Starting Almost From Scratch

[jblackhawk]

First, my GPA, with an academic scholarship no less, was 1.98 my first year of college. On just 7 classes - because I got W's for the other 3. So don't feel bad about your GPA. Luckily, I figured out that while I wasn't crazy about college, I did enjoy something else - WORKING! Sounds like you figured that out as well.

I only really know TESU well enough to give you advice there, so keep that in mind.

The BSBA probably could certainly work in the meantime, it just doesn't leave a lot of room for those psych courses you'd probably want to take. But it's still doable for you. You can always get a quick (relative I'm sure) BSBA, then get a second degree with the BA in SocSci. Basically at that point, you would only need to take 24cr in your AOS. It was tricky to figure this one out, but I did it (ok, so I'm a spreadsheet dork!).

I figured yours out a little differently than others; first I planned your BSBA. I did all the free/cheap stuff first (Insurance Ethics, Kaplan PLA, Saylor & ALEKS), and then planned 8 TECEP's for residency. THEN, instead of other cheap courses or using SL to maximum effect, I used UExcel courses that would cost $145 to replace courses you were already going to pay 100+ for anyway. To get you some of the grades you might need for grad school (33cr). I came up with a cost of $3500.

I figured out where all of the courses would transfer to in the new plan, and that left you with exactly 8 courses to take for the 2nd Degree (you have to take 24cr in your Area of Study AFTER your degree conferral). So, after you finished with your BSBA in Gen Management at TESU, you couldn't start taking the additional courses until after graduation. At that point, you could take 7 additional UExcel's, for $1500, and then the Capstone for another $1500 (and another 24cr with grades). Kind of crazy that the second degree (24cr) costs almost as much as the first degree (110cr), but that capstone is a killer.

The other thing that might be helpful after getting your TESU BSBA (if you go that route) is to then switch over to Excelsior to get the 2nd degree instead. I'm not sure how it works there, but I'd it couldn't hurt to look at that as another option, since you'd have the UExcel exams there. It might look better to get that 2nd degree from another college. Also, by that point, they might have the testing out option for the capstone, which could make it a lot less expensive to go there (I've heard they're going to do that).

Anyway, getting your BSBA is not a bad plan, since it might take a while to finish up the BALS afterwards, and then go through a Masters program. You might want to save up some money to get through it, and having a degree that could move your career forward a little is definitely a good way to get there.

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How awesome are you? Thank you!! That looks like a great plan.
I am also a spreadsheet lover!! I already have one going for college comparisons, among other things...

If I were to go straight to starting off with BALS instead, do you think that would take longer than starting off on the BSBA path? It seems the MFT program at NCU doesn't have any specific undergrad reqs.