TESC Credit Bank, lots of questions :)

[erica88]

Hi,

I am glad I found this thread. I have questions about the credit bank at Thomas Edison State College and FEMA credits. I will be entering the Army soon maybe this summer and I was hoping to enter as an E-3 but I only have 25 college credits from a local community college and the Army requires you to have at least 48. I have completed about 14 FEMA courses and I plan to take them all and I was wondering if it was worth it to credit bank those FEMA credits at Thomas Edison so I can have more than 48 credits total. :confused: The only problem is that from what I read on here, Thomas Edison State College has bad customer service and it takes a long time for them to respond to your questions, is that true? Because if I do plan to open a credit bank with them, I do not want to wait around for 6 months for them to send me a transcript.

What do you think is best? I was also thinking about taking CLEP and DSST exams but if I do it is going to be quite costly and I cannot afford it right now...

One more question about the credit bank at TESC, if I do open one with them it's good for one year right? So if I take CLEP and DSST exams later this year can I credit bank them also at TESC?

Any other way to earn free or cheap credits? I like the FEMA courses, you can learn a lot from it. I also read about thebackup.com courses and they seem really interesting but it's only for law enforcement so that's out of the question.

Thanks to anyone who can answer my questions.

Erica

[HawkGuy]

I don't know much about the credit bank at TESC, but I'm enrolled with them under the Military Degree Completion Program (MDCP). My advice would be to finish up the FEMA courses, and bank them with TESC. You'll have enough credits to go in as an E3, and you'll be set. Then once you enlist, you can sign up under the MDCP, pay your 75 bucks registration fee, and CLEP your heart out for free through the Army.

That's what I'm doing, and it's working out great. I don't pay any fees or anything else like that, and I'm always enrolled. I've been taking CLEP and DANTES tests for the past year off and on, and just sending the results to TESC.

There's other ways to go in as an E3 besides college, so I'd ask your recruiter.

Hope this helps!!

Jesse

[erica88]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I think I will go ahead and open a credit bank with them.

Oh wow, you don't have to pay any fees if you enroll under the MDCP? What about the annual enrollment tuition for $2000+? I was looking at their Criminal Justice program but was concerned about the annual tuition. How about subjects that you cannot take via CLEP or DSST, do you have to take it from them or can you take it at another college and have it transfered? Thanks!

[GettinMyBA]

You can take anything you want at other institutions and have the credits transferred to TESC, but check each specific course first... the classes may or may not equate to something that you'll need for your degree. Work closely with an academic advisor (I suggest initially dealing with a few diferent advisors in your degree specialty, and then deciding on just one and stick with that person. Too many cooks spoil the broth and screw up your degree plans).

Note that I am not commenting on MDCP because it's different than it was a while back and I have no idea how the charges work... but if you DO have to pay tuition, consider taking the classes at TESC (online) because it will likely be much less expensive over being enrolled at TESC and paying a per-credit charge at another college (plus transfer fees).
Good luck!

[HawkGuy]

As far as the fees go for enrolling in the MDCP, you pay a 75 dollar fee to I guess technically "enroll". That's it. No annual enrollment fee or anything else like that. The only catch is that you have to take 12sh through them to get your Bachelors. That's no biggie really, considering the Army pays 100% tuition, which also covers your books. So whatever classes you need that you can't test out of, you can take through TESC for free.

All you have to do is go to your Education Center wherever you're stationed, and talk to one of the counselors. They'll set you up with everything you need. They'll also set you up with all the CLEP and DANTES tests you need.

You'll be well ahead of your peers in that you already know about CLEP and DANTES. Most soldiers don't even know where the education center is at haha.