're here. That's mainly possible through the flashcards made available by the owner of this forum : InstantCert Plus of course your hard work in learning and reviewing
******
Current Credits
Irish Education
FETAC Level 6 Adv Cert in Admin
Spreadsheets 5 U.S credits A ,Word Processing 2.5 U.S credits A
Business Management 5.0 U.S credits A Web Authoring 2.5 U.S credits A Communications 5.0 U.S credits A Manual and Computerized Bookkeeping 2.5 U.S Credits A
ECDL (European Computer Drivers License) ICS SKILLS 5 credits
Strayer University Marketing 100 (paid for by Starbucks) A 4.5 quarter hours
CLEP U.S History I 74, U.S History II 69, Western Civ II 61, Western Civ I 64, HG&D 60, Humanities 60, biz law 67,Am Gov 57.
DSST: Biz ethics & s 450, Art WW 424
EC CCS 120 A , EC ENG 101 A, EC BUS 312 H.R A , EC ENG 102 A,
B&M ACC 151 B, B&M ACC 152 (starting) Nat Scies,
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sanantone Wrote:That's the beauty of the Per Credit Tuition Plan at TESC. All you need to do is take one TECEP per year at $111 to stay enrolled. You can always switch tuition plans later.
What is the initialenrollment fee at TESC? I'm at Excelsior currently and trying to come up with the $1000 to "stay" enrolled. 
May be time to switch...
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