[TESU]New to this, my ultimate goal to get a MS in IT

[Lightorb333]

Hello and thank you for viewing my thread,

Let me cut to the chase,

I have decided on TESU to get my Masters of Science in IT,

I have some idea on how the testing out option works but I need to organize which courses I will take to fulfill the requirements.

My questions are:

• Can I start taking courses and get credits without being registered to the school, so when I finally accumulate enough credits I sign up and then receive my diploma?
  
• Do I have to start with getting an associate degree, then bachelors, then masters in order, or can do I get the bachelors then masters. Which way is better? Is it better to receive three degrees? Is their any downsides to doing this? (I assume money)
  
• Do I have to take any in-person classes? I have heard something about a capstone I'm not sure what these are.
  
• How do I find the exact replacement courses that I can test out on?
  

[lacussucceed]

Yes, but keep track of what you are taking, how it fits in your degree plan and be sure to have existing credits evaluated
Bachelors Masters is perfect. Three is not better. No use, more money.
No. Capstone is online.
Yes you have to find equivalent courses.

[Lightorb333]

Yes, but keep track of what you are taking, how it fits in your degree plan and be sure to have existing credits evaluated
Bachelors Masters is perfect. Three is not better. No use, more money.
No. Capstone is online.
Yes you have to find equivalent courses.

Thanks, how can I find the equivalent courses by name, I want to know truly if the course I'm taking is the correct equivalent.

[allvia]

TESU doesn't offer a Master of Science in IT. The closest TESU offers is a Master of Science (MS) with a concentration in Information Systems (this is quite different than an MSIT)  You will need a bachelor degree before you can get a master degree; an associates degree is not required at all. An associates degree is most often not financially worthwhile with the methods of earning credits/degrees we talk about here - although sometimes one can be added on for free (no additional cost to the bachelor), see my signature for an example.

It is good that you know what your end goal is, a Master in IT- we can help you get there.  

The first, and most important question is - Are you located in the United States? This matters as to the schools / credit methods that are open to you. Also, do you have any college experience/credits already? Any IT certifications?

[Lightorb333]

TESU doesn't offer a Master of Science in IT.  You will need a bachelor degree before you can get a master degree; an associates degree is not required at all. An associates degree is most often not financially worthwhile with the methods of earning credits/degrees we talk about here - although sometimes one can be added on for free (no additional cost to the bachelor), see my signature for an example.

It is good that you know what your end goal is - we can help you get there.  

The first, and most important question is - Are you located in the United States? This matters as to the schools / credit methods that are open to you. Also, do you have any college experience/credits already? Any IT certifications?

Yes I'm In America,
I took some training courses in person from an IT Institute
I'm working on getting my certs for A+,Net+, Sec+


Also here is what Im looking at
https://www.tesu.edu/ast/programs/msit/index

[allvia]

TESU doesn't offer a Master of Science in IT.  You will need a bachelor degree before you can get a master degree; an associates degree is not required at all. An associates degree is most often not financially worthwhile with the methods of earning credits/degrees we talk about here - although sometimes one can be added on for free (no additional cost to the bachelor), see my signature for an example.

It is good that you know what your end goal is - we can help you get there.  

The first, and most important question is - Are you located in the United States? This matters as to the schools / credit methods that are open to you. Also, do you have any college experience/credits already? Any IT certifications?

Yes I'm In America,
I took some training courses in person from an IT Institute
I'm working on getting my certs for A+,Net+, Sec+


Also here is what Im looking at
https://www.tesu.edu/ast/programs/msit/index

Ah, that is not listed off their current main page link of available degrees - TESU is horrible about keeping their site current. With that said, you may want to reach out to confirm it is still offered.  TESU is extremely expensive for master degrees - almost no usable alternative credits exist at the graduate level, so all courses would have to be through them.  However, being in the US you may want to look at WGU - https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees.html .  They are the most recommended option for CS/IT degrees here.  The cost is near impossible to beat for an RA school, and to speed up your timeline to completion you can earn alt (ACE) credits for core courses to transfer (you must transfer all in prior to enrolling, which is not the same as applying), also if you have certifications already they may give you credit for them. Almost all their bachelor programs (& some master) include earning certificates along the way.  Additionally, depending on the local IT Institute you took courses through some may be worth transfer credits to WGU or one of the Big3 we talk about.

[natshar]

Wgu might be the quickest and cheapest for a Bachelor's and masters in IT. Quicker and cheaper than TESU. I am not sure why you choose TESU for this degree.

Do you have any prior college credit at all? If so list it.


Yes I believe you would need a Bachelor's before a masters an Associates is not necessary. Almost every school that gives out masters degrees requires a Bachelor's first to get into the masters program.

May I ask why you need a masters? Will a Bachelor's in IT help you reach your career goals? Start with a Bachelor's. WGU grants credits for it certs and has a good program for undergrad. Focus on one degree at a time.

You could do both a Bachelor's and masters in IT at WGU if you wish. But you have to earn the Bachelor's then the masters you can't do them both at once.

[Lightorb333]

I was looking into WGU, but I did my research and I decided to go for TESU,
From what I understand you cannot test out/use alternative credits for the masters degree program only through their courses in TESU.
That is no problem to me, because I will go to a local college to finish my masters degree.

Can anyone confirm this?
Also what websites do I go to to get alternative credits for the bachelors degree of TESU? Any information is greatly appreciated.
Thank you

[bjcheung77]

Hello and thank you for viewing my thread,

Let me cut to the chase,

I have decided on TESU to get my Masters of Science in IT,

I have some idea on how the testing out option works but I need to organize which courses I will take to fulfill the requirements.

My questions are:

• Can I start taking courses and get credits without being registered to the school, so when I finally accumulate enough credits I sign up and then receive my diploma?
  
• Do I have to start with getting an associate degree, then bachelors, then masters in order, or can do I get the bachelors then masters. Which way is better? Is it better to receive three degrees? Is their any downsides to doing this? (I assume money)
  
• Do I have to take any in-person classes? I have heard something about a capstone I'm not sure what these are.
  
• How do I find the exact replacement courses that I can test out on?
  

Question's and Answers to your questions - what is your budget? do you have tuition assistance?  WGU is a good choice if you're OK with an exclusively online univ.  Especially since the Bachelors provides you IT certs exam costs included in the tuition.  They have a few Bachelors/Masters programs in IT.   Link: https://www.wgu.edu/online-it-degrees.html

If you are adamant in using TESU for the Bachelors, you can finish a Masters in IT (the one you linked).  You can use the Bachelors to Masters option.  You will pay undergrad tuition for 12 credits and pay graduate tuition for the remaining credits.  The 12 credits will also be used towards both the Bachelors and Masters degree.   It all boils down to the cost you can afford.

1) Yes and No.  You can take all the courses you need towards the degree from alternative course providers, the only two courses can't be tested out are the Cornerstone and Capstone.  You do it through TESU and then pay your grad fees.

2) You can start with the Bachelors and move towards the Masters, you can get the Associates FREE en route to the Bachelors, I would get the associates for an ego boost and also to show that you're transitioning from A to B.  You can leave it out of the cv/resume if not needed.

3) There are no in-person classes, these are online courses.  The capstone/cornerstone are 12 week courses with set assignments that can be done without too much class interaction with students/teacher (mentor).  Just get things done before the deadline.  The other courses are self paced, you can take a day to a week, some are quick/others are slow.

4) There is no specific list, you need to find the ones that are equivalent to them.  dfrecore and I have created our own matrix/excel spreadsheets, unfortunately - due to the sheer amount of options, and because so many providers change, or come/go, it's hard to keep that list updated.  Make your own OR, just find the provider of your choice and review their equivalency guide. (That's what I recommended in my Beginners Guide to Cheap College credit in the sticky and wiki).

What you need to do: Decide on your budget, the degree or degrees of choice, your BSIT/MSIT Elective courses for transfer.  It'll all come into play, I highly suggest taking at least 16 to 18 credits through TESU so you don't need to waste cash on a residency waiver.  Any other Q's, reply back and I'll give you a blunt yet straight answer.

For an example spreadsheet, review the links to my signature and the posts referenced.  Cheers, have fun and good luck on your educational journey!

[natshar]

I was looking into WGU, but I did my research and I decided to go for TESU,
From what I understand you cannot test out/use alternative credits for the masters degree program only through their courses in TESU.
That is no problem to me, because I will go to a local college to finish my masters degree.

Can anyone confirm this?
Also what websites do I go to to get alternative credits for the bachelors degree of TESU? Any information is greatly appreciated.
Thank you

I'm a bit confused by this response. Are you going for a masters at TESU or local?

You can not use alternative credits for a masters degree at either TESU or WGU.

A WGU Bachelor's degree is much cheaper and could be much faster than TESU as well. You can use alternative credits at both TESU and WGU. The only difference is you have to take 2 courses at TESU and you have to take 10 courses at WGU. However Wgu courses aren't like normal college courses you go at your own pace, some people complete have been known to complete a WGU course every few days. WGU courses are kind of like the courses you can take via alternative credit to transfer in. The two TESU courses are 12 weeks long and can't be sped up. This what makes WGU faster. 

If you are going for an IT Bachelor's I don't think TESU is available through alternative credit so you might have to take multiple courses at TESU. This will cost more money. On the other hand, WGU gives credit for the IT certs you are already working on, so you'd already have a leg up.

If you want a Bachelor's in something besides IT or business then go to TESU because WGU doesn't offer other majors.

I guess your first step would be what do you want to major in for your Bachelor's?

TESU offers a variety of degrees.
WGU only offers business, nursing, education and IT.

Once you figured out a major and school, then this fourm can help you figuring out how to get there.

I should note does your local school have entrance requirements for their masters? I would start there. Do they require an IT Bachelor's? Certain GPA? Certain experience or certs? That could help you figure out your Bachelor's.