Which school, if any, would be best for applying to a top 20 grad school?

[cstobler]

Hi,

It has been awhile since I have been on this forum. I was working towards my degree a few years ago, but ended up having to work for awhile to make ends meet. I am getting back to it now, but with my sights set on grad school, and since I am planning on going into Quantitative Analysis and Trading (Quant), it is pretty imperative to get into a good grad school.

I was doing some preliminary research, but I couldn't really find any good info on whether any of these schools would be suited for that, or if it would be harder to get into a good grad school with a degree from one of these schools. Does anyone have any info on this? Do you think that if I had a great GPA and a great GRE, I could get into a decent grad school? If you think that none of these schools would help me in my case, are there any other online schools that are more well known/prestigious?

I am brainstorming my options, but one way that could work would be to get my masters at a decent school that would still let me in from one of the big three, and then I could apply for a top PhD with a decent masters degree. Another method would be to figure out my target undergrad university, then figure out how many credits can be transferred, and transfer that many from TESU or another one of the big three. In essence "legitimizing" my CLEP tests to turn them into transferable credits.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Charlie

[davewill]

I can't really see enough difference between any of the Big3 or WGU to think that one over another would be "better" for getting into a top program. I think it would be best to think of your application as a whole, and ask yourself what kinds of internships and research opportunities you could take advantage of to boost your creds. Also, if you can wait a few years to get solid professional experience, that would help as well.

Another thing to look with grad programs is what prerequisites they require and whether they will accept those coming from alternative credit. Even if they do, you may want to take those courses from an actual university and not have to deal with the question of where they came from. That also has the advantage of giving you a GPA that has some meaning, since alternative credit doesn't generate grades.

As far as transferring to some other school to finish your undergrad, there's no way to "legitimize" alternative credit. This is something we call "credit laundering" around here, and it comes up regularly. Each school evaluates credit on it's own merits, not on whether another school accepted it. If you want to use alternative credit for your undergrad, you must get your degree from a school that will accept it. Putting it on another school's transcript first won't help.

[cstobler]

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like either way, I should take some courses even if I could use alternative credit so that I will have a sufficient number of graded courses. I am thinking about the online MSCS from GT for my grad program, and it seems like several people on this forum have graduated from TESU and been accepted at GT. Can anyone confirm this?

[davewill]

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like either way, I should take some courses even if I could use alternative credit so that I will have a sufficient number of graded courses. I am thinking about the online MSCS from GT for my grad program, and it seems like several people on this forum have graduated from TESU and been accepted at GT. Can anyone confirm this?

Yes, I was accepted into that program right after getting my BACS from TESU. Of course, I had 30 years of professional experience and just needed the degree to check that box. I later decided I didn't have the time to commit to it. 

If that's your goal, I would definitely prioritize getting solid work experience over where you get your degree. Join the OMSCS group on Google+ and Reddit, and you will see lots of people who got in with greatly varied credentials. Their main admissions criteria is whether they believe you will be able to graduate the program. There was at least one person who went from graduating from OMSCS to a PhD program at GT. The OMSCS program accepts online students as TAs, and that's how she got her foot in the door, working closely with the faculty.

[cstobler]

Lol, I was just about to reply that I saw your comment in another thread about being in GT MSCS. That is good to hear. I have some professional experience, but not nearly as much as you. Still, it might make a difference if I can get some more before I graduate. Even if I couldn't get it, sounds like I could just work my way up in the industry a bit more before applying again.

---

Out of curiosity, did you use a lot of alternative credit when you went through TESU?

[jsd]

I have a psych degree from TESU and a IT Security degree from WGU and got into the GT OMS Cybersecurity program. I used a considerable amount of alternative credit, but had a lot of graded credit mixed in as well. I also have a lot of experience in the field.

[cstobler]

I am trying to gauge how important work experience is to the acceptance rate. I'm assuming it is considerable, but I don't know if it means that it would be much harder for me to get in. I guess that is something I will have to figure out when I get there.

[davewill]

I am trying to gauge how important work experience is to the acceptance rate. I'm assuming it is considerable, but I don't know if it means that it would be much harder for me to get in. I guess that is something I will have to figure out when I get there.

The best way is to think of your application as a package. All of the components have value. If you have a good school, the right degree, and great grades, then you might need very little work experience. If you have lots of good experience, a BALS plus a few MOOCs might do the trick. That's why I pointed you to the OMSCS online communities, you will see what different people had who did and didn't get in.

In your case, since you're already working in the field, I think that your time (not to mention money) would be better spent getting a CS degree quickly, and relying more on professional experience. In your shoes, I'd go ahead and apply as soon as you get the degree. If they don't accept you, then gather more professional experience and try again.

[cstobler]

That is really sound advice. Thank you so much for answering my questions! I will focus on my CS degree and go from there.

[tesu-acct-student]

I got into a top accountancy masters with my degree from TESU. My GPA was barely good enough to apply, but I had a lot of industry experience and excellent references. Applied for and received the GMAT waiver.