Quick cheap BS degree help plz

[PointAndClick]

Hiya, I’m a German girl looking for as the title says a chep and fast BS degree so far Excelsior looks the most enticing. Currently working in tech, wanting to do a Masters when done. I like exams/courses, dislike/don’t have time for papers unless it’s only here and there. I did CLEP for Eng Comp I and Eng Comp II at a collegebut other than that I have no previous college credit. I’ve started taking some courses at Sophia (does anyone know if the Chemistry course there transfers in as a science course?) and am looking at Saylor.org as well. Since I’m looking for cheap I’d want to avoid Study.com but I think I’ll be forced to use it for UL? Any help, suggestions etc is very much appreciated. Thank you! And sorry about the terrible formatting I’m on mobile

[bjcheung77]

Hey, das ist teuer! Welcome to the board! When you're off mobile and able to use your laptop or whatever - You really need to follow this template as it will give us more details on what courses you have taken so we don't recommend duplicates. Moreover, it will tell us a bit more about your situation and we can see if Excelsior or another university would be a better fit for you. Make sure to fill in the info within the addendum (last post) Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[PointAndClick]

Hey, das ist teuer! Welcome to the board!  When you're off mobile and able to use your laptop or whatever - You really need to follow this template as it will give us more details on what courses you have taken so we don't recommend duplicates. Moreover, it will tell us a bit more about your situation and we can see if Excelsior or another university would be a better fit for you.  Make sure to fill in the info within the addendum (last post) Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...rksUpdated, thanks for 

Thank for the heads up, updated!

Your Location: Singapore
Your Age: 29
What kind of degree do you want?: BS, technically I need a bachelors for a promotion at work but I want to do a masters in CS or a similar field after. If there are any special course req's for the masters I'll just take a couple classes after completing my BS I plan on taking a year off from studying anyway.

Current Regional Accredited Credits: Eng Comp II but can't remember the college name off the top of my head

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: Eng Comp (I think Excelsior doesn't accept this so can I take the one at Sophia?)

Any certifications or military experience? None and none

[Insert Name]

Bjcheung77 and others can help a lot when given all the info.

I did see a question I might be able to answer, according to the Sophia site, Chemistry should transfer to Excelsior as CHEM*1001 Natural Science.

None of these are “recommendations” at the moment, without know what classes you need. But, it may be an idea to put some of these links I’m adding in your archives so that once you know what you need you can see if any of them will fit. You mention cheap courses a couple of times.

You are German. Could you pass the ACTFL tests? If so, and you max them out it can work out to less than $10/credit. https://www.actfl.org/resources/actfl-pr...012/german

You’ve already taken some CLEPs. Could you take more? Modern States is free and gives vouchers to take free CLEPs. https://modernstates.org/

If you hit a point where you need 1 credit, Clackamas has a free 1 credit course. https://libguides.clackamas.edu/lib101info

Here’s a free 3 credit course from JSU, if it fits somewhere in your degree plan. https://www.jsu.edu/tryit/index.html

Also, I don’t know how much the evaluations are, but I’ve read on this forum about people taking free XAMK classes and then paying to have them evaluated from European credits to US credits. Not sure if there is anything there that would fit, or what the evaluation cost is, but maybe something worth doing a search of XAMK on the forum, after you know what you would need?

Again, all of this was intended for “once you know what you need, these MAY fit somewhere to help bring the cost down a little.” Not a run off and do these, and possibly end up taking classes/tests you don’t need. You had already mentioned Sophia and Saylor, so I left those out.

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Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: Eng Comp (I think Excelsior doesn't accept this so can I take the one at Sophia?)

Excelsior accepted English Comp II from Sophia for me. Here’s the link that Sophia has up showing what their classes should transfer to EC as. https://excelsior.sophia.org/

[PointAndClick]

Bjcheung77 and others can help a lot when given all the info.

I did see a question I might be able to answer, according to the Sophia site, Chemistry should transfer to Excelsior as CHEM*1001 Natural Science.

None of these are “recommendations” at the moment, without know what classes you need. But, it may be an idea to put some of these links I’m adding in your archives so that once you know what you need you can see if any of them will fit. You mention cheap courses a couple of times.

You are German. Could you pass the ACTFL tests? If so, and you max them out it can work out to less than $10/credit. https://www.actfl.org/resources/actfl-pr...012/german

You’ve already taken some CLEPs. Could you take more? Modern States is free and gives vouchers to take free CLEPs. https://modernstates.org/

If you hit a point where you need 1 credit, Clackamas has a free 1 credit course. https://libguides.clackamas.edu/lib101info

Here’s a free 3 credit course from JSU, if it fits somewhere in your degree plan. https://www.jsu.edu/tryit/index.html

Also, I don’t know how much the evaluations are, but I’ve read on this forum about people taking free XAMK classes and then paying to have them evaluated from European credits to US credits. Not sure if there is anything there that would fit, or what the evaluation cost is, but maybe something worth doing a search of XAMK on the forum, after you know what you would need?

Again, all of this was intended for “once you know what you need, these MAY fit somewhere to help bring the cost down a little.” Not a run off and do these, and possibly end up taking classes/tests you don’t need. You had already mentioned Sophia and Saylor, so I left those out.

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Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: Eng Comp (I think Excelsior doesn't accept this so can I take the one at Sophia?)

Excelsior accepted English Comp II from Sophia for me. Here’s the link that Sophia has up showing what their classes should transfer to EC as. https://excelsior.sophia.org/

Hey thanks for the tips! I haven't put a degree plan together yet, trying to knock out my gen eds first and go from there but I think I might try to go for the BSLA degree at Excelsior because at least so far the requirements for that one seem the least restrictive with alt credits but correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Hmmm yes the Sophia website says chemistry should transfer as natural science but the Excelsior evaluation sheet doesn't reflect the same. So I wonder whether the sheet is outdated or something else might be up? https://www.excelsior.edu/wp-content/upl...y_2022.pdf    On that note I assume both Eng comp courses from Sophia would transfer in properly? I'd need comp I since comp II I completed at an RA college so that one should definitely transfer in.

I'm German by passport only just wanted to mention it in case it matters but English is my main language I grew up in SG so I don't think I could pass a language test unfortunately. 

I've never heard of XAMK but it's an interesting option. Found a reference to it on this site of someone being able to transfer credits into Excelsior from there but the thread is 5 years old and I'm afraid policies may have changed since then. Still the courses are free so if I can't find another alternative for something I need I'll definitely try it.

CLEP is actually quite expensive here at around 15-180USD per exam, so if there are cheaper options for something I'd rather try those. I'm supporting an ill family member and so am low on funds at the moment and for the foreseeable future but it's also why I want the degree and that promotion hah 

Do you happen to know how difficult Saylor courses are? That 5$/course fee is very attractive

[bjcheung77]

@PointAndClick, great stuff. You missed the last post addendum, that's actually more important information. As that will pretty much determine if Excelsior or another degree provider such as UMPI would work better for you. Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[Insert Name]

[quote pid='369580' dateline='1655451114']

Hmmm yes the Sophia website says chemistry should transfer as natural science but the Excelsior evaluation sheet doesn't reflect the same. So I wonder whether the sheet is outdated or something else might be up? https://www.excelsior.edu/wp-content/upl...y_2022.pdf    On that note I assume both Eng comp courses from Sophia would transfer in properly? I'd need comp I since comp II I completed at an RA college so that one should definitely transfer in.

Chemistry is a new class for Sophia, so it may not be updated on the Excelsior side yet. Although, I do see other new classes listed, so I'm not sure.

I'm German by passport only just wanted to mention it in case it matters but English is my main language I grew up in SG so I don't think I could pass a language test unfortunately. 

Darn it. Was worth a shot. 

I've never heard of XAMK but it's an interesting option. Found a reference to it on this site of someone being able to transfer credits into Excelsior from there but the thread is 5 years old and I'm afraid policies may have changed since then. Still the courses are free so if I can't find another alternative for something I need I'll definitely try it.

It may not pan out, but it was something I read a while back and seemed like an interesting option that may work for some people. 

CLEP is actually quite expensive here at around 15-180USD per exam, so if there are cheaper options for something I'd rather try those. I'm supporting an ill family member and so am low on funds at the moment and for the foreseeable future but it's also why I want the degree and that promotion hah 

That's why I pointed towards Modern States, if you like the CLEP idea. The Modern States CLEP preps are free, and if you pass them they give you a voucher to take the CLEP for free. Free is better than 180. 

Do you happen to know how difficult Saylor courses are? That 5$/course fee is very attractive

I have never taken a Saylor course. I feel like I saw someone complaining about them recently though. Maybe do a search and see what pops up?


Also, at risk of sidetracking you from BJ's help, something else to add to your bag of tricks is Olivet. I am mentioning them because their credits are RA, instead of ACE. Depending on what you find to fill in your requirements, you may be able to transfer in more credits somewhere like Excelsior by adding in RA credits. As an example; I believe excelsior allows 113 credits to transfer in, but only 90 ACE credits, so if you found all of the right classes, you could use Clackamas, JSU, and Olivet to fill in the 23. I believe Olivet is $50/credit. https://www.olivet.edu/tuition-free-gene...our-degree 

All that said, I am currently in my Capstone at Excelsior, but BJ may be right, since you are basically starting from square 1, somewhere else may end up being cheaper/faster for you. I've been reading a lot of success lately from people going the UMPI route. Not sure if they have a degree you want or not, but that's where these guys can help a LOT. Navigating different routes. I just like sharing all of the fun stuff that I've found from them. 
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Once you know what classes you need, this link can be huge. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sources_of_Credit

[PointAndClick]

@PointAndClick, great stuff.  You missed the last post addendum, that's actually more important information.  As that will pretty much determine if Excelsior or another degree provider such as UMPI would work better for you.  Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Wooops! Corrected it.

Budget: I have no savings at the moment. 
Commitments: 50h+ workweeks with a lot of traveling and taking care of my ill mom.
Dedicated time to study: I can study when I have time, it can vary a lot. Some days/weeks it might be a lot, other times I may not be able to study all week.
Timeline: The faster the better of course but cost is more important than speed. I really need the cheapest route I can go 
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Nothing

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Also, at risk of sidetracking you from BJ's help, something else to add to your bag of tricks is Olivet. I am mentioning them because their credits are RA, instead of ACE. Depending on what you find to fill in your requirements, you may be able to transfer in more credits somewhere like Excelsior by adding in RA credits. As an example; I believe excelsior allows 113 credits to transfer in, but only 90 ACE credits, so if you found all of the right classes, you could use Clackamas, JSU, and Olivet to fill in the 23. I believe Olivet is $50/credit. https://www.olivet.edu/tuition-free-gene...our-degree 

I went through their catalogue but haven't seen that as a requirement, are you sure only 90 alt credits transfer in? That might pout a break on things, I'm definitely not able to pay for more than the necessary 7 Excelsior courses.

All that said, I am currently in my Capstone at Excelsior, but BJ may be right, since you are basically starting from square 1, somewhere else may end up being cheaper/faster for you. I've been reading a lot of success lately from people going the UMPI route. Not sure if they have a degree you want or not, but that's where these guys can help a LOT. Navigating different routes. I just like sharing all of the fun stuff that I've found from them. 

The issue with UMPI is they seem to be very essay heavy which one the one hand I hate so I'm sure I would procrastinate and it would end up costing me way more in th end and I think for the most part I simply wouldn't have the time for it

Oh and over here the CLEP proctoring fee is around 150$

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Once you know what classes you need, this link can be huge. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sources_of_Credit

[rachel83az]

Excelsior does NOT currently have a 90 credit limit for alt credits. They could change that in the future, as TESU and COSC have done, but right now Excelsior will allow you to transfer in 113 alt credits. That said, Olivet can be cheaper than Sophia for English Comp. You don't have to pay until after you've finished the course and it's only $50/credit. If you're super busy with work, you can stretch the course out over many months and still pay the same flat fee. With Sophia's English Comp, you'd need to get it done as quickly as possible or else you'd wind up paying a lot more.

In the same vein, you'll want courses from Davar, CIS Testing, Coopersmith, and LawShelf whenever possible. These are also flat-rate courses These are all flat-rate providers that can wind up costing less than Study.com when you don't have a lot of time to study.

[PointAndClick]

Excelsior does NOT currently have a 90 credit limit for alt credits. They could change that in the future, as TESU and COSC have done, but right now Excelsior will allow you to transfer in 113 alt credits. That said, Olivet can be cheaper than Sophia for English Comp. You don't have to pay until after you've finished the course and it's only $50/credit. If you're super busy with work, you can stretch the course out over many months and still pay the same flat fee. With Sophia's English Comp, you'd need to get it done as quickly as possible or else you'd wind up paying a lot more.

In the same vein, you'll want courses from Davar, CIS Testing, Coopersmith, and LawShelf whenever possible. These are also flat-rate courses These are all flat-rate providers that can wind up costing less than Study.com when you don't have a lot of time to study.

Nice thanks for the info! I'll get all 113 with alt credits for now then and hope they don't change it until I'm done! The good thing about Sophia is their courses are crazy easy, I did 2 in a little over a week while commuting/downtime at work including the finals and am on my second set right now so I can probably do at least 4 but possibly more in a month with them, in this case I don't think 50/credit would be worth it for me unless I do end up needing RA ooooor unless I'm missing something here? With Eng comp due to the essay evaluation timelines I just did the quizzes, dropped the course, will write the essays while I'm working on other stuff and then re-enroll, submit and let them evaluate. 

I'm not familiar with the course providers you listed, do you have any insight into how difficult/time consuming each one is and maybe which of their courses I would be able to use at Excelsior?