Newbie question comparing Excelsior, Thomas Edison and Charter Oak

[dherweck]

I'm getting ready to apply to one of the three and want to get opinions on which one has the best portfolio review/credits? I have 13 years of operations management and business development experience and I'm trying to leverage as much of my experience as possible. Depending on how many credits one of them will transfer I may have as few as 4-5 classes to complete in some way to get my degree. I'm technically a senior and have three associates degrees but haven't been to school in a number of years now. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

[barcotta]

I'm getting ready to apply to one of the three and want to get opinions on which one has the best portfolio review/credits? I have 13 years of operations management and business development experience and I'm trying to leverage as much of my experience as possible. Depending on how many credits one of them will transfer I may have as few as 4-5 classes to complete in some way to get my degree. I'm technically a senior and have three associates degrees but haven't been to school in a number of years now. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

Well--since you have three associates degrees--I would check with TESC. As far as I know, they are the only school that will award upper level credit for lower level classes. I would send them all your transcripts and ask them how close you are to a bachelors degree in anything. If you do a search on the forum--you'll find several opinions regarding portfolio credit--also know as prior learning assessment or PLA. If I were you, I would see how much I could make of the actual college credit first--and in your case--you'll almost certainly get the most from TESC. Good luck!

[alissaroot]

Just to clarify, do you actually have three associate's degrees with supporting transcripts or do you just think you have that many credits worth in portfolio value? I'm asking because if you do have all the credits on transcripts, TESC would probably be your best bet for the reasons barcotta has suggested, but if you are determined to use portfolio credits, COSC could possibly be a better choice.

I'm going to second another thing barcotta said, see how much you can do with your old credits and credit-by-exam before you use portfolio. It will save you both time and money. UNLESS you have already taken a portfolio class and have extraordinary life experience (like winning a gold medal at the Olympics or something) or if you plan to pursue a peculiar major (like Chinese Crossword Puzzles). Those are the only two circumstances where I would really steer someone toward portfolio credit. Exams for credit are cheaper, faster, and easier.

Also, Excelsior does have a twenty year time limit on many business and technology credits, so if it's been more than that since you earned them that could be another reason to look at TESC first. I'm not certain if TESC has any time limit on credits?

Good luck!