Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree

Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - Printable Version

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Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - Wayne195 - 11-09-2022

Good evening everyone,

I've been browsing the forum occasionally over the past few months and finally decided to join up and ask advice of y'all. I have an assortment of credits from a community college I attended a few years ago, as well as an unaccredited institution I'm studying at currently. I will have some extra time next semester so I'm considering whether I want to set a goal of knocking out some of the easier CLEP exams alongside my studies.

My goal is to combine all these credits into a Bachelor's in History, Sociology or just General Studies. I've spent some time looking a the TESU BA in History, but I feel like I need someone with more experience help me out a little. I'd like to create a plan that I could work at slowly over the next 2-3 years perhaps while working full-time and raising a family. I think I'm pretty self disciplined and have maintained a GPA of 3.98 across all the credits I've earned so far, so the process of self-study and testing out of classes doesn't look too intimidating to me except for the time required.

I would appreciate input as to the best school and degree to accommodate my diverse credits. Also would love some help in finding or creating a plan for testing out of the remaining credits needed. Thanks!

Location: Indiana, USA
Age: 27
What kind of degree do you want?: History, Sociology, or General Studies?

Kellogg Community College (Total 31 credits)
Music Credits (Total 22 credits)
MUSI 120 Beginning Piano Class 2cr
MUSI 122 Piano Lessons 1 2cr
MUSI 130 Music Theory 1 3cr
MUSI 131 Music Theory 2 3cr
MUSI 132 Aural Compreh&Music Reading 1cr
MUSI 134 Aural Compreh&Music Reading 1cr
MUSI 104 Community Chorus 1cr
MUSI 211 Music Appreciation 3cr
MUSI 112 Individualized Voice Lessons 2cr
MUSI 113 Individualized Voice Lessons 2cr
MUSI 260 Basic Conducting 2cr

Other (9 credits)
BUAD 101 Introduction to Business 3cr
COMM 207 Public Speaking 3cr
PHIL 230 World Religions 3cr

Faith Builders Educational Programs (Total 80 credits, but only 48 credits are NCCRS evaluated courses)
Not an accredited institution, but all the following courses are evaluated by NCRRS.
TESU has already worked with this institution to map some of their courses onto TESU courses. I will make each of those courses italicized.

ENG101 English Composition I 3cr
ENG102 English Composition II 3cr
PSY101 Intro to Human Understanding 3cr
PHI201 Introduction to Worldviews 3cr
BIB101 Old Testament Survey 3cr
SCI210 Principles of Science 3cr
HIS101 World History I 3cr
HIS102 World History II 3cr
HIS 230 Anabaptist History 3cr
HIS340 Early & Medieval Church History 3cr
COM201 Public Speaking 3cr
EDU101 Introduction to Teaching 3cr
EDU201 Foundations of Education 3cr
THE232 Anabaptist Life & Thought 3cr
PHI310 Ethics 3cr
MAT 102 Survey of Mathematics 3cr

CLEP Tests Completed:
College Composition 54
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature 71

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - bjcheung77 - 11-10-2022

@Wayne195, Welcome to the board, you've completed the template but missed the addendum, having said that you answered some of the info I was looking for... You should provide us your budget, your dedicated time for studying, and more details missing from here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-New-to-DegreeForum-How-this-Area-works

I was going to recommend UMPI Your Pace BA History/Political Science as an option, but when I read the part about TESU and working full-time, starting a family, you wouldn't have enough energy or time to put the energy into competency-based degrees. I suggest you get the 90 credits or up to that number of credits that can transfer into either TESU/UMPI.

My recommendation right now is to decide on the degree/school by creating a spreadsheet of what is required for each degree and put your credits into them - side by side - so you can see the costs, courses remaining, etc. You can link us to that file on your one drive or google drive as a viewable file (not editable). We can give options after reviewing it...

Update: Editing this to add, you should create another one for the BSLA at Excelsior, it's like the BALS at TESU or BLS at UMPI. These degrees are the most flexible, and since you mentioned a 'general studies' degree, it will hit the spot. You can have free electives or minors in history and other subjects you're interested in...

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - dfrecore - 11-10-2022

(11-10-2022, 01:14 PM)bjcheung77 Wrote: Update: Editing this to add, you should create another one for the BSLA at Excelsior, it's like the BALS at TESU or BLS at UMPI. These degrees are the most flexible, and since you mentioned a 'general studies' degree, it will hit the spot. You can have free electives or minors in history and other subjects you're interested in...

Excelsior does not have minors.

So first, you mention a History degree, which is a good option at TESU or UMPI. But you also mention Sociology - but you have almost no Sociology credits (you don't even have SOC101) so that's kind of odd. Almost all of your credits are Humanities (music, communciations, philosophy, bible, theology, etc.).

Second, you are duplicating some of your efforts, which is a waste of valuable time and money (it sounds like time might be the more valuable of the two for you). I would not take anything duplicating previous efforts again - so it's good to make a plan for that reason alone.
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UMPI will not take NCCRS credits (except one course from SDC), so you need to make a decision on that sooner rather than later.

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TESU's BA in History is doable, you just need that non-western history course from somewhere. I'd probably do the History of the Soviet Union DSST exam; Sterling College Online also has some UL history courses for $145/cr.

Also, they aren't going to count your church history courses as history, they'll count them as Theology courses. So you'll need a lot more history.

You have 79cr.

You need:
Civic Engagement (like American Government or Comparative Politics)
1 history course for your GE (can't use US History or World History since those are needed in the AoS, I'd take Western Civ)
1 science or compsci course
US History I
US History II
non-western history
historical methods
3 UL history electives
1 LL history elective
2cr of free electives

You could do it all at SDC + the DSST, or mix and match with Sophia, Saylor, SDC, Coopersmith, etc.

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EU's BLS is an easy win as well. You have 76cr, and need the following:

1 natsci or math course
6 UL Arts & Sciences courses
2 UL Free Elective courses
10cr of free electives

EU will cost about $4000, and be a bit easier than TESU in terms of how much you need to take at 1 time to complete; you can do one 8-week term where you take Info Lit (1cr) and the UL Cornerstone; and then another 8-week term to do the Capstone.

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - Wayne195 - 11-10-2022

Thanks for the input guys!

Here is the addendum that I missed the first time:

Budget: 6K, if that's reasonable
Commitments: Got a wife and baby and will be working full time after I graduate current program in May.
Dedicated time to study: My time for study will be about 5-7 hrs a week.
Timeline: 2-3 years. I'd like to work at it alongside other responsibilities rather that setting aside chunks of time for it. More of a slow burn..
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: No

(11-10-2022, 03:36 PM)dfrecore Wrote:
So first, you mention a History degree, which is a good option at TESU or UMPI. But you also mention Sociology - but you have almost no Sociology credits (you don't even have SOC101) so that's kind of odd. Almost all of your credits are Humanities (music, communciations, philosophy, bible, theology, etc.).

Second, you are duplicating some of your efforts, which is a waste of valuable time and money (it sounds like time might be the more valuable of the two for you). I would not take anything duplicating previous efforts again - so it's good to make a plan for that reason alone.

Thanks for the specific feedback on the TESU History and EU BLS compatibility with my credits. I mentioned Sociology because it's an interest of mine that I thought I'd include, but you're right that my credits don't play that option well. I think I'll stick with history because that one also seems to have the largest variety of CLEP and DSST options.

(11-10-2022, 01:14 PM)bjcheung77 Wrote: My recommendation right now is to decide on the degree/school by creating a spreadsheet of what is required for each degree and put your credits into them - side by side - so you can see the costs, courses remaining, etc. You can link us to that file on your one drive or google drive as a viewable file (not editable). We can give options after reviewing it...

Update: Editing this to add, you should create another one for the BSLA at Excelsior, it's like the BALS at TESU or BLS at UMPI. These degrees are the most flexible, and since you mentioned a 'general studies' degree, it will hit the spot. You can have free electives or minors in history and other subjects you're interested in...

Thanks! I think I'll work some spreadsheets as you suggested over my Thanksgiving vacation to get closer to a solid plan. I'm also going to search the forum for others that might have created a plan for a history degree that might give me a better starting point.

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - Insert Name - 11-11-2022

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sample_TESU_BA_History_Degree_Plan

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - Wayne195 - 11-11-2022

Alright, I actually got some time to tinker around with a spreadsheet today and plan the TESU History degree. I set it up just like the degree requirements are shown on their website to make sure I got my bases covered. I highlighted all my transfer credits in gray and tried to distribute them into the appropriate categories.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rLEx4QlcZh_LsxhjlaiS3QQYzcuuJFw7aiUTDZQBi-M/edit?usp=sharing

Let me know if you have suggestions for improvement. I'll also be looking through it to make sure I have the courses I want and fulfill the requirements.

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - dfrecore - 11-11-2022

(11-11-2022, 04:43 PM)Wayne195 Wrote: Alright, I actually got some time to tinker around with a spreadsheet today and plan the TESU History degree. I set it up just like the degree requirements are shown on their website to make sure I got my bases covered. I highlighted all my transfer credits in gray and tried to distribute them into the appropriate categories.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rLEx4QlcZh_LsxhjlaiS3QQYzcuuJFw7aiUTDZQBi-M/edit?usp=sharing

Let me know if you have suggestions for improvement. I'll also be looking through it to make sure I have the courses I want and fulfill the requirements.

So their new degree setup is terrible, and doesn't explain well.

1) World Religions, will go into the Diversity area
2) College Algebra is not listed on your post - do you mean College Math? Or are you planning on taking it?
3) World Religions should come in as REL-277, and it would be better off as an AoS course
4) Foundations of Education is a Free Elective

5) Area C needs 1 history course, 1 humanities course, 1 SocSci course, and then 2 of any of these
6) Intro to Computers CLEP is 3cr
7) Latin American History and Politics is no longer available, so I'd swap it for another Coopersmith course (History of Food Trucks will work)
8) You already have a bunch of Humanities courses, so I wouldn't take anything until you see where TESU puts everything you already have

Overall, it's fine - but I'd go ahead and apply to TESU and let them do your eval, and then you can make sure things come in as planned instead of guessing. You're taking courses you don't need (you have 127cr listed, meaning you're taking at least 2 courses or exams you don't need). Do the history first, since we know you need those, and wait for that eval to come and report back.

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - Wayne195 - 11-14-2022

(11-11-2022, 05:34 PM)dfrecore Wrote: 1) World Religions, will go into the Diversity area
2) College Algebra is not listed on your post - do you mean College Math? Or are you planning on taking it?
3) World Religions should come in as REL-277, and it would be better off as an AoS course
4) Foundations of Education is a Free Elective

5) Area C needs 1 history course, 1 humanities course, 1 SocSci course, and then 2 of any of these
6) Intro to Computers CLEP is 3cr
7) Latin American History and Politics is no longer available, so I'd swap it for another Coopersmith course (History of Food Trucks will work)
8) You already have a bunch of Humanities courses, so I wouldn't take anything until you see where TESU puts everything you already have

Thanks for the tips! My takeaway is that I'll begin with the history exams I'm most confident about and wait to take any further electives until I apply at TESU and find out exactly how all my credits will transfer into the history program.

I hadn't included College algebra in my original list because it's a course that isn't included in the transfer agreement between my institution and TESU. I figured there was still a chance it might transfer, but if it doesn't, the course has equipped me so that I could take the College Algebra CLEP today without a problem. One way or the other that requirement will be met.

Thanks for the tip about the Latin American History and Politics course and the other edits that I need to make to the plan!

If I take a few CLEP tests or courses on Study.com before I actually apply to TESU, what do I do with the scores? Do I just wait to send them till I've applied there? If I wait, I couldn't take advantage of 2 free transcripts that I get when I register for each CLEP exam.

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - rachel83az - 11-14-2022

I would strongly urge applying to TESU and paying for the 1 credit Medical Terminology TECEP ASAP to become fully enrolled (this unlocks unlimited evaluations). Since you will have more than 2 transcripts to send in, it's worth the $102 ($50 application, $52 TECEP) to ensure that everything gets evaluated. You don't have to pass (or even to take) the TECEP. It won't show up on your transcript at all unless you do decide to take it and you pass it.

RE: Want to Complete History or Sociology Degree - dfrecore - 11-14-2022

(11-14-2022, 02:58 PM)rachel83az Wrote: I would strongly urge applying to TESU and paying for the 1 credit Medical Terminology TECEP ASAP to become fully enrolled (this unlocks unlimited evaluations). Since you will have more than 2 transcripts to send in, it's worth the $102 ($50 application, $52 TECEP) to ensure that everything gets evaluated. You don't have to pass (or even to take) the TECEP. It won't show up on your transcript at all unless you do decide to take it and you pass it.

100% agreed. There is zero reason NOT to apply, and 1000 reasons to apply, not the least of which are unlimited evals. Do it now. Then, send in your CLEP exams as you do them (otherwise it will cost you $20 each time you send a transcript).