Psychology Major at Excelsior

[Anastasia]

Hi. I'm wondering if anyone else has gotten - or is in process of getting - their B.S. in Psychology from Excelsior? I'm just about done with my Clep/Dantes/ECE tests - just have RESEARCH PSYCH (ECE) and STATISTICS (Dantes) left to go.

After that, Excelsior says that I need to take HISTORY AND SYSTEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY and BIOPSYCHOLOGY and RESEARCH WRITING as on-line/independent learning courses. They offer them all, but their courses are expensive and you have to follow their semester-long schedule.

Since I do better working on my own time, they helped me find some distance colleges that offer two of the courses that I will be taking. These courses are also less expensive than at ECE.

I'll be taking HISTORY AND SYSTEMS... through University of Idaho distance learning, and BIOPSYCHOLOGY through University of Nebraska distance learning. For HISTORY AND SYSTEMS, I need to purchase some expensive textbooks.

RESEARCH WRITING is only offered through Excelsior at this time, so I'll be doing that through them.

I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with any of the about three courses I mentioned above.

I'm also curious to find out if anyone might have used textbooks for the HISTORY AND SYSTEMS class to sell.

Thanks so much!!!

[Anastasia]

Right now I'm questioning whether I will get my BS in Psych, or just get the BS in Liberal Arts. None of the grad schools I'm interested in going to seem to care whether I have a Psych undergrad degree or not, and it is much more costly and time-consuming than just the Liberal Arts degree.

Still, I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has walked this path before me. Thank you.

[NAP]

I hope you receive answers to your questions. I would like to see you have the opportunity to finish your major. You are so close!

Have you considered the option of taking the GRE in Psychology? Would there be any benefit to you at this point? Would it delay your graduation?

[Anastasia]

Thank you for the kind words, NAP. The GRE wouldn't benefit me at this point since I already have so many credits and it wouldn't get me out of the required distance learning classes - yes, I spoke to an advisor at Excelsior at length today.

I also spoke to my 'mentor' - the man who was head of the Sociology Department where I originally went to college (in the 80's!). He suggested that I bring this Bachelors degree to a close with the least amount of effort possible, especially since the schools I am interested in for my Masters don't require me to have a BS in Psych SOOOOO:

My new plan is the following - and then I will be DONE :hurray: and will walk in the Excelsior graduation in July. If anyone else from this board is going, please let me know, I would love to meet y'all.

New plan:

Research Psych
Business Ethics
Social Science & History
Intro. to Psych

[daniellevine]

Right now I'm questioning whether I will get my BS in Psych, or just get the BS in Liberal Arts. None of the grad schools I'm interested in going to seem to care whether I have a Psych undergrad degree or not, and it is much more costly and time-consuming than just the Liberal Arts degree.

Still, I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has walked this path before me. Thank you.

Anastasia,

I was in a similar situation as yourself. I planned to do a double major in Literature in English and Psychology. I signed up to take the Pysch GREs, but I have since realized that there is not much practical reason to major. Most grad schools (with the exception of some Psychology and Business ones) don't really distinguish between undergrad degrees. I took this thought very far, since I will graduate 3 credits shy of the Literature major, and I don't think it's worth even one more class. In fact, I have over 50 English credits, but I just don't have a specific class. There is also an option for an "Area of Focus" which you could put on your resume or application.

Another few notes that I took in my research. On payscale.com, I noticed that an average graduate with a Psychology degree makes around 54,000 in my state. An average graduate with a Liberal Studies degree makes around 59,000 in my state. This isn't the reason why I made my decision, but it does show that Liberal Studies degrees are just as marketable as majors. A lot of employers might be looking for a well-rounded education.

[Anastasia]

daniellevine - wow, one class shy, yes, I imagine that you have thought this through with great consideration! How close are you to graduating? What are your plans after that?

I am always self-employed, and my goal is to get my Masters and then maybe PhD in Psych to support the work that I'm already doing and to add licensure as a therapist to my fold, but may I share with you that I FEEL TOTALLY LIBERATED AFTER MY DECISION TO JUST GO FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS DEGREE!!!

I have seen other people mention an area of focus - I guess with all of my Psych credits (many of my 31 that they counted from the brick & morter I attended were also Psych classes) I will be able to do that. Thank you for the suggestion, and for the confirmation that my new choice is a good one.

[NAP]

Hi Anastasia!

I hope I am misunderstanding what you said. Are you saying that earning 30 credits on the GRE does not satisfy all of the Psychology major requirements? (I'm not including the extra Research and Writing course, which is now required for most majors.)

Update: Psychology GRE does satisfy major. http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post75712

[Anastasia]

Hi NAP - I wouldn't take my word for it - I recommend you check directly with an advisor yourself - but when I spoke with the advisor at Excelsior yesterday, she said that there was no way to be sure that the GRE would count for all of the Psych requirements. She said it would have have been able to knock out some of the classes/tests that I already took - if I had taken the GRE before taking them, but my understanding from her was that having the GRE under my belt would not prevent me from having to take BIOPSYCHOLOGY and HISTORY AND SYSTEMS and RESEARCH WRITING. I grilled her pretty hard about ways to get around taking these three courses for the Psych major, and wasn't gaining any ground at all! Please keep me posted as to what you find out if that is the path that you were planning to pursue.

[daniellevine]

daniellevine - wow, one class shy, yes, I imagine that you have thought this through with great consideration! How close are you to graduating? What are your plans after that?

I am always self-employed, and my goal is to get my Masters and then maybe PhD in Psych to support the work that I'm already doing and to add licensure as a therapist to my fold, but may I share with you that I FEEL TOTALLY LIBERATED AFTER MY DECISION TO JUST GO FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS DEGREE!!!

I have seen other people mention an area of focus - I guess with all of my Psych credits (many of my 31 that they counted from the brick & morter I attended were also Psych classes) I will be able to do that. Thank you for the suggestion, and for the confirmation that my new choice is a good one.

I am three credits away from graduating. It came down to either taking a distance learning, three-month Literature class that would have completed the Lit in English major, or just take any upper level exam and complete the Liberal Studies major. I would rather get this done asap. I plan to go back to work, and find an employer that will help me pay for my masters (not sure which one yet.)

No, I just really didn't see the need to major. Here's a list of things you can do with your undergraduate degree.

Teach K-12. Having a major makes no difference. All you need is a B.S., and then you need to become certified in a particular subject.

Teach Community College. Having an undergrad major makes no difference since only your Master's degree subject relegates what subject you can teach.

Teach at University Level. You will likely need a Ph.D. Again, your master's degree subject might make a difference, but not your undergrad.

Apply to grad school. Most grad schools don't require a certain degree. Additionally, they look at your transcripts more than your declared major.

Get a job. Both a LS and a major will make you look a little better on your resume, but who are we kidding... NONE of the liberal arts majors or non-majors are going to build a career. Do you really think employers will hire one person over another because they hold an English degree rather than a Philosophy degree? These degrees are are all liberal arts and non-specialized.

[Anastasia]

Clearly you have done your 'homework' on this subject. I find that many of us who are drawn to self-directed study are the sort of people that will make sure to investigate these answers. Good for you, and thanks for sharing.

Today I will be studying for my remaining tests - in between seeing clients. My goal is to be totally done with this degree in 2-3 weeks.