(11-19-2021, 02:20 PM)rachel83az Wrote: Normally, an Associate isn't worth all that much. But sometimes students need a little boost to show that they really CAN get the degree that they've been dreaming of. So go for it, if you really want it.

(11-19-2021, 05:33 PM)LevelUP Wrote: Both TESU and WGU are good options.

TESU BSBA CIS would be similar to WGU BS Business Admin IT management

If you did the TESU BSBA CIS, you could also do the Associate's in Computer Science Degree, which would require virtually no extra work or extra cost.

(11-19-2021, 04:23 PM)dfrecore Wrote: I think in general, an Associates is a distraction from a Bachelor's degree (which is why many 4 yr schools don't offer them); but with Pierpont, it's easy enough to get with the courses you'd take for a bachelor's anyway.

You mentioned STEM but Accounting in the same line - Accounting is definitely not a STEM degree.  It's a business degree, which is perfectly acceptable, but not STEM.  So I think you need to do a bit more research to see what you actually want to do.

I think for someone who doesn't have a ton of confidence and experience in college, WGU/UMPI might be a difficult option.  So, instead, I might look at TESU's BSBA/CIS degree, which can be done entirely with alt-credit + 15cr more of RA which can be done inexpensively.  TESU is going to cost $6,654 for 6cr there and fees + cost of courses

(11-19-2021, 08:39 PM)bjcheung77 Wrote: Ahem <burp>, had to get that out of my system, thank goodness it wasn't a fart...  So, you're a young'un at the tender age of 23-27 or something, you don't seem to have much in terms of certs or experience, just starting off your associates degree, and wanting to ladder that up to a higher degree such as a Bachelors.  You have a big set of goals and have a direction of getting to that, but seem a bit lost on "how" to proceed.  

I agree (without knowing much more about you such as your commitments, family/work, etc... you might want to give us more details my friend) competency based degrees may NOT be for you at this time, I think you're a great candidate for the Big 3, especially when you want to go, for Accounting/CIS.  My suggestion for the 15 RA credits are whatever you currently bring to the table at the community college, plus whatever else is missing for your "degree".

My suggestion is to take a BSBA Accounting/CIS double AOS, take 16 credits for residency and skip that residency waiver fee.  The 15 remaining RA credits you need to bring in through community college, ONU/TEL, UEXCELS/TECEPS.   I would skip the Pierpoint AAS and just add an ASNSM Computer Science to your degree plan at TESU, the CIS AOS will cover those credits just fine.  If you want to add an ASNSM Math, that will work as well (total cost for both AA/BSBA is what dfrecore mentioned)...

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Oh, in regards to getting a second WGU BS ITM, skip it my friend... go for the WGU MS ITM instead!  I highly recommend everyone to get a competency based Masters vs a second bachelors, as the second bachelors is going to cost roughly equal or similar as the Masters, but the Masters will trump a Bachelors any day of the week.

(11-19-2021, 07:59 PM)FurthestSights81 Wrote: Wow! I really appreciate how clear you explained this for me. I mean Pierpont does seem like it would be great as a boost to continue working towards other higher education. I notice that you're working towards your computer science degree. How is it so far? Did you stick with the wiki plan or go at a little differently? I'm really thinking about doing this.

Quote:Thanks for the explanation!  I like both of those options though I lean more towards CIS. The associates degrees really bring more variety. Also what would you think about acquiring both Bachelors degrees since they both are so close?

Quote:Thank you so much for breaking this down! I actually wanted to put accounting in there as well because even though its not technically stem I am also interested in it. I really think I might go with TESU for BSBA CIS. as far as the 15 RA credits do you have a personal preference on where you would obtain these?

• Cornerstone - must be taken no matter what; can be 90-99% completed in the first week.
  
• Capstone - must be taken no matter what; this will be your main focus. If you cannot complete it, paying a couple hundred for the extension fee still works out to being cheaper than paying the residency waiver. 
  
• CIS-107 ePack - This is a single exam that requires little to no study. 
  
• CIS-351 Software engineering - Although upper level, this class can be completed in 20-30 hours. 
  
• ART-100 or some other easy 100 or 200 level course - Could be another ePack exam, if desired. Choose something easy so that you can focus on the Capstone.
  
• PLA-100 - A short 1-credit course that is only here to bring your total up to 16. 16 is the magic number of credits to take at TESU so that they don't charge you the resiency waiver.
  

Quote:haha I honestly laughed out loud to hat first sentence. Thanks so much for your explanation!  I really like this plan as I have been leaning more towards CIS but also accounting. And I like the recommended supplemental ASNSM in computer Science. I notice people are saying to skip TESU's waiver how exactly does that work with regards to FASFA? Also I was wondering does AOS mean area of study? sorry for so many questions.

(11-20-2021, 06:30 AM)rachel83az Wrote: Financial aid will not pay for the residency waiver at all. bjcheung77 has some posts about how to maximize your financial aid, especially while pursuing multiple degrees. If you're doing two degrees that each require a different capstone (which the CIS and Comp Sci degrees do), then the simplest answer is to split the one 16-credit term into two or three 9-credit-terms. When you have financial aid, this can work out to be cheaper than taking all of your courses elsewhere and paying out of pocket. 

If you're doing CIS and Computer Science, you're going to want to finish your CIS degree first because of how TESU deals with degrees. It is allowed to get both degrees at once, but TESU tries to heavily discourage it for no particular reason except that they both happen to have computer courses in the AOS. If you do two 9-credit terms, I would probably do the cornerstone and BSBA capstone during the first term and then the BA capstone during the second term. If you do three 9-credit terms, you'd probably want to do the cornerstone & any desired UL courses during the first term, the BSBA capstone during the second, and the BA capstone during the third. Because, again, TESU will let you have both degrees. But they're weird about it.

Also, for English Comp II, it's strongly recommended that you take the TECEP exam for $150. Or, if you live near a CLEP testing center, take the CLEP College Composition exam. These are the easiest/quickest ways to get your English Comp II credit.