Working towards Associate of Science in Comm. (Bottega) and do Bachelors one day

[Jazzfish]

Hi all!

First time poster from South East Asia.

I have an opportunity to do Associate of science in Communication at Bottega Uni. by applying a completed diploma in Counselling Psychology from my hometown and just complete 5 modules at Bottega. (It's a tie up with the school I'm at)

 M258: Conflict Management
CM285: Diversity & Inclusion
CM310: Communication Ethics
CM431: Communication Theory
PY141: General Psychology

1. I will try to see if I can complete these equivalents from Sophia etc prior to enrolling and complete the Associate faster.

2. Should I want to do Bachelors, which Bachelors program would you recommend and with which University?

Appreciate all the kind feedback from you!

---

Dang I've been told I'm supposed to finish all 5 modules above at Bottega over 2 terms (6 mths)

Would I be able to complete an Associates faster elsewhere?

(I'll add that I need any degree to proceed with my current goals)

[rachel83az]

If you're not set on a Communications Associate, faster options include UMPI or PUG.

Information on how the PUG degree works can be found here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ity-Global We don't have a lot of information on this, yet, because not many have reported back with their experiences. But you can theoretically have an Associate in 3-4 months.

The list of possible UMPI degrees can be found here: https://umpi.edu/yourpace While they don't have an Associate in YourPace, you can apply for the Bachelor's you'd like to get. Then, you ask to add the Associate in Liberal Studies to your plan. Complete a session with UMPI (2 months), get your ALS. Complete another 1-2 sessions and get your Bachelor's degree. Next application deadline is February 28th, so you have about a month and a half to complete UMPI's application requirements (should be totally doable).

Some things to note about UMPI: assessments are usually carried out via papers/projects and not exams. If this works for you, great! If not, you'll need another school. You also need a foreign language credit; depending on what language(s) you speak, you may be able to do an ACTFL exam or you can take Spanish from InstantCert. You'll also need a science-with-a-lab and that can be completed at Study.com. The rest of your transferrable credits would come from Sophia.

If you get your diploma evaluated, or have had it evaluated, it should be accepted by both PUG and UMPI.

Either school can lead to a Bachelor's in the future. Different schools have different Bachelor's programs. If you don't want any of the degrees offered by UMPI, what Bachelor's would you want?

[bjcheung77]

Bottega has only one program I am interested in, their Full Stack Cert (along with their Associates/Bachelors), the other programs at the Associates/Bachelors or Masters level can be had cheaply elsewhere... You should follow this post and linked template, my suggestion to you is the same in post #10: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid354527

[bjcheung77]

Hey, I got your private message. We're all very personable and won't laugh at you for asking questions, so it's all good to ask. I highly recommend completing all the Sophia.org courses that you can complete towards an Associates. Please see this thread again and provide us more details about yourself and what degree you're interested in, I have added a post: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid354648

[Jazzfish]

Thank you all for your kind suggestions.

Just to clarify again. With my current studies at my local counseling school, I just need to apply and complete the above 5 modules at Bottega to get the associates in communication.

I've been told it'll take 2 x 12 week terms = 6 months
And cost US$1500

would you say this is straightforward and reasonable enough or the UMPI and PUG options are comparable?

I reckon it'll help to find out if my local cert can be transferable as some credits to the other schools mentioned.

Just to add that I basically need any degree (associates included) to be able to complete a postgraduate counseling diploma here.

Thank you.

[bjcheung77]

With a little over twice the cost of Bottega, you can get a Bachelors degree in 6 months following the spreadsheet I linked on the other thread. Here's the thread from Ashkir and the spreadsheet link I copied, essentially 6 months for a Bachelors degree after transferring all the required courses. You can transfer your international credits over to UMPI and see what courses are completed, then complete the remaining with Sophia.org/Study.com and UMPI. Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-for-3-222

[rachel83az]

One thing you might want to take into consideration: Bottega is Nationally Accredited. The "gold standard" is Regionally Accredited. A Bottega Associate's degree will NOT count as a "real" degree by most Regionally Accredited institutions if/when you continue on to a Bachelor's degree.

That said, UMPI is $1400 + $79 or $158 (for Sophia) + $200 (for Study.com) and an optional $45 or $90 (at InstantCert) = $1724 to get an Associate's in 3-4 months and then be able to get a Bachelor's 2 months later for another $1400. This is an AMAZING deal in US education! Cost assumes, of course, that you work at a steady pace and are able to complete a course every 1-2 weeks. Quite a few students here have been able to do that already.

[Jazzfish]

Thanks Rachel and BJ

I've started on a Google IT support Pro Cert on Coursera and will look into the Sophia courses asap.

Meanwhile I emailed UMPI and PUG to see how I can get my diploma evaluated (let me know if I should take care of this externally)

Then hopefully there'll be some direction from there. I know UMPI starts 28Feb, not sure when PUG can start

[rachel83az]

I think PUG starts whenever (at least for this specific degree). Neither PUG nor UMPI will evaluate foreign diplomas on their own. You'll need to send it to an external evaluator. WES is the most widely known/accepted by the most schools: https://www.wes.org/

[bjcheung77]

Yes, do take the external evaluations from any of these agencies: https://www.naces.org/
WES is a good one, I usually recommend them or ECE (which is also one of the most recommended here as well)