Need guidance, combo traditional and tests possible?

[Catalytic]

I want a degree. I want to finish my Associate's and then roll into a Bachelor's program. I'm leaning toward a Finance degree, though at this point, I'd settle for pretty much any degree. I've been a housewife for over 20 years, husband is active duty military.

Currently have over 60 credits from 3 community colleges (one being CTC). To complete the degree CLASS requirements at CTC, I only need a government class, however, I bombed my last semester there because my dad died and I couldn't keep up, so in addition to needing to takes 3 more courses to have enough CTC credits to graduate there, I need like 12 classes to pull my GPA into graduation requirements. (A whole semester of Fs, and they will not waive it.) So, that's pretty cost prohibitive because I don't qualify for in-state tuition.

For the college I got most of my credits through, I need 2 classes, one being Algebra which is the bane of my existence. They have an alternative, but they don't offer it online, and I live 1200 miles away. Exams are proctored, no notes, no book. They *are* on the list on the ACE website, so I'm going to ask about whether they would accept Algebra through ACE and then I could probably get that done through ALEKS. If this route works, I still need assistance with a Bachelor's plan. *If* they will accept ACE for the 2 remaining classes, I also need a fine arts (art or theater appreciation type) or a speech/ethics/philosophy class. They won't accept the speech class I took at CTC because apparently it was a business speech class banghead Any suggestions for the fine arts/philosophy course for ACE credit?

I applied to UMUC today, I would have to take 15 credit hours there to get an Associate's and then I could roll into the Bachelor's, they're doing a tentative credit review now. This route to a Bachelor's will take forever and be expensive (like well over $20,000 for just tuition, and I suspect my husband will retire before I finish, which means $500/credit hour for at least part of it) I'd still need the Algebra, and I have no idea whether they proctor or allow books/notes for exams.

What I'd really like to do is "dual enroll" somewhere that I can try to do alternative credit while also taking actual online classes, so that I can use financial aid to help with the alternatives.

Any advice on what would be my best path to get my Associate's ASAP and then for a Bachelor's? Again, while I'm drawn to Finance (and have CC level accounting classes completed), I really just want a degree. The GS jobs I'd like to get into in a few years after my husband retires don't really care *what* the degree is in, just that you have one.

[dfrecore]

I will address what I know, which in your case, is not a lot (I know degree plans, but nothing about financial aid/military aid). First, if I were you, I would give up on the CTC thing. You don't need an AA badly enough to warrant taking a bunch of courses there, when you could just take courses toward a BA instead. For your previous college, I would wait to see if they will accept an ACE-recommended Algebra course. If they do, then you're right to do ALEKS. If they don't, you could also see if they will accept CLEP or DSST exams. Or see if they are a partner school with SL.

There are plenty of fine arts/philosophy/speech courses/exams available:

- FREE Insurance Ethics (2cr) - usually tranfers as a philosophy/humanities course: Preserve the trust on which insurance transactions are based with an understanding of ethics

Saylor.org $25
- Environmental Ethics

DSST
- Business Ethics & Society
- Art of the Western World
- Principles of Public Speaking
- Ethics in America
- Intro to World Religions (maybe)

UExcel (possibly will accept these since they're from a college?) $145
- Business Ethics
- Bioethics: Philosophical Issues
- Intro to Music
- Intro to Philosophy

Straighterline $99/mo + ~ $49/course
Business Ethics
Intro to Communications (Speech)
Intro to Philosophy
Intro to Religion

Study.com $199/mo includes 2 exams for credit
- Business Ethics
- World Religions (?)


Now, if neither school will work, then you certainly have other options. You could do an AA at COSC, and probably pretty quickly. Or, you could do a BSBA at either TESU or COSC, and just skip the AA entirely.

The main issue with the BSBA in Finance at TESU is finding the FIN courses you need for the Area of study. Much easier to get a BSBA in General Management. For COSC, I'm not sure how it works, they also offer a BSBA, but I don't think you have a concentration.

So, wait until you hear back from the school to see what they will accept for your courses. If the news is not great, then I would consider moving forward with another plan. To do so, you will need to do some research here to figure out what you want to do. I suggest reading through this thread, starting from the beginning: http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...llege.html

You can also post your credits here, and we can help to see what it would take to get your degree from COSC and TESU.

There will be other people on here who can help with the Military stuff. And some who will be able to steer you in a good direction with other schools to look at like WGU and Patten.

Good luck!

[Catalytic]

Thank you! I just completed the Insurance ethics exam and passed. I'll post the classes I have taken in just a moment.

[Catalytic]

[Catalytic]

I DO want an AA or AS. I *really* want that piece of paper. I am surrounded by people with degrees (mostly Bachelor's, some Master's) and I feel like the red-headed step-child. Plus, my mom has been waiting 25 years for that piece of paper, she deserves it. Also, even just a 2 year degree is helpful for my resume, since I have no work experience in the past 20 years :ack:

ETA For a college recommendation, I would much prefer someplace that does not require proctored exams. My schedule during the day is crazy, I usually do schoolwork at night, and trying to fit in tests during the hours the testing center on base is open is a real problem. Alternatively, if a proctor can be anyone with a Master's, I have several neighbors that are willing to proctor.

[dfrecore]

Here is a spreadsheet that should help (it's 3 pages).

At TESU, you are completely done with Gen Ed Electives & Free Electives - you're now at the point where you have very specific courses that you have to take to get the ASBA or BSBA. There is 100% overlap there, so it's very easy to go on from the ASBA to your BSBA.

The main issue with getting an ASBA at TESU (or any AA) is the $2000 residency waiver. I don't think it's worth the cost to do - unless you take a lot more classes, and then are much closer to your BSBA and can get it within a year. I'm still unsure whether or not the waiver will last longer than a year.

If instead you want to get your AA at COSC, it's cheaper and easier to do. Others here can help you with that, but I think I did the spreadsheet correctly. You only need 12cr, and 9 of them will overlap with TESU.
- Oral communication requirement
- Ethics course (free)
- Global Understanding (take World Religions so that it will work as TESU's Diversity or Info Lit Requirements)

I suggest doing the DSST's, or SL. SL's proctoring is done online from your home, and is available 24 hours per day. No need to go to a testing center or find a proctor.

Then, you apply at COSC, transfer all of your credits, register for and take the Cornerstone, and bam, you have an AA. I think you could be done with these courses within a couple of weeks, and done with your AA a couple of months after that.

Then, come back here and we can help you get your BSBA at either COSC or TESU.

The only question I have is whether COSC will give you a waiver for the 2cr Ethics course. Maybe someone from COSC can help. If they won't, then you'll need another ethics credit, which means a whole course - you can do a DSST or SL or Study.com.

Good luck!

[mednat]

If you wish to take traditional classes from multiple sources, I would give COSC a call. They've been known to set up consortium agreements with other schools to allow the use of Financial Aid.

[Catalytic]

Are all of these courses from a 2-yr college or 4-yr?

All from 2 year/community colleges.

If you wish to take traditional classes from multiple sources, I would give COSC a call. They've been known to set up consortium agreements with other schools to allow the use of Financial Aid.

I'm good with all traditional/online courses being with the same school, but possibly I would want to do some alternative credits (ALEKS/CLEP/etc) at the same time as traditional classes. I just spoke with COSC, they're a bit higher per credit hour than UMUC, but it sounds like I could get my Associate's from them for about $1500 if I use ALEKS for my Algebra. I'm honestly not sure how much I could test out of, I'm not the greatest student in the world and my memory is atrocious. ALEKS looks really good (did the trial last night), and I have two high school seniors, so I think I'm going to do a year family membership and have the kids do some credits through there, as well.

[cookderosa]

welcome to the boards!

Dfrecore is giving you excellent advice, and she is excellent at degree planning.

I completely 100% understand you wanting an AA. I did too. In my case, my AOS didn't transfer into a bachelor's program, so I burned a lot of fuel trying to find a program that would take it- well, in the end, it was exceptionally faster and cheaper for me to start from scratch. When I did that, I felt like I wanted the AA since it was "extra" work than just going from the AA --> BA. It only mattered to me, I don't even list it on my resume But, in the end, I had 220-something credits, so I wanted all the pieces of paper that reflected that!!

I all add something else to consider, and that is to consider you *may* end up wanting a master's degree. I know you're thinking "no way in heck, if I just get this AA I'll be happy" but I promise you that you'll be changed by this process, and I guarantee that you'll at least consider it. I don't have stats, but I would estimate the number of members here that start out wanting "any' degree and end up powering through a masters is astonishingly high. When you remove a lot of the ridiculous barriers, lower the cost, and add in distance learning, adults kick butt and can complete entire degrees here in months. It's true. That kind of momentum takes you forward!

So, with that in mind (even if you don't believe me, just humor me) a master's degree is hard to find good discounts for. There are cheaper programs of course, but in general, there are no shortcuts- you're going to have to do the time and pay. As such, if you think you would take a loan for that, you'll want to plan your undergraduate work (AA and BA) as cheaply as possible. You can do an entire AA -and- BA for under $10,000 and in under 2 years. Just something to think about.

[mednat]

All from 2 year/community colleges.



I'm good with all traditional/online courses being with the same school, but possibly I would want to do some alternative credits (ALEKS/CLEP/etc) at the same time as traditional classes. I just spoke with COSC, they're a bit higher per credit hour than UMUC, but it sounds like I could get my Associate's from them for about $1500 if I use ALEKS for my Algebra. I'm honestly not sure how much I could test out of, I'm not the greatest student in the world and my memory is atrocious. ALEKS looks really good (did the trial last night), and I have two high school seniors, so I think I'm going to do a year family membership and have the kids do some credits through there, as well.

I definitely should have explained my post a bit more. Sorry about that!

Don't underestimate your ability. Aleks, straighterline, schmoop and many other sources are open book! This helps alot for those of us that hate memorization.

Most of the Big 3 have extremely high (or just normally high) cost per credit hours on their traditional classes. Most of us only take what's absolutely required from these schools. Usually this will be a cornerstone and/or capstone. Sometimes a degree plan will have a particular class that is required but not offered anywhere else. The key is, as a norm, we don't take classes at the schools we graduate from. Pretty strange right?

We have alot of reasons for doing it this way. The most obvious is cost. If we can shop around, we can almost always find a class to fullfill a requirement much cheaper than offered at our host school. Second, would be we prefer the material/teacher from a specific source. Maybe you found a class in a specific subject that fits in your plan that is taught by a harvard professor at harvard extension and want to pay the cost to take it.

With all that said, most of us take an enormous amount of non-class non-traditional credits (CLEP/ACE/DSST/etc). This is the reason we choose schools from teh big 3. Even at the extremely high rates per credit hour for the classes we must take at our schools, our total per hour rate is REALLY low when we use non-traditional credits!

Back to my recommendation of COSC specifically. Alot of students have some sort of financial aid (pell, or whatnot). COSC is the only school in the big3 (that i know of) that has setup consortium agreements with other schools specifically for students. What the heck is a consortium agreement? It basically allows you to take a class at another school and use your financial aid funds that have been awarded to COSC. So the basic idea is COSC gets your Pell/fafsa money, they send it to the cheaper school you found classes at.

This is a much different way to look at and shop for school when compared to your average student, and I should have explained better when I threw out my suggestion. Hopefully this clears it up a bit, if not let me know!

If you don't have FAFSA funds to use (or will need to take a loan), I'd suggest giving TESU a harder look, they tend to be more accepting of non-traditional sources of credit for upper level requirements (basically it's easier to fullfill the requirements with non-class credits).