Question for my 17 year old

[rlw74]

I graduated TESU back in 2018 with a degree in Liberal Arts - Social Sciences concentration with a tremendous amount of help from people on this forum. 

My daughter is now 17 and wants to pursue her degree in a similar way. Right now she is taking dual enrollment classes and will graduate with her high school diploma and about 15 RA credit hours from a community college in our area. 

My questions is - it appears a lot has changed since my time here on the forum. 

1. Is TESU still the most affordable option? Back when I was in it was TESU, Excelsior, and Charter Oaks as the top three go-to places that would accept most ACE credits. 

2. Which ACE providers are most recommended right now? I used mostly SDC. She likes that format and would like to use it too.

I'm going to dig around more on the forum this afternoon. Just thought I would throw this out there in the meantime.
Thanks for any help and suggestions you all can offer.

[rachel83az]

First off, what degree does your daughter want? A BALS is okay, but there are more subject degrees available now than there were when you got your degree in 2018. If she wants something specific, that'll dictate which school might be best.

UMPI is more popular/affordable than any of the Big3 right now, but you must be at least 20 years old to get a UMPI degree. TESU and COSC both require at least 30 RA credits (the capstone and cornerstone count for 6, so your daughter would need at least 9 more RA credits). COSC is not really recommended for most students.

Excelsior is slightly cheaper than TESU, but they do require at least 30 UL credits. Not everyone wants to do that, so TESU's 18 UL total (15 + capstone) can be more attractive. There are suggested degree plans for TESU here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap

For LL courses, we usually recommend Sophia because it's now $79/mo. for all-you-can-complete. Except, don't take Sopha's English Comp. If your daughter decides to go for TESU or COSC, we usually recommend ONU ( https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ol...University ) for inexpensive RA credit. It's hard to beat $50/credit! Olivet also has some UL courses that can work for BALS, History, or English degrees.

SDC is usually recommended for UL ACE credit. For business degrees, Davar has NCCRS courses. Coopersmith has courses for Psych and a handful of other subjects.

[rlw74]

First off, what degree does your daughter want? A BALS is okay, but there are more subject degrees available now than there were when you got your degree in 2018. If she wants something specific, that'll dictate which school might be best.

She is considering something liberal arts related - either psychology / communications /english or something of that sort. 

UMPI is more popular/affordable than any of the Big3 right now, but you must be at least 20 years old to get a UMPI degree. TESU and COSC both require at least 30 RA credits (the capstone and cornerstone count for 6, so your daughter would need at least 9 more RA credits). COSC is not really recommended for most students.

She plans to finish up an associates degree from the community college - in either communications or psychology. So, she should have the 30 RA credits. 
Does UMPI ever make exceptions on the age? TESU used to discourage younger students too, but exceptions did happen.

Excelsior is slightly cheaper than TESU, but they do require at least 30 UL credits. Not everyone wants to do that, so TESU's 18 UL total (15 + capstone) can be more attractive. There are suggested degree plans for TESU here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap

For LL courses, we usually recommend Sophia because it's now $79/mo. for all-you-can-complete. Except, don't take Sopha's English Comp. If your daughter decides to go for TESU or COSC, we usually recommend ONU ( https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ol...University ) for inexpensive RA credit. It's hard to beat $50/credit! Olivet also has some UL courses that can work for BALS, History, or English degrees.

I will definitely check out those options! Are they all accepted at TESU and UMPI?

SDC is usually recommended for UL ACE credit. For business degrees, Davar has NCCRS courses. Coopersmith has courses for Psych and a handful of other subjects.

Oh wow - back when I was taking courses SDC was mostly LL ACE credit. I got in when the SDC Psych courses were still being accepted as UL but I was one of the last ones to have that approved. I think they downgraded them to LL a month or two after I graduated.

One more question about UMPI - I just printed off some of their degree plans. I don't see where they list what gen eds are required. It just says you need a certain number of credit hours of gen eds. Does this mean anything works? 

[Flelm]

So the answer is UMPI YourPace (their online, competency-based program) does not make exceptions for age. 20+ adults only. Also, for YourPace, you would need to be looking at https://online.umpi.edu/ specifically, not the general UMPI website.

[rachel83az]

Unfortunately, UMPI's YourPace program doesn't make exceptions. We've had 18 and 19 year old students who have tried, only to be turned away. They're either waiting (and gathering more credits) or have decided to go elsewhere.

Sophia, SDC, and ONU are all accepted at TESU, COSC, Excelsior, and UMPI. Coopersmith and Davar are accepted at TESU and Excelsior but NOT UMPI or COSC.

As for gen eds at UMPI, no you can't just take anything. There are specific requirements to be met. See https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents. But, again, your daughter couldn't attend for another 2-3 years.

[rlw74]

So the answer is UMPI YourPace (their online, competency-based program) does not make exceptions for age. 20+ adults only. Also, for YourPace, you would need to be looking at https://online.umpi.edu/ specifically, not the general UMPI website.

I think if she times it right she might be 20 before she enrolled there anyway. She is almost 18. The community college is giving her a scholarship to cover her first 60 credit hours. So my thought is she'll be about 19 / 20 before she will be finished with that part of her education. If there is a gap she can use that time to get her ACE credits. It will be a little bit slower than what I did at TESU and maybe slower than what she wants. But we'll have to see how fast she can get through with her associates degree. 

This is all very helpful info. I've checked out those websites and printed off a lot of information for her to look at. She is excited to plan out some of these steps. The ONU info especially is wonderful. I wish that had been around when I got my TESU degree. It would have allowed me to obtain a different major.

[rachel83az]

Yeah, a lot has changed in the past couple of years. There are more options than ever for students to be able to complete the degree that they really want, as opposed to the one that they are "allowed" to get. Things will probably change even more by the time your daughter finishes at your CC! Hopefully, for the better.

[ss20ts]

I think if she times it right she might be 20 before she enrolled there anyway. She is almost 18. The community college is giving her a scholarship to cover her first 60 credit hours. So my thought is she'll be about 19 / 20 before she will be finished with that part of her education. If there is a gap she can use that time to get her ACE credits. It will be a little bit slower than what I did at TESU and maybe slower than what she wants. But we'll have to see how fast she can get through with her associates degree. 

This is all very helpful info. I've checked out those websites and printed off a lot of information for her to look at. She is excited to plan out some of these steps. The ONU info especially is wonderful. I wish that had been around when I got my TESU degree. It would have allowed me to obtain a different major.

That's awesome that she got a scholarship for her first 60 credits! Does she know what she wants for her bachelor's degree?

[bjcheung77]

@rlw74, long time no chat! I remember you were the one who finished the NationsU MTS in one year! Anyways, yes, many things have changed... For alternative credit options, the Big 3 you mentioned remain the best options for max transfer, 113/114 credits... For competency based, UMPI/WGU etc are very good options as well if the student has prior knowledge in the field or subject.

Recent changes to COSC/TESU, both have instituted an approved provider directory list and the requirement of 30 RA credits. The requirements for the degrees have changed slightly as well for TESU, there are more "free electives" for the degrees! Depending on the degree and school, I would stick with the recommended CLEP/MS or Sophia.org for lower level and Study.com for upper level credits for now.

[dfrecore]

If she's going to be taking 60cr at her CC, I would suggest she take them in whatever she narrows it down to (English, Psych, Comm, whatever); really, there's no sense planning out a degree anywhere until she's done with the AA and has decided on her degree.

THEN, come back here with the info, and we can tell her how to finish up quickly.

If she really wants to maximize her credit-taking opportunities while she's at her CC, here's what I would take (covers all the bases at both UMPI and TESU for GE):

English Comp I & II
Speech
Statistics
College Algebra
Sociology
Ethics
American Government
US History I or II
Art History/Appreciation, Intro to Film, etc. (something in the Arts or Literature)
An actual art course (like drawing or ceramics or photography)
A physical science
A biological science
(one of the above should have a lab component and be 4cr)
1-2 semesters of a foreign language

This will leave her with many more options (it will cover GE at MANY schools).