Oh my garsh overwhelmed with what to do for my kids for each of their degrees?- HELP

[geissingert]

Ok I have 2 children who plan on attending TESC- we enrolled them into collegeplus and realized after paying about $8500 they have only received 6 credits each. We ended up searching and found this site last week. Basically we paid CP for the coaching calls:0( We homeschool our children. We don't want loans and plan on paying as they go. They both want their bachelors within 2 years, if possible. We already paid full-tuition for another child, which was foolish, as we could have saved a lot of time and money.

Someone helped me last week with the Liberal arts for one of my children- her real desire is to be a graphic designer. We figured she could get the LA degree and take graphic courses for free, which we have found many. A lot of designers just need the experience. We were hoping she could build her portfolio

Our son, we are totally stressed. He wants to take the Information Tech degree at TESC, however we see that many of the classes will take 8-12 weeks, and have to be done through TESC. I need advice, can he go for the Liberal Arts and for electives do more of the computer classes? Is it smart to go LA then if he decides to go for master's gear that towards IT? I NEED ADVICE PLEASE;
(Link removed by admin by CollegePlus request for "Copyright Infringement")

We haven't enrolled the kids in TESC, we figured we would save money if they took the basic classes first then enrolled. We need the cheapest, fastest way to go.

Oh and straighterline can someone tell me how that works?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[rebel100]

What state are you in? There may be options there that should be explored.

I think your right to work backwards from their goal.

Good job freeing yourself from CP, I don't knock the concept, but they sure are expensive.

Straighterline is a legitimate service that offers classes which are transferable to the Big 3 (TESC, COSC, EC) and other partner colleges , you can also use them to build an ACE transcript which opens up credit possibilities at other schools, It isn't really much different than taking classes at a regular school except that its cheap(if you do it quickly) and self paced. Online College Courses For Credits Towards Your Degree | StraighterLine Only a few SL courses count at the Upper Level, so it's not like you can do everything there.

It is far cheaper to build a degree plan and complete most of it prior to enrolling....though there are times especially towards the end when some degree options come into play that can change that a bit, especially at TESC.

You should at least know about the IS bachelors from WGU, if he works quickly and brings in a bit of credit it could be a very efficient, autopilot way, to complete an IS degree Online IT Degree | Information Technology Degree | WGU College of Information Technology

[JohnnyHeck]

There are many homeschoolers at my church who I don't have the opportunity to know personally. But with your College Plus sad tale, I feel I may want to reach out and give them some friendly alternative advice, How does CP so easily get its hooks into the home-school community?

[geissingert]

I have a friend who used CP with 2 of her children. They both graduated with Bachelors by the time they were 18. I enrolled my kids, thinking it was the same program she did with her 2 kids. She was going to enroll another child this year and couldn't believe the major price increase. She decided to go for the degree on her own without CP. I'm just nervous that I will have the test out of courses they really don't need, which will waste time and money. I would love to stay under $10,000 for both of the kids degrees, which I know is possible, as I have seen on here that people are able to obtain them. I would like my kids to complete their degrees in 2 -2.5 years.

[geissingert]

Do they accept CLEPS, DSST, ALEKS etc? It looks like it will cost less, if I understand correctly. I need to know what my son would need before he enrolled in WGU, can you give me that information @rebel100?

[Prloko]

How does CP so easily get its hooks into the home-school community?

College Plus is Degreeforum, evangelized and monetized. The word "Christian" is thrown around more on their website, than uttered during the Crusades. Apparently though, many members on here swear on it and say it has helped them. So it works for some, doesn't work for others.

[Prloko]

Ok I have 2 children who plan on attending TESC- we enrolled them into collegeplus and realized after paying about $8500 they have only received 6 credits each. We ended up searching and found this site last week. Basically we paid CP for the coaching calls:0( We homeschool our children. We don't want loans and plan on paying as they go. They both want their bachelors within 2 years, if possible. We already paid full-tuition for another child, which was foolish, as we could have saved a lot of time and money.

Someone helped me last week with the Liberal arts for one of my children- her real desire is to be a graphic designer. We figured she could get the LA degree and take graphic courses for free, which we have found many. A lot of designers just need the experience. We were hoping she could build her portfolio

Our son, we are totally stressed. He wants to take the Information Tech degree at TESC, however we see that many of the classes will take 8-12 weeks, and have to be done through TESC. I need advice, can he go for the Liberal Arts and for electives do more of the computer classes? Is it smart to go LA then if he decides to go for master's gear that towards IT? I NEED ADVICE PLEASE; https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0t50a7R...lWOWc/edit

We haven't enrolled the kids in TESC, we figured we would save money if they took the basic classes first then enrolled. We need the cheapest, fastest way to go.

Oh and straighterline can someone tell me how that works?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Your children should really be the ones to be planning all this. We've had some bright Home Schooled forum members on here who showed the initiative and drive to engage us and complete their degrees. If your children aren't motivated, they won't ever get the credits (maybe why they only received 6 credits despite all the investment in collegeplus). I had this problem with my kid, until I gave her a big talking and gave her full ownership of her education. When she finally realized that it's her life in the balance and not mine, motivation came in spades and her grades sky rocketed.

You don't have to follow my advice, but just food for thought.

PS- Why the urgency? 12 week courses are still shorter than a 15 week semester.

[geissingert]

I like CP's foundation. The coaching is very helpful and helps the kids to stay motivated. It's just very expensive. The CP classes are expensive too. How did you know which classes to take for your degree?

[rebel100]

I'm just nervous that I will have the test out of courses they really don't need, which will waste time and money.

This is really pretty simple. The degree forum wiki has many degree plans and shows which CLEP/DSST/SL/etc... will work for the required credit. Degree Forum Wiki

Since your kids have roughly 6 credits you can get them started by completing the lower level Gen Ed courses There are idiosyncrasies from degree plan to degree plan but you essentially need all 42 of these credits (though sometimes a given CLEP can satisfy more than one requirement Thomas Edison State College: Associate in Arts Note how those same lower level courses are required in the BA Computer Science Thomas Edison State College: Computer Science All the lower level stuff can easily be obtained through CLEP/DSST/SL? etc... basically the entire first 60 credits can be tested out of, the next 30 credits (when you go from 60-90) is usually elective and can be upper or lower level (note some degree plans account very specifically for this credit so what I just said doesn't always hold true). these credits over the gen ed up to the 90 credit mark are pretty easy to fill (usually) by testing and sl, etc... its the final 30 credits that become more difficult. Now if you pick liberal arts or social science, even business, the final 30 credits at the upper level are still obtainable through the non traditional pathways, but when you select certain majors like Computer Science or IS these upper level credits just don't have many options other than finding a class somewhere. You can still save a small fortune on these final classes by taking the courses elsewhere and transferring them back to TESC. CSU-Pueblo, LSU, University of Idaho, BYU, lots of schools offer affordable places to get specific credits. The reason the Big 3 are so big around here is that they offer broad flexibility in obtaining cheap credit and allowing it to be transferred back to their programs.

I brought up WGU because they will allow you to test out via CLEP and others for at least some of the lower level courses...much like the Big 3 general Ed. They are different in that they offer the upper level courses in a self paced finish quick as you can format. For a flat fee of around $2500 per 6 months your kid(s) could work through there degree as fast as they choose to (are capable of). For the specific IS degree path this might prove very cost effective...but it depends on your kid and their resolve/abilities.

[rebel100]

What state are you in...might not matter, might matter a lot.