Ivy League Masters programs with TESU Bachelors

[Supermind]

Thank you Jennifer. By 'online', I am implying 'testing out' and getting a bachelor's through TESU. I am trying to understand if a bachelors degree gained like this will be disregarded if I were to seek admission for a graduate program in a physical campus. The reason I ask this is- online degrees have no way to calculate GPA. So, I am wondering if that will play a big role.

[quigongene]

I think a better approach is to figure out what grad school you want, then figure out what they require before jumping head first into TESU.

[allvia]

Thank you Jennifer. By 'online', I am implying 'testing out' and getting a bachelor's through TESU. I am trying to understand if a bachelors degree gained like this will be disregarded if I were to seek admission for a graduate program in a physical campus. The reason I ask this is- online degrees have no way to calculate GPA. So, I am wondering if that will play a big role.

There have been numerous people here who have gone from a degree from the Big 3 (which includes TESU) to a traditional on-campus grad school program. Some have opted to obtain their bachelor degree in this fashion so they would have the money to do grad school (this method saves a great deal of money).  In the end what will matter is the grad schools admission requirements (in regards to prerequisites); if you need a 'B or better' in Biology w/lab then your tested out Study.com won't offer that - as it is not a graded course. But you could test out in everything else and take the Bio I w/lab through a traditional college and meet the grad school requirement (i.e.).

What is generally recommended here if you know what you want to go to Grad School for ("your end game") then start from there and work backwards.  An example that comes to mind is there have been a number of people here who were working towards becoming a PA (Physician Assistant), so they had to work out all the grad school requirements in advance - they could test out of English, Into to Computers, Art, Ethics, etc but they could not test out of the sciences.  In this example, the number of PA Programs would offer far fewer school  options (and more competitive) than what you're looking at in the way of a Master in Psychology (here in the U.S. that is a common master degree offering through respected RA Colleges/Universities)

I myself once considered going for an MPA and the school/program I was interested in required both micro/macro economics (graded) so my tested out versions I used for my TESU BSBA would not have worked - however, I could have opted to take those two courses through my local CC (Community College) very inexpensively.  I have opted to go another route for my Master Degree, so I will not have an issue with the credits I've earned through this method (testing out) in economics applied to my TESU Bachelor.

[cookderosa]

Thank you Jennifer. By 'online', I am implying 'testing out' and getting a bachelor's through TESU. I am trying to understand if a bachelors degree gained like this will be disregarded if I were to seek admission for a graduate program in a physical campus. The reason I ask this is- online degrees have no way to calculate GPA. So, I am wondering if that will play a big role.

In that case, everyone here is giving you good advice- look at admissions requirements and go from there. FWIW, I have a GPA from TESU with credits I earned there. I think you're thinking too narrowly about what is possible. It isn't either-or, there are shades and variables that you aren't considering.

[Supermind]

Thank you Jennifer. By 'online', I am implying 'testing out' and getting a bachelor's through TESU. I am trying to understand if a bachelors degree gained like this will be disregarded if I were to seek admission for a graduate program in a physical campus. The reason I ask this is- online degrees have no way to calculate GPA. So, I am wondering if that will play a big role.

In that case, everyone here is giving you good advice- look at admissions requirements and go from there.  FWIW, I have a GPA from TESU with credits I earned there.  I think you're thinking too narrowly about what is possible.  It isn't either-or, there are shades and variables that you aren't considering.

Thank you. That's good to know.

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Thank you Jennifer. By 'online', I am implying 'testing out' and getting a bachelor's through TESU. I am trying to understand if a bachelors degree gained like this will be disregarded if I were to seek admission for a graduate program in a physical campus. The reason I ask this is- online degrees have no way to calculate GPA. So, I am wondering if that will play a big role.

There have been numerous people here who have gone from a degree from the Big 3 (which includes TESU) to a traditional on-campus grad school program. Some have opted to obtain their bachelor degree in this fashion so they would have the money to do grad school (this method saves a great deal of money).  In the end what will matter is the grad schools admission requirements (in regards to prerequisites); if you need a 'B or better' in Biology w/lab then your tested out Study.com won't offer that - as it is not a graded course. But you could test out in everything else and take the Bio I w/lab through a traditional college and meet the grad school requirement (i.e.).

What is generally recommended here if you know what you want to go to Grad School for ("your end game") then start from there and work backwards.  An example that comes to mind is there have been a number of people here who were working towards becoming a PA (Physician Assistant), so they had to work out all the grad school requirements in advance - they could test out of English, Into to Computers, Art, Ethics, etc but they could not test out of the sciences.  In this example, the number of PA Programs would offer far fewer school  options (and more competitive) than what you're looking at in the way of a Master in Psychology (here in the U.S. that is a common master degree offering through respected RA Colleges/Universities)

I myself once considered going for an MPA and the school/program I was interested in required both micro/macro economics (graded) so my tested out versions I used for my TESU BSBA would not have worked - however, I could have opted to take those two courses through my local CC (Community College) very inexpensively.  I have opted to go another route for my Master Degree, so I will not have an issue with the credits I've earned through this method (testing out) in economics applied to my TESU Bachelor.

Thank you allvia.

[armstrongsubero]

It is possible. I saw on linkedin an alum had a BA in comp sci from TESU and was in Columbia doing a masters in EE....

[Supermind]

It is possible. I saw on linkedin an alum had a BA in comp sci from TESU and was in Columbia doing a masters in EE....

Great to know!

[davewill]

Graduate admissions is not one dimensional. If you have work experience or do well on the GRE, that can balance out a lack of GPA or even not traditional prerequisites in some cases.

[sanantone]

Just to be clear, 99.9% of online courses at accredited colleges are graded. Alternative sources of credit that are mostly offered by unaccredited companies typically do not count toward your GPA. To minimize confusion, credits from CLEP, Straighterline, Study.com, etc. should be referred to as alternative sources of credit.

What matters in the admissions process are grades, test scores, letters of recommendation (to a certain extent), essays, and sometimes work or internship experience. The rank of your undergraduate school is not a big factor.

My undergraduate GPA is kind of low, and I tested out of many credits. I got into my on-campus PhD program (ranked #29) because of my high GRE scores and the GPA for my master's program. By the way, the doctoral program coordinator thought that I earned my master's on campus because there was no way to tell the difference. That's why I strongly advocate for attending programs that aren't branded as being non-traditional.

I was also accepted to two different science programs at University of Florida. While it isn't Ivy Plus (that's the term that covers schools like MIT because MIT is not Ivy League), it is ranked #35 nationally and #8 among public schools.