TESC's Comprehensive Tuition vs. Enrolled Options Tuition

[jtalama]

I'm ready to select my tuition plan and would like to get advice from the forum. Which is the better option for my situation, Comprehensive or Enrolled?

My Plans:

* I plan on obtaining an AAS and BALS from TESC
* I need only College Comp to complete my AAS and am studying for the CLEP right now
* I will be pursuing a BALS immediately after I finish the College Comp CLEP for the AAS
* I need approximately 48 credits to complete a BALS
* I would like to attempt as many credits at TESC as possible in 1 yr.
* I would like to attempt as many credits allowable using CLEP or similar format
* I would prefer NOT to play the enrollment fee out-of-pocket
* I would prefer to leverage financial aid as much as possible


Which tuition plan best suits me?

[bricabrac]

I would suggest the enrolled options tuition. Since you chose the liberal studies program you could use all three of the 6cr courses available (taking one each semester fulfills Financial Aid requirement) while completing all other LL courses through testing.

PSY379 Social Psychology
ENS314 Global Environmental Change
HIS356 War and American Society

For your fourth semester, if you need it, you can take whatever two 3cr courses you feel you would enjoy.

Good luck!

[mrs.b]

If you end up taking more than 20 (or is it 23? it's somewhere between there) credits in a calendar year, Comprehensive works out to be more economical. Anything less, particularly if you plan to fulfill most of your degree requirements through testing like bricabrac suggested, would be better under Enrolled.

[jtalama]

If you end up taking more than 20 (or is it 23? it's somewhere between there) credits in a calendar year, Comprehensive works out to be more economical. Anything less, particularly if you plan to fulfill most of your degree requirements through testing like bricabrac suggested, would be better under Enrolled.

When you say, "taking more than 20..." Do you mean taking 20 - 23 credits for TESC classes (to fulfill FA requirement) and CLEP??? Or is that 20 - 23 credits of TESC classes only, not including credits I plan on CLEP-ing?? I'm a tad confused. :confused:

I'd like to finish a BALS in a year and I need 48 credits to do that. Am I being unreasonable by thinking I can complete that many CLEP credits in 1 year??

[mrs.b]

It's not at all unreasonable to complete 48 credits in a year. Many have done that and more, with all testing, with all courses, and with a mix of both, so you're within sane limits. I mean 20-23 credits in TESC courses. You can CLEP/DSST/ACE/transfer-in-from-elsewhere as many credits as you like in addition to what you earn at TESC, and there are no charges or caps on those external credits. You're only charged for the courses you take with TESC. (That's how others here have done a full Bachelors by only paying the annual enrollment. They tested all their requirements down, sent transcripts, paid the enrollment fee, then applied for graduation.)

To meet financial aid requirements, you'll need at least six credits per semester in online or guided study courses from TESC for it to pay out each term. And if you plan to go all four terms (your FA award will be split over four terms, so if you're intending to go the full FA route to get any kind of disbursement, you will likely need to go 2+ terms before your account goes positive), that's at least 24 credits you would commit to, assuming you only take the minimum 6cr/semester, which would put you in the Comprehensive Tuition Plan neighborhood.

Basically, before you make a major financing decision, try to put together a rough degree plan where you decide how you will satisfy the various degree requirements for your BALS. Decide how many of those 48 credits you plan to complete using TESC courses, and how many you plan to complete with CLEP/DSST/transfer from elsewhere. That will help you calculate which tuition plan will be more economical.

[Lindagerr]

I don't know a lot about Finacial aid, but are you in NJ? I would consider the pros and cons of sitting through on-line classes and writin papers Financial aid does not pay for CLEP/DSST testing so if you are doing a lot or most of that you will not get much from them. If you need a GPA from TESC you only have to take one 3 credit course for that. It is not easy but very doable to earn 48 credits in one year. TESC has no limit on the credits you can earn through testing. I earned ~29 credits in 4 months while working 3/4 time. I personally think it is harder and more time consuming to take the courses just to use the financial aid.

[cookderosa]

you can take 12 credits per term at TESC of classes, this is either included in the comp tuition or priced per credit using enrolled. Since 12 * 4 is 48, the number you need, you simply need to decide how many CLEPs you're going ot take INSTEAD of classes. So, if you decided you wanted to mainly CLEP (not covered by financial aid) then it's silly to buy a tuition plan for classes you'll never take. If you estimate the courses you plan to take, along side the CLEPs you plan to take (which can change- but estimate) then you'll likely see a clear winner for you. Good luck!

[jtalama]

I'm beginning to see that perhaps tuition is not the best route for me. I plan to CLEP as many, if not all, classes possible. From what I'm seeing, it doesn't pay to buy a tuition plan for TESC classes that I don't or would rather not take. The gotcha here is that I need to pay enrollment out-of-pocket, which isn't entirely bad. But an even BIGGER gotcha is how well I put together a degree plan to CLEP (or DSST, Penn Foster) for a BALS. That's where I need serious help! As I understand it, TESC won't put together a solid degree plan for you until you pay the enrollment fee.

So, how can I get a solid degree plan, without the help of TESC, if I'm a total and complete newbie to all things CLEP, TESC, DSST, Penn Foster, etc?? Is there anyone on this forum who I can pay for a few hours of their help in doing so??

[Lindagerr]

There is no need to pay us, there are enough of us here to give you a fairly solid plan for free. I do suggest you send all of your current credits to TESC and pay the $75 for an unofficial academic evaluation. After that we should be able to plug in exams for most or all of your remaining requirements.

[cookderosa]

There is no need to pay us, there are enough of us here to give you a fairly solid plan for free. .

....awwww man..... lol, j/k

no, seriously though, planning your degree is a bit like booking an airline ticket online for the first time. You know people are doing it, you don't want to get scammed, you don't want to waste any money, and you need to do it right or you'll end up in the wrong place at the end of the journey. That said, it's not terribly difficult, just calm down and hang out a bit. Don't enroll for a couple months, learn first. Investing 2 months ahead of time LEARNING how to do this will save you 2-3 YEARS off the length of time needed to complete a degree. I promise.