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+--- Thread: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA (/Thread-High-Schooler-Options-BSBA-BABA)
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High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - prettykiti09 - 05-05-2023
Hello everyone. Thank you so much for all the information on this forum. I'm researching for my teenage daughter. She is gifted and has 10+ high school credits. She just passed her College Algebra CLEP exam and passed Human Communication with ASU UL. She just applied for Dual Enrollment at the local community college where she can take up to 11 credits per semester for the next 3 years as a dual enrollment student.
She would like to get her BABA or BSBA (or similar) over the next 3 years as a dual enrollment student (she's homeschooled so I'll just add her college courses to her high school transcript).
Right now it seems that Excelsior University is her best option, to that end I have been searching for a degree plan for their BSB (general concentration) so I can use transferology, study, coopersmith, etc to figure out what classes would be best to sign up for at the community college or to take through ACE credit, CLEP credit, online dual enrollment, or other credit options. But, can't seem to find it. I found links for finalized degree plans but the all link to deleted files.
Any help or suggestions really appreciated. I feel like I've read a million FB group posts, websites, articles, and forums.
P.S. - Her dream/goal would be to graduate High School with her Bachelor's degree at 17 and possibly go for an MBA in 1 year and graduate with it at 18. I'd love to help support this goal any way possible.
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - ItsNeverTheLionsYear - 05-05-2023
Welcome to the forum! I'm finalizing my own degree plan right now. Let me share the tricks I've been using - you probably know them, but I figure at least one of them is bound to help somebody out.
Most ACE degree providers often have a "partners" page that provide information on exactly what classes of theirs transfer to a given school. For instance, here's the Excelsior partner page on Study.com: https://study.com/college/school/excelsior-college.html
Or for Sophia Learning (great cheap way to knock out gen eds): https://excelsior.sophia.org/#courses
I've also used googles "site:[url]" trick to narrow down past degree plans posted on this forum. For, instance, if you search Google this:
Quote:site:https://www.degreeforum.net/ excelsior bsb
you'll only get results from this forum, thanks to having "site:https://www.degreeforum.net/" in there.
I've used this technique to find you some past threads:
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-Excelsior-BSB-Degree-Plan
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-Which-College-for-16yr-old-perusing-BA-degree
My plan is a spreadsheet with all of the degree requirements in one column, corresponding transfer courses in a second column, credit earned, etc, divided into sections by area of study. I'd recommend your daughter use a similar organizational technique.
Out of curiosity, what does your daughter want to do after college? I ask because I know from secondhand experience that you can only access certain types of business (the very high powered stuff - consulting, private equity, international banking, venture capital, other high finance, big 4 accounting, the "top" marketing firms, etc) from extremely prestigious schools. This is true both at the bachelor's and MBA level. There's even a common sentiment that any MBA program outside of the Top 25 or so, as ranked by US News & World Report, is a ripoff. I went to a pretty good school for my first degree, and some of my classmates would complain that we were only a target school "Second-Tier Consulting", like Deloitte, instead of more prestigious firms like McKinsey. Plus, prestigious MBA admissions often (informally) require that you have a bachelor's degree leaning on the more prestigious side as well.
This sentiment is nuts, but it really does decide who gets to pursue these sorts of careers and subsequently make more money than god for the rest of their lives, and who has to slum it with the rest of us. Doing an online degree would lock her out of that option for life. That's elitism for you!
If she wants one of those careers she should wait until 18 and do the extracurricular stuff now that she'd need to do to shoot for one of those schools. Depending on your financial situation, she might also qualify for large need-based scholarships through places like Questbridge, or sometimes the schools themselves. If that's not the path she wants, she'll likely be well served by the faster degree options, especially if she can get some internships. Although for a highschooler someone may have to pull strings.
I wouldn't go on this rant if she was looking at a technical (computer science, IT, cybersecurity) or professional (accounting, nursing, teaching, engineering, PT/OT) but the benefit business school is often much more about the social side of things than the actual material that gets taught. With that said, you know her situation better than I do. It's up to the two of you to make the call, you have great options before you, and I'm confident you two will make a good choice no matter what.
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - origamishuttle - 05-05-2023
(05-05-2023, 04:28 PM)ItsNeverTheLionsYear Wrote: site:https://www.degreeforum.net/ excelsior bsb
Don't forget about the wiki! https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Excelsior_University
Also google:
site:degreeforum.miraheze.org excelsior
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - prettykiti09 - 05-05-2023
Thank you for the well thought out reply.
I feel like it's a tough situation because she's so young and I realize it's a bit uncommon. I don't know much about business degrees, but so far she has not shown any interest in being a top dog in a highly competitive field. She chose business as her desired major because she's not 100% sure what she wants to do but she likes the idea of working in a office with people or even becoming a real estate agent (which she doesn't need a degree for). She has seen firsthand how not having a degree can prevent you from moving up in a company or even applying for many available jobs so she does know that she wants at least a Bachelor's just to say she has it and hope it helps her qualify for more jobs or upper movement in a job in the future. She also has ZERO interest in continuing education after high school. Hence the desire to gain as high a degree as possible by 18 y/o. She doesn't want to be starting her college career at 18 like most, she wants to already be done and moving on with her life.
I understand there are many downsides to this approach and we've discussed many of them. But I also see the low graduation rates at most colleges and the time and money spent by adults trying to get degrees (statistically speaking I believe less than half complete this goal in 150% of the target time).
(05-05-2023, 05:01 PM)origamishuttle Wrote:(05-05-2023, 04:28 PM)ItsNeverTheLionsYear Wrote: site:https://www.degreeforum.net/ excelsior bsb
Don't forget about the wiki! https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Excelsior_University
Also google:
site:degreeforum.miraheze.org excelsior
I have tried to check the wiki info for several things and the information seems incomplete and the links to the Business Degree plan send me to "You have followed a link to a page that does not exist yet." page.
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - bjcheung77 - 05-05-2023
@prettykiti09, you're a SAHM? (Stay At Home Mom?) Is she the only child? If not, how many kids are you going to homeschool? You're on the right path, the best is to get the AP/CLEP, Dual Enrollment, and community college credits to finish off the Associates the local college, and be 3/4th towards an Excelsior BSLA. For reference: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-Plans-for-a-high-schooler
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - prettykiti09 - 05-05-2023
Yes I am. No she's not my only child but she is oldest and possibly the most academically advanced. The reason we are leaning towards EU and not seeking an AS/AA through the local school first is because it would be faster to aim directly for the Bachelors and limit her number of unnecessary classes. Also she would need to graduate out of High School in order to receive her AA/AS and then wouldn't be 'dual enrolled' any more which could limit her free/reduced courses. So it seems as though that would lead to costing more time and more money for the same end goal. If my research is correct she could get all but 7 credits toward her BSB from EU and graduate High School early with not only her diploma but also a Bachelor's Degree.
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - rachel83az - 05-05-2023
A few things to keep in mind about Excelsior (and this could change before your daughter is able to get her degree):
Each transcript evaluation after the first one costs $300. So you should try to transfer in everything at once. Take slightly more credit than you think you need, if possible. This will cost more money up front, but could save a lot of money in the long run.
English Comp CLEP exams are not accepted by Excelsior. At all.
You can take English Comp I from Sophia. However, English Comp II is NOT accepted by Excelsior for Business degrees (it should be accepted for Liberal Studies degrees). Instead of English Comp II, students need a Business Writing course that is available through Coopersmith.
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - mohelena02 - 05-05-2023
Incredible work being such a supportive parent and congrats to her for being such a stellar student.
One thing I would encourage you to think about is to have her consider a Master's degree that is not an MBA at such a young age. Perhaps something else business related leaning towards something in specific like marketing or data. I say this because, In my opinion, an MBA at such a young age will not really help in the way a more specialized Master's would unless it is from a top school.
Just a thought, whatever she decides to do will be a success!
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - ItsNeverTheLionsYear - 05-05-2023
If she thinks she wants to go into management one day, she'll have to get experience first. Even the high-powered companies that brag about how they hire Harvard's finest stick their new grads in jobs with titles like "Associate" and "Analyst" for 1-2 years until they actually become useful, sometimes in so-called "Management Development Programs". For less high powered roles you can get actual responsibilites out of the gate, albeit usually the ones no one wants to do, and getting into a managing role usually takes much longer (although in my opinion, those ones make much better managers.)
The tough part for any new grad in any subject is landing the first job after graduation. In my opinion, there are two ways to improve her odds: Summer internships and subject matter specialization. I'll give you my thoughts on these in two parts. Please remember that I am just some guy on a forum. I am not a professional career advisor or counselor. My qualifications are that I've gotten several office jobs, all unrelated to my undergrad major, and have seen how the process works.
Internships
Summer internships are powerful things! Not only do they get a student ins with the company they intern at, they also get the student experience that they can leverage when applying for full-time work in the future. Internships can also help people rule careers out. I've known more than one person who interned for a state senator and learned that they never want to go into politics professionally. Easier to learn that lesson over a summer than after getting a whole degree. Some summer internships are only a few weeks long, meaning she could even still get summer jobs if she wants. More and more internships are paying now too, although the majority (especially in non-technical business fields) are still unpaid.
Any traditional college worth their salt has a small army of career advisors that will tell students how to write resumes. Excelsior is not a traditional college. Most students at colleges like Excelsior are active military, veterans, people rejoining the workforce after kids or illness, or people stuck in their careers. They come into the degree with work experience. If she wants to come out with some internships under her belt (and she does, trust me), you'll have to be her career services office.
The specific ways you get summer internships are pretty similar across most fields, with some variation in the formalities here and there. Here is a bulleted list of advice for getting summer internships I received from the career counselor's office at my brick & mortar first degree:
- Use nepotism. Does she have any aunts or uncles whose company would take her on in an office role for the summer? Any close family friends? Neighbors? Most homeschoolers I've known attended some sort of group activity with other homeschoolers. Any parents from that group? Anybody at the same church, or same gym, same rec sports league, bridge club? They're her best internship leads. It doesn't have to be a company that your contact owns, because pretty much everywhere takes interns once in a while. It doesn't have to be a company at all! Hospitals, power plants, construction companies, banks, charities, you name it, they probably take interns. In polite society nepotism is called "leveraging your network", and when you call it that it's the good and smart thing to do.
- Set up a LinkedIn profile and make it look nice - a nice headshot (your phone camera's probably good enough), a 2-3 sentence summary, experience in something (since she's still a high schooler, extracurriculars are professionally acceptable under "experience" but that changes after she graduates), interests, etc. This matters more once she gets a year of full time experience, because it means jobs will start coming to her, but also matters for...
- Cold outreach! I got my first job this way. It's exactly what it sounds like. She can do this with both LinkedIn messages, which are better to schedule shorter, informal, informational conversations, and email, which is better to become a top candidate for an existing an open job posting. She can do this just to talk to people and get a feel for what they do, even. My first bachelor's career office recommends making the outreach more personal by establishing some sort of link between her and the person she's contacting - same hometown, Excelsior alumni (there are many, and many are in high places), etc. Here's a more detailed article on how to pull it off: https://hiddenfrontdoor.org/how-to-cold-email-for-an-internship-guide-templates/
Subject Matter Expertise
It is way, way easier to get your foot in the door somewhere if you have knowledge they can use. The best way to do this is through the degree, but Excelsior doesn't do double majors as far as I understand. She does have the option of their Healthcare Management or Technology Management degrees. Their technology management degree seems to have 5 sub-areas, so she could build subject matter expertise that way.
She can also build subject-matter knowledge outside of the degree through personal projects and extracurricular commitments. Say she's so pleased with her online degree that she gets very into the idea that everyone should have internet access. There are groups that set up free broadband internet, mostly in rural areas and poor urban areas, that take volunteers. I know that such groups exist in Vermont (sponsored by the state government) and Detroit (all-volunteer). She starts volunteering with them in her free time, learns the tech, maybe they even let her lead a project or two - suddenly once she graduates, she's experienced broadband tech with a management degree, and that means she's uniquely qualified to work in management-track roles for major internet service providers, with hands-on experience that the other people looking at that job don't have. I know a guy who did this track specifically and now manages a team for an ISP out in Rhode Island.
Your daughter should think about how the subject areas mesh with a business degree. Thankfully, pretty much every subject you can think of has at least one area where companies need someone that understands both the subject matter side of things and the business side of things. Chemistry and business? Pharmecutical companies! Communications and business? Marketing! Electrical technology and business? Power providers, electronics manufacturers, and more! Education and business? Professional training services!
If she doesn't learn a specific subject area she can also learn broad skills. I don't do anything related to Political Science, but I had hundreds of pages of readings a week and wrote a lot of papers. My professional communication is clearer and more effective than my STEM-degree colleagues as a result. Not that you can tell that from my forum posts. Likewise, the methods of technical thinking students learn in programs like Math and Physics translate across a whole host of domains. An old high school teacher, who started his career working for defense contractors, says that they usually hire physicists to lead their research teams because their specific method of analytical thinking works best for leading a team of researchers. Business degrees, in my experience, tend to make students very good at sales and convincing people verbally, but not as good as writing or technical thinking. She can learn these things outside of the classroom as well.
The possibilities are endless, and the beauty of the path she's choosing is that it's so flexible she can make it her own however she wants. It sounds like you've got a great kid on your hands, and I can tell her mom loves her and is doing everything she can to look out for her. I wish you all the luck in the world.
RE: High Schooler Options - BSBA / BABA - origamishuttle - 05-06-2023
(05-05-2023, 11:37 PM)ItsNeverTheLionsYear Wrote: Please remember that I am just some guy on a forum.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this subject. This is exactly the type of information high school students should have when strategizing for college and career.
(05-05-2023, 11:37 PM)ItsNeverTheLionsYear Wrote: Not that you can tell that from my forum posts.
Ha! This is excellent information, well organized and effectively communicated. It would take me forever to write something like this. Again, thank you for sharing. This can potentially help a lot of people, not just the OP.