So what is the deal about testing out in 2015?

[Keuss]

Hello all I am looking to test out completely to get a degree this year. (I am starting with 0 credits, completely new to college despite I am going to be 23 soon)
However a lot of the information I have been reading on the internet seems to be very outdated from the 2000's. For instance there are a lot of guides on the internet claiming you can get your degree in one year or less and for under $5,000 dollars. Go to this forum however and there is a lot of new information it seems, for instance capstones are now a requirement.
I want to get my degree in either liberal arts or humanities and I've been looking for guides to see how to plan them(like on the wiki) but every single one contains warnings saying they are outdated. So is it possible to get a degree from one of the big three by just using CLEPS and DSSTS? (plus the capstone) How much do you think it would cost? What college do you guys reccomend? Could I still finish it by the end of the year?

[sanantone]

My TESC guides aren't outdated because they aren't personal guides. I change them as TESC changes policies and when new credit sources are found. The only thing I need to do is put back in the duplication warning for the business ethics tests/courses. If you choose TESC, then it's best to enroll under the Per Credit Tuition Plan so that you lock in the current catalog. You can always change tuition plans later. I do have examples of how one can complete a degree at TESC for under $5,000.

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...post172163
http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...post174813

Some may argue that making test out plans isn't a good idea because of regular policy changes, but I strongly disagree. This forum has way too much information in thousands of different threads, so all of the available options are impossible to know. The test out plans consolidate the information into one place. You can always verify with an advisor, but you have to keep in mind that TESC employees tend to not be aware of all of the available options. They are notorious for even giving out incorrect information. If you just depend on TESC advisors for info on alternative sources of credit, you will be limiting yourself. TESC employees aren't going to tell you that you can earn credits for free from the Kaplan PLA, NFA, and TEEX courses. They aren't going too tell you that there are CSU Global CBEs, Coopersmith, Sophia Learning, Penn Foster, AlignDegree, and Propero courses that are available for your degree requirements because they simply don't know, and it's not really their job to know.

[Keuss]

Hello thank you for your reply. Thanks for showing me the links, I am surprised that the general management one is under $3,000 dollars. good to know. I am wondering though how come TESC seems to be the most popular one around here? Are the other 2 more expensive or restricted in what credits you can transfer?

[OfficerA]

Hello thank you for your reply. Thanks for showing me the links, I am surprised that the general management one is under $3,000 dollars. good to know. I am wondering though how come TESC seems to be the most popular one around here? Are the other 2 more expensive or restricted in what credits you can transfer?

For me they have one of the more generous acceptance policy for "nontraditional" credits as well as having their own internal CBT in the form of TECEPs. As a military member they're not "cheap" per se, but they're definitely fast if that's your goal.

[Yanji]

TESC also has the broadest range of majors. COSC is mainly liberal arts oriented while Excelsior is more technical/applied science oriented. TESC has a balanced mix of both, although I would imagine Excelsior probably offers more courses because of sheer size.

[sanantone]

The last I saw, Excelsior had about 39k students, TESC 19k, and COSC 6k. Excelsior is more widely-known, especially among the military and aspiring nurses. Excelsior does have a better selection of online courses, but that's because they offer less degree programs and are structured to offer all of the courses for those degree programs. TESC and COSC offer many degrees for which they do not offer all of the courses. I would assume that TESC and COSC are mostly known by New Jersey and Connecticut residents.

Most of the students who attend the Big 3 are doing so to transfer credits. They aren't really interested in testing or even taking courses with companies like Straighterline. They are looking for schools that will consolidate their credits from previous schools and to take online courses. The types of students that make up the members of this forum are in the minority at the Big 3.

TESC is the most popular here because of its flexibility when it comes to testing and has become even more popular because of the Per Credit Tuition Plan. TESC's degrees generally only require 12-18 upper level credits. In addition to that, TESC is much more liberal than the other two in awarding upper level credits for tests and courses that do not have upper level recommendations from ACE. TESC's business administration programs are some of the last that don't require a capstone to be taken in residence (as in required to be taken at the school in any delivery mode i.e. online, ground, or correspondence).

[UptonSinclair]

Keuss,

The guides you find should not be used as a degree plan. They should be used to give you an idea of how things work. Only you can decide the best option for fulfilling the degree requirements. In my opinion, the first step anyone should take is reading the catalog for the college they are thinking of attending. I have made a lot of mistakes over the last couple of years by getting in a hurry and not taking the time to understand the various college policies. Those mistakes can get costly very quickly. Before embarking on this journey, you should understand what subjects fit each category at a given institution. For instance, history is a social science at some colleges and a humanity at others. At TESC computer science courses are considered a natural science while others consider them technical courses. There is no harm beginning by knocking out a few of the common CLEPs or DSSTs, but it is worth the effort to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the college documents.

On a side note, I believe it is very important before beginning this journey to have a purpose in mind for your degree. Are you trying to meet a requirement for a current job? Are you planning to attend graduate school? Are you trying to get into a new career? The answers to these questions should also impact how you choose to accomplish your degree. This advise comes from personal experience. I have completed all of the requirements for a BSBA in the last two years. At one point, I intended to pursue graduate studies at a given college and didn't realize they required 60 graded credits for admissions. Had I taken the time to understand this requirement ahead of time I would have taken more traditional courses and avoided Straighterline. For others, Straighterline is a great option.

One might view planning a degree like choosing a spouse. Very few people would ask someone else to choose a spouse for them, but they could definitely benefit from the wisdom of those who have successful relationships.

Good luck with your decision.

[cookderosa]

Sanantone and Upton gave excellent advice- read their suggestions twice.

Also, you're not old. Starting from zero actually makes your path EASIER because you don't have to try and work any prior credit into an existing degree plan. You have your pick of ANY degree.

You can waste tremendous amounts of time and money by guessing what you should do. Don't guess. Spend a little time here, learning and reading first. Yes, the forum is too large for you to learn everything, and yes, things change, but the principles are consistent and you don't have to know everything to get going. Get a feel for what other people are doing/have done and you'll be able to build your own degree plan with confidence. Once you pick a school, stick with it, learn about what YOU need to know for your degree at that school and charge ahead.

Welcome!

[Keuss]

Hello thank you all for the responses, everything is becoming a little bit clearer now, well at least clearer than before I started this topic. I'm going to look at TESC and the general management degree. The reason I want a degree is because I have been wanting to move to Japan sometime now(I am fluent in Japanese) and would like to work there, however in order to recieve a work visa, a bachelor's degree is required from an accredited university(major does not matter). I have already visited many times and am fluent in the language so I am more than ready to move there, and I would rather not wait 4 years to get there.

[KayV]

Sixteen hours of Japanese credits? Yes please!

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