Trying to Figure Out Best Degree Option at TESC

[embitca]

Hi All,

I've been reading this forum for awhile and I've finally decided to take the plunge as I want to enroll at TESC before July 1st to get the original gen ed requirements grandfathered in.

I am expecting to be able to transfer in approximately 87-90 University credits that I took many, many years ago. I've been just over 30 degrees shy of earning a degree of years, but I loathed the University I went to and the last time I enrolled there to take some continuing ed classes I had so many problems with their Bursar's office I've finally said the hell with it. I'm not dealing with them anymore.

I've pretty much got my mind set on TESC because I do not want to have to take two classes when one will do. Capstone is more than enough :ack:

I'm going to order transcripts to be sent to them this week and I'll do my application shortly as well, but since I know they take a long time to evaluate and I wanted to get started NOW I thought I'd run my university transcript by you all and see what you think.

I'm trying to figure out what I need to work on besides the obvious math and sciences which I just never took at all. I was thinking BA English initially, but with all the English credits I have I'm not sure that any of them actually fit TESC's requirements for Survey of Literature I & II or Analysis and Interpretation of Literature. I also don't have any Non-western Lit credits either. So then I was thinking Humanities because it seemed natural to me that all my Women's studies credits would fit that perfectly, but TESC considers Women Studies to be interdisciplinary and not necessarily Humanities. So now I'm thinking that BA Liberal Arts might be the most convenient? I honestly do not care what subject I get the degree in, I just want it over and done with

Here's the details of my current transcript:
American Studies
205 The Fifties

Anthropology
270 Indians of North America
367 Witchcraft and Sorcery


Art
295 Film/Video I
C199 Visual Thinking

Business
814 Intro to Computer*

English
102 Freshman English II (Composition class)
C225 Intro to Shakespeare
C210 Intro to Creative Writing
C201 Five British Writers
302 Creative Writing Fiction
325 Narrative in Novel & Film
383 Shakespeare (Later)
369 Contemporary American Fiction
370 American Detective Fiction
481C Knight in Literature

French
151 French I*

German
C245 Germanic Mythology
L255 Faust: Pact With the Devil

History
C230 Nationalism in the Modern World

Humanities
101 Intro to Humanities*

Philosophy
C100 Intro to Philosophy

Political Science
C123 20th Century Political Ideas


Women's Studies
C100 Women in Society
260 Women's Healthcare (grade C-)
240 Women and Folklore
480 Women, War and Military
480 Women Confronting Violence

(I don't know why they have the same numbers, I think maybe it was a seminar class with rotating topics)

Classes with a C in front were the B&M universities original "core" classes, ie gen ed.

The three asterisked classes were all taken at a community college, everything else is from a four year university. Also, I took a remedial pass/fail Fundamentals of Algebra class. I'm assuming TESC would not accept it as a gen ed requirement, but do you think they might give me elective credit for it? It was only worth two credits. I'm terrible, terrible at math.

One of the main reasons I never graduated is because I am terrible at and hate math and science so this time around I want to tackle those first -- if anyone has any tips on what tests I should start with or if I should do something like ALEKS instead, that would be great?

[sanantone]

Analyzing and Interpreting Literature can easily be completed with one CLEP that's worth 6 credits. It wouldn't hurt to verify with TESC how they would classify women's studies. At one point, they said courses like that would be fine for the social science major and then took that information off of their website when I asked them about it and they told me no. They do have a disclaimer that some of the interdisciplinary subjects might be allowed in the area of study. Once you get your evaluation, it's easy to use the "what if" function in Online Student Services and see how your credits fit in other degree programs. As long as you change your degree program before July 1 or whenever the changes take effect, you should be good.

For science, I recommend the Environment and Humanity: Race to Save the Planet DSST. I cannot think of an easier science test to take. A lot of people think Intro to Astronomy is easy. You don't have to really remember any formulas to pass and there are no calculations on the test, but I found the subject a little difficult since I'm not a physics person. For math, I recommend ALEKS. ALEKS is really a tutoring software that is often used in remedial college math courses, but several of their math courses are ACE-approved for credit. For $20 a month, you can take your time working on the material until you score at least a 70% on one of the exams. That's when you'll get credit transcribed on an ACE transcript and you can move onto another course. Straighterline is also self-paced but more expensive. At TESC, you only need Intermediate Algebra for the non-STEM degree programs. TESC will not give credit for anything below Intermediate Algebra.

[sanantone]

I forgot that the Intro to Computing DSST is counted as a natural science at TESC. If you've ever heard of the terms ROM, RAM, CPU, and motherboard; you should be able to pass this exam with just a couple of hours of study. It's one of the easiest tests for just about anyone who uses a computer.

[Stitching Belle]

I went with the BALS because (like you) I just wanted to be finished! Good luck with your decision-making process, and I look forward to seeing your "I'm finished!" post in the not-too-distant future.

[walternc3]

Are you wanting to get the easiest possible bachelors or do you want this to further or pursue a career?

[sklineho]

Those are some neat-sounding classes. I'd say a literature degree is the best option. That or something that could lead into Anthropology or History later on.

[embitca]

Thanks, Sanatone, for the tips on what exams to tackle first! I wonder how they'll classify the Intro to Computers class I took in 1983? If they don't classify it as Natural Science, I will defnitely do the Intro to Computing DSST. I have a A+ cert so that should be a piece of cake

Stitching Belle, that's kind of what I'm thinking too. I just want to get it done!

walternc3, it's a combo of wanting to further my career and to get a BA as quickly as possible with the least amount of duplication of effort. I did a lot of upper degree coursework when I was at University because those were the more interesting classes. Now I just need to knock out all the tedious gen ed requirements. Also, the company I currently work for is great for promoting internally, but for some positions they have a mandatory (but non-specific) Bachelor's requirement that they are strict about, so I'm just looking to increase my options.

sklineho, some of the classes were more interestingly described in the catalog than they turned out to be in reality, but a few of them were quite good. My favorites were the Knight in Literature, the Nationalism class and the class on Faust

[AZDan]

Embitca,
I am in the same place you are in the process. I also have decided to go with TESC and I just want to get my degree completed, fast. And, because I recently lost my job due to a restructure, I need to determine the best cost to get this done, i.e. payment plan. So because of this I am thinking of COSC again. I just applied to both this week and had my previous schools send in my transcripts.

Like you, once I get my transcript evaluations back I will see what degree fits best and progress from there. I am also going to try to match it to classes I think I can test out of quickly and one that will help me in my career.

A lot to think about but I hope you keep posting so I can follow your progress!

[chiquitacobbe]

I have a A+ cert so that should be a piece of cake

If you took both A+ exams they count those for 2 credits each and come over as a CAP at TESC. For me it fell in my Computer studies area but I only have the AAS in computer studies if not I do think it counts toward natural science. N+ also.

[sanantone]

Any CAP courses are more than likely not going to be considered natural science. They are even considered too business for information systems and computer science programs.