Newly admitted, 24 credits remain for a BA Comp Sci!

[vividpixel]

Transferred a completed WGU Bachelor of Science degree in Software Development over to TESU recently, as I'm very interested in getting a CS degree and have been exploring all my options for some time. That degree was my first and took two years to complete, August 2017 to July 2019. It didn't help in becoming a professional software developer but did get my foot into Information Technology, changing my life path in a majorly good way and letting me qualify to buy a house in 2020, then meet the love of my life. I worked up to an IT Admin position and chose to return to desktop support. The WGU BSSD is listed on my transfer evaluation as a BSIT, which is accurate. The WGU program was more a concentration than a major.

WGU would've previously been the quickest and cheapest choice for the second Bachelor's due to how much overlap there was between SD and CS. I had quite a disappointing experience trying to deal with their admissions/returning alumni employees (if you're going to be rude, at least give people correct information). I decided to walk away, a lot less likely to ever recommend WGU to anyone due to whatever changes have happened since I left. The math requirements may have been a little over my head, anyway, so CSU Global had become my plan until discovering TESU.

TESU maximized my transfer credit as much as they could and the evaluation shows me only needing 24 more credits, making it a reasonable $12k or so, which will be fully covered by tuition assistance through my employer. My first degree through WGU only required me paying for two terms. In the end, I think $20,000 for a BSIT and a BACS is a good bargain.

[bjcheung77]

@vividpixel, Welcome to the board! That's awesome, a belated congrats on the WGU BSSD! I would swing things differently, it seems you're trying to do all 24 credits at TESU with the tuition assistance/reimbursement, even though the entire cost is covered by your employer, it'll be more expensive, harder, slower to complete. I would suggest taking two flat terms instead (depending on the remaining requirements, which I think is just a few course in the Major/AOS) and by using Study.com alternative credit to transfer into the degree as well. It would be best for you to copy/paste the remining 24 credits below as a reply...

[frankc]

Maybe you should look into master's degree programs, such as the OMSCS program at Georgia Tech. Because you already have a BSSD degree, a BACS degree might not be very helpful imo.

[rachel83az]

I also agree that another Bachelor's degree might not serve you as well as a Master's degree. But if your employer only pays for Bachelor's degrees, for whatever reason, a TESU BACS isn't a bad choice either.

You might also want to see if you can add the ASNSM Mathematics if you continue with TESU. Most of the math requirements will be met with the BACS, leaving you to pick up just a handful of easy math credits from somewhere.

[origamishuttle]

I also agree that another Bachelor's degree might not serve you as well as a Master's degree.

I agree with this wholeheartedly! I should have gone for my master's rather than going for more bachelor's degrees.

[vividpixel]

I was under the impression I needed to do the remaining 24 credits at TESU, but upon re-reading I think I was misunderstanding this policy:

SECOND BACCALAUREATE DEGREE
Students who wish to earn a second baccalaureate degree must complete a minimum of 24 additional credits in the area of study/core beyond the date the most recent degree was completed.
Courses completed beyond the date all prior degrees were completed will be labeled as "NEW". Capstone courses can be considered as 3 NEW credits under this policy.

I do not necessary want to speed-run the degree, nor know if I'm capable of such a thing while working, so I'm actually happy for the 12-week courses TESU offers. The employer has a yearly limit of $7500 for reimbursement so I think that may knock that idea out unless I want to pay out of pocket?

I would feel much more confident if I could work through something like Calculus at my own pace, though, because if there's anything I fear will be a degree-stopper, it's that one. I am currently in the early stages of Intermediate Algebra & Pre Calculus via ALEKS. I have a long way to go.
Here are the remaining courses, though, because I certainly won't reject some free advice to know all my options!
--> I have now noticed some other replies suggesting I skip a Bachelor's and go for Master's. Would that not be incredibly difficult for someone who lacks CS fundamentals? Never having taken an Algorithms course, for example? And could I do a Master's without a ton of math? I do potentially have a math disability (dyscalculia) so Calculus would be enough of a stretch for someone who never made it past Algebra 1 in high school. I have also never seen a Master's required on the job postings I've looked at for software engineering. And honestly, a position like that requiring a more advanced degree, could be beyond my abilities.

B: Data Structures 3SH (Not started)
For TESU course options, go to COS-2410 Data Structures
1 course needed

C: Calculus I 3SH (Not started)
For TESU course options, go to MAT-2310 Calculus I
1 course needed

D: Discrete Math 3SH (Not started)
For TESU course options, go to MAT-2700 Discrete Mathematics.
1 course needed

F: Cmp Architecture 3SH (Not started)
For TESU course options, go to COS-3300 Computer Architecture
1 course needed

4: Liberal Arts Capstone (3SH) (Not started)
*This Capstone course must be taken with Thomas Edison State University or via an approved Thomas Edison State University Prior Learning Review. Baccalaureate students will not be permitted to register for a capstone course unless they have 100 credits applied toward the requirements for the declared degree and a GPA of 2.0 or higher. LIB-4950 Liberal Arts Capstone Course
3 credits needed

G: AOS Electives 18SH (In progress)
For TESU and other course options, please contact an Advisor
Group 1 (Complete)
SH Earned: 12
Group 2 (In progress)
3 credits needed

H: Add'l AOS Elect 6SH (Not started)
Complete an additional 6SH of Area of Study Electives in the Natural Sciences, Math and/or Computer Sciences.

**At least 18 semester hours (SH) within the entire Area of Study (including the Capstone)
must be at the upper (3000/4000) level.**

3 credits needed
3 credits needed

[origamishuttle]

I do not necessary want to speed-run the degree, nor know if I'm capable of such a thing while working, so I'm actually happy for the 12-week courses TESU offers.

If you're going for the BACS, I would recommend Sophia Calculus and the rest from Study.com. I enjoyed the format far more than the TESU course format.

[rachel83az]

Sophia Calculus is very good. Definitely recommended over Calculus from elsewhere.

If you intend to stick with TESU, you can see what course options you have here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ience_Plan

[bjcheung77]

@vividpixel, It really depends on the student and their needs/wants... We don't know too much in regards to what you're looking for as you haven't filled in the template or last post addendum.  Here's an example, we have a senior member jsd who has a couple TESU certificates, 2 Associates, 3 Bachelors (WGU BSIT & TESU BA Psych/BA Comp Sci), he also has a GT Masters, and he used tuition assistance/reimbursement to get there.  You can do the same if you wanted, depending on the energy, money, time you want to spend on completing each one... 

If you're the same age as jsd or in your earlier years in life and love learning, go for whatever you want and slowly get there, on the reverse side, if you're my age (46) or older, I would suggest a Masters in Applied Computer Science instead.  There are so many ways to get into the learning groove, I suggest working on the main three things, Certs, Degree, Experience in the field you want to get into or retire from... you may want to go into Business or Management later, who knows what the future brings, I would prepare for it...

[vividpixel]

Template? Post addendum? :O I'm missing some prerequisite knowledge here. I don't see anything stickied, but I believe I located the template you're referring to. And your follow-up post. I did not realize that was a thing. We are not currently in the "Degree Advice" forum so I hope it's understandable why it was overlooked on my end.

When I posted this I was not looking for any advice, though it morphed into it and I am so thankful people would be so quick to spend their time reading what many would certainly consider a rambling blog post, then offering words of wisdom. I was more thinking perhaps someone else would stumble onto it when wondering, "Hmm, I have this particular degree from WGU, wonder how far that'd get me to this other degree from TESU." Because if anyone else is like me, we've been through the application process for tens of colleges and sometimes you have to go through a lot just to know if one of them is even a feasible option meeting your needs.