wannagraduate Wrote:In response to the question "Why don't I just try to use the current credits for a degree" is because none of them are upper lever courses. All of them are lower lever. So I figure since I can transfer upper level business courses from LOMA exams I have taken, I can CLEP out of the rest. I have lower level credits in just about everything you can imagine from French, to spanish, to business, to music, to computer science, etc. Needless to say, I had a problem choosing a major. Thanks for your help!

bricabrac Wrote:Let me first apologize for the length of this response. I felt certain comments could be taken the wrong way without definition. Plus, if you haven't noticed before, I'm a talker.

If you want a quick test out degree I would definitely pursue liberal arts. In my professional experience when you mention a liberal arts degree there are no implied expectations. Unless you've been in hiring committee meetings or behind closed doors with leadership this will be hard to explain and is the reason most say any degree is ok if only to check a box, or, if you are going for your masters.

Yes, I guess by looking over a few of the templates on this forum you could test out of a BSBA but personally, I would not do it. First, you have no true writing or communication experience. Second, no GPA (and I am not referring to one basket weaving course); those of us who have work experience do not include GPA on resumes but it is requested on applications. Third and most important, to me anyway, it would be quite embarrassing to have a lot of test knowledge but no practical experience, learned or otherwise, to link those shortcuts to. The business world, at least in my industry, is ruthless; the interview process alone can make the ill prepared sick.

IMHO, you should take some courses at a community college, tesc, or any other school. It's not an easy program by any means. I've got 15+ yrs bus exp, 30 tesc crs, 21 cc crs, and at present 100+ testing/alternate course crs. I mention all that to say, I am currently studying for the tecep (test date Thursday) and am a ball of nerves.

I sure hope God smiles on me the day of the test.

wannagraduate Wrote:Thanks for the quick reply. To answer the above questions:

1) Do you have a specific major in mind that interests you the most?
Any major will really do. I just want the piece of paper, because most of the job postings at my work just indicate "Bachelor's Degree and x years work experience"
2) Where are you in your career and what type of work do you do? Or, if you're just starting off or want to switch careers, what do you want to be in your ideal world?
I work for an insurance company. At my place of employment, we have jobs in every field you can think of.
3) What is more important to you: speed or price?
Both are relatively important. But if I had to choose, it would be price
4) Do you prefer to test out of as many remaining classes as possible, or do you want to take a few more classes?
I prefer to test out of as many courses as possible. I have pretty good experience at test taking.
5) Do you have a preference for COSC, or would any of the Big 3 work if the school met your goals?
Any of the three would work

There is a program in my industry called LOMA (Life Office Management Association). I have completed just about all of their courses withing the past two years which Charter Oak said they would accept as transfer credits (Equivalencies can be found at LOMA: College Credit Recommendations: National CCRS. I completed most of my general studies requirements at a four year college and several lower level business courses. Only thing is, the lower level business courses do not correspond to the lower level courses listed in the handbook. But looking at the lower level business courses in COSCs manual, they can mainly be tested out of.

Thanks for your insight!

burbuja0512 Wrote:1) Do you have any specific graduate program in mind? If so, you'll want to make sure that you meet the pre-requisites for the program

2) Don't feel like you're "fooling" people with a transcript full of CLEP/DSST.

3) I don't know how TESC and EC grade CLEP/DSST,


Good luck and let us know if you have questions on the degree planning,

agent6488 Wrote:Question (hopefully not too off-topic): Does anyone know if "Must include at least two subject areas" applies to the lines above or below here?:
Thomas Edison State College | BA in Liberal Studies Credit Distribution

wannagraduate Wrote:Thanks for all the wonderful information. Still a few more questions.

I just found out what Straighterline was today. It seems to me that if I can complete a few courses from them within one month it may be cheaper than taking the CLEP exams. Anyways, the website states that "In addition to the application fee, students pay the Charter Oak State College annual credit registry fee of $300 ($405 for non-Connecticut residents) which covers all coursework submitted during a 1 year period." Does this apply to matriculated students. It just seems odd that they would charge you for Straighterline but not for CLEP.

Thanks for all of your help!

agent6488 Wrote:I will definitely check into grad programs first, although I'll probably risk limiting my options just to get the BA done fast.

I initially thought the Excelsior grading of tests was to create the illusion of a normal transcript, but now I see it's more for continuing education.

I will probably stick with CLEP since they're cheap.