My Journey: TESU BSBA

[Ideas]

It's been slow getting started because I'm not used to studying for a closed-book exam or exam where you have to write. I also find some of the language to be kind of difficult to read. I haven't tried the textbook yet. I think that language will be easier than the other material which is very condensed. I've done a little over a day of studying, and I feel I have a good overview of Strategic Mgmt now. I also have a good study plan for the next 12 days overall, I am just worried about having the patience to create flashcards, but I will do my best. I know that there are flashcards I can use, but a good part of the benefit is making them. I hope to feel more confident tomorrow.

I learned more about Saylor and study.com. I'm disappointed to hear that Saylor exams have some errors. I am especially concerned because one thread where the guy (poster's husband) was able to pass the similar-topic DSSTs with no studying, but failed the Saylor. It doesn't sound fun. I guess I have to try them anyway, to save the money, but the feeling of failure will suck. I wish I didn't have to go through Saylor or that they would get rid of errors. Retakes may be a difficult decision. I wish that there were better coupons for SL again.

Edit: I'm worried that Saylor could slow me down and make me miss the Dec graduation.

I may try to do study.com Personal Finance all in one day, and may try to take the easy Computer Saylor without studying. I know 2/3 of the Personal Finance material already.

_______________________

TO DO LIST - THURSDAY 4/20
Feedback is welcome! (I will edit this if anything changes in the next 24 hours. Then I sometimes delete and repost. Can't edit after 24 hours.)

This week (April 16-22):
- Spend many hours reading, making flashcards, and prepping for Strategic Mgmt TECEP

Next week (April 23-29):
- Schedule study.com Personal Finance exam and Saylor Computer Concepts and Applications for about May 9th. Try to get both exams back to back by scheduling far in advance. Schedule room.
- Immediately after Personal Finance exam (or before, if allowed), schedule my study.com Public Speaking exam. Try to get it back to back with another Saylor exam (Principles of Mgmt or Business Communication). These need to be complete by May 13th and that's a Saturday which is harder to schedule. Schedule room.

Week of April 30-May 6:
- On May 1st, schedule Strategic Mgmt TECEP at ProctorU and schedule room. Probably take May 2nd.
- Waiting on TESU evaluation of AP credits, mostly for Biology. (Doubtful, but see if Saylor BIO101B would count.)

May 7-13:
- Take the first pair of study.com & Saylor exams. Do my online speeches and take the second pair of exams.
- Schedule room and proctor for my next 2 study.com exam credits by about June 12th. Reminding myself of Study.com courses I plan to do: Personal Finance, Principles of Finance, Public Speaking. 3 bio courses? I should still consider some Psych courses because of them being LL anyway. Before using the slots for the bio courses.

After May 13:
- Schedule room and proctor for my final 2 study.com credits by about July 12th?
- Make a spreadsheet.
- Biology II Lab is the most difficult to meet, start early in case I need to catch enrollment date for 12 week course.
- Get answers to my final questions on the Gen Eds.
- Order ACE transcript. I believe there's no rush since we already know what TESU credits for Shmoop, ALEKS, etc.

Other Exams/Courses I need to do:
- Gen Eds: Saylor Intro to Comparative Politics, Study.com Public Speaking, and CLEP A&I Lit.
- BSBA-CIS core: 11 business exams and 6 CIS exams listed earlier in the thread.
- ASNSM-Biology core: 4 exams. Study.com Genetics, Pathophysiology, A&P. SL A&P II.

[Ideas]

I'm struggling with studying for the TECEP because of other life stuff that's tiring. The memorization is what bothers me, because I don't have weeks to spread it out. (I wish they would care more about understanding versus regurgitation. I feel like it's risky to not use the same exact words they use, because some of these concepts are so precise and similar phrases aren't always the same, or the grader might not think so.)

I think I can get enough done to pass, but really would like to go in feeling confident, like I have every list memorized. I hate going in without that feeling, and I am worried I won't achieve that in time. I think I should do it even if I only feel like I have a solid command of 75-80% of it, because of only needing 60% to pass.

I hope I don't take over 2 hours. I think I will be exhausted by then.

I've been planning to take it May 2nd (if ProctorU can get me in) because I may have some real life obligation interfering May 3-5th. That's in 10 days, and I wish I had a bit longer, but also want to get this done without dragging on. Then I plan to take the two pairs of exams on May 7th and 10th.

[Ideas]

I'm wondering if I can get my second Bachelor's, a BA in Psychology, from TESU after December graduation. It would be challenging as the capstone takes 12 weeks. I wrote about this in another thread.

However, I am losing confidence on this exam, and worrying I will fail. The learning is not a problem for me, it's the memorization of this quantity. I will keep trying and hopefully I'll feel better about it.

TO DO LIST - SUNDAY 4/23
Feedback is welcome! (I will edit this if anything changes in the next 24 hours. Then I sometimes delete and repost. Can't edit after 24 hours.)

This week (April 23-29):
- Spend many hours reading, making flashcards, and prepping for Strategic Mgmt TECEP
- Confirm room scheduling for May 7th and 10th.
- Schedule study.com Personal Finance exam and Saylor Computer Concepts and Applications for May 7th. Try to get both exams back to back by scheduling far in advance. To schedule study.com's I will probably need to complete all the quizzes which would take hours.
- Immediately after Personal Finance exam (or before, if allowed), schedule my study.com Public Speaking exam. Try to get it back to back with another Saylor exam (Principles of Mgmt or Business Communication) on May 10th.

Week of April 30-May 6:
- On May 1st, schedule Strategic Mgmt TECEP at ProctorU for May 2nd.
- Waiting on TESU evaluation of AP credits, mostly for Biology. (Doubtful, but see if Saylor BIO101B would count.)
- Get the official CLEP guide for A&I Lit and study.
- Choose and develop study plan for one of the business CLEPs.

May 7-13:
- Take the first pair of study.com & Saylor exams. Do my online speeches and take the second pair of exams.
- Schedule room and proctor for my next 2 study.com exam credits by about June 12th. Reminding myself of Study.com courses I plan to do: Personal Finance, Principles of Finance, Public Speaking. 3 bio courses? I should still consider some Psych courses because of them being LL anyway. Before using the slots for the bio courses.
- Schedule my first 1-2 CLEP exams.

After May 13:
- Register for the June Strategic Mgmt TECEP? In case I fail the May one.
- Schedule room and proctor for my final 2 study.com credits by about July 12th?
- Make a spreadsheet.
- Biology II Lab is the most difficult to meet, start early in case I need to catch enrollment date for 12 week course.
- Learning more about TESU BA Psychology. Is it an option?
- Get answers to my final questions on the Gen Eds.
- Order ACE transcript. I believe there's no rush since we already know what TESU credits for Shmoop, ALEKS, etc.

Other Exams/Courses I need to do:
- Gen Eds: Saylor Intro to Comparative Politics, Study.com Public Speaking, and CLEP A&I Lit.
- BSBA-CIS core: 11 business exams and 6 CIS exams listed earlier in the thread.
- ASNSM-Biology core: 4 exams. Study.com Genetics, Pathophysiology, A&P. SL A&P II.

[Ideas]

UPDATES
- Some things came up, and I'll have to postpone the TECEP.
- I have finished the Personal Finance course except for the exam, and am looking forwarding to knocking that out. I did well on the quizzes and need only 56% on the final. I don't want to take it too early, because then my second month's first exam has to be done within 30 days.
- I also feel ready to take the CLEP A&I.

Edit: At SL, I plan to do
Introduction to Programming in C++
A&P I
A&P II
maybe Financial Accounting?
maybe Business Law
maybe Principles of Management
maybe Macroeconomics
maybe Microeconomics
maybe Managerial Accounting

At study.com, I plan to do:
Public Speaking
Intro Sociology
Global Management
Pathophysiology
Microbiology

TO DO LIST - SUNDAY 4/30
Feedback is welcome! (I will edit this if anything changes in the next 24 hours. Then I sometimes delete and repost. Can't edit after 24 hours.)

Week of April 30-May 6:
- Spend many making and reviewing flashcards for Strategic Mgmt TECEP
- Schedule Strategic Mgmt TECEP at ProctorU for May ??. When can I be sure I'll be ready?
- Schedule CLEP A&I Lit.
- Choose and develop study plan for one of the business CLEPs?
- Take Personal Finance exam.

May 7-13:
- After Personal Finance exam, quickly finish study.com Public Speaking course and take exam on May 10th.
- Biology II Lab is the most difficult to meet, start early in case I need to catch enrollment date for 12 week course.

After May 13:
- TESU needs more info from me for evaluation of AP credits, mostly for Biology. (Doubtful, but see if Saylor BIO101B would count.)
- Make a spreadsheet.
- Learning more about TESU BA Psychology. Is it an option?
- Get answers to my final questions on the Gen Eds.
- Work on business or CIS exams.

June:
- Take 2 study.com courses and exams in early June.
- Work on business or CIS exams.

July:
- Take final 2 study.com courses and exams in early July.
- Work on business or CIS exams.

August:
- Straighterline month where I do many exams.
- Work on business or CIS exams.

September:
- Order ACE transcript. I believe there's no rush since we already know what TESU credits for Shmoop, ALEKS, etc.

Other Exams/Courses I need to do:
- Gen Eds: Saylor Intro to Comparative Politics, Intro Sociology at study.com.
- BSBA-CIS core: 11 business exams and 6 CIS exams listed earlier in the thread.
- ASNSM-Biology core: 4 exams: Study.com Microbiology and Pathophysiology. SL A&P I and A&P II.

[Ideas]

If I'm sticking with CIS, I may have to take 3 business courses at SL to speed things up. This will cost me $34 more per course, which is not very much, but I worry I'm going to hit a financial delay at least once.

In another thread I also found this: "the Federal Income Taxation TECEP is open book and less work than SL's Managerial Accounting. There are a few marketing TECEPs." The TECEP would cost even more than the SL, but I guess it could save a few days.

[Ideas]

I'm still struggling to work on Strategic Management memorization. I actually enjoy the reading, but feel that I will do poorly on the exam unless I can get all those lists memorized. I have so many excuses for why I can't work on it, but in the end, that won't matter if I fail. I really don't want to fail the first time, because then I'll feel so much pressure about my second and last chance. The textbook issue I had really set me back too, and shook my confidence. I mentioned it in the main TECEP thread.

On the plus side, I have gained confidence for most of the business courses. Besides Strategic Management, I don't feel any of my other exams will worry me much, except if another exam requires a lot of memorization (especially a CIS exam).

I knew the Personal Finance course would be easy, but it still gave me some confidence. Finishing my first proctored webcam exam will make me feel better, and getting the second study.com exam done before my month is up.

More so, I have been doing some marketing, business law, and microeconomics prep and find them relatively easy. I took microeconomics a really long time ago, and I think some of it stayed in my head, surprisingly. I find all three of them to be intuitive for me, and I groaned about there being so much math, but the math-based questions will help me pass, because many of them are just simple formulas. Macroeconomics is harder for me, but still easier than I expected.

[Ideas]

I have been analyzing the costs.

I should be getting some free courses through Modern States, thankfully, although it's difficult for me to get to the test center, and if money weren't tight, I would just do Straighterline courses instead.

By my calculations, not including the small amounts I've already spent, I need:

- $2132 for graduation and residency waiver by end of Sept
- $990 for exams. This is for SL, CSU-Global (one exam is $250), and many Saylors.
- Unsure about Biology Lab costs. Could be $350+.
- $20 for ACE transcript, and unknown small amount for CSU-Global transcript
- More if I need to retake an exam/course. Some Saylor CIS exams will probably have incorrect answers and be difficult.
- In addition, I have to pay around $240 in proctor fees upfront then get reimbursed by Modern States which shouldn't take long, but could be tight for me if I put them off.

I know this is cheap, and I am already getting the benefit of Modern States, but I sure wish there was some other way to reduce costs (besides like $34 if I take one less Straighterline course). This is $3150-3600+ needing to be paid in under 5 months, or $650-700+ a month!

$990 is so cheap considering how many credits and that many are CIS. The one CIS exam is $99 at Straighterline and the CSU-Global CIS exam is $250. So of course I could do GM and drop CIS to save money, but I need to decide within about a month, before I start taking the CIS exams. I really hate to drop the CIS or drop the ASNSM Biology. It seems like GM would only save me around $300, and dropping Biology may save even less.

Hopefully, if I can't come up with the money, I can simply delay graduation by 3 months, because the second BA is probably not allowed under the same residency waiver anyway. However, I was trying to finish by a certain date for personal reasons and also so I can begin earning more money faster.

Now that I see how much is needed, I hope I can earn extra money while also completing the many exams.

Edit: This is not cost related, but TESU never gives more than 6 credits for an AP exam.

Edit: With more SL coupons, maybe only $921-930 instead of $990. I had already included $50 in SL coupons.

[Ideas]

Edit: ASNSM-CS is out, but ASNSM-Math is a consideration as I wrote about in another thread. I'd have to find one of these classes at a low cost and it would have to be 3 cr (and probably cannot be at a community college?): Calculus III (Multivariate Calculus); Discrete Math; Linear Algebra (Calculus Based); Probability; Statistics; Matrix Algebra; Number Theory. (Then I'd have to retake Geometry at study.com since the Shmoop one is only 2 cr not 3 cr, and I'd have to take Calc II at SL.) However, effort wise, it would probably be harder for me personally than Biology, because I forget Calculus. Cost wise, it might not save.

I'm considering doing ASNSM-CS instead of ASNSM-Biology and started a thread about requirements. (Or seeing if I'm allowed to have a dual concentration! That would be amazing.)

I will check with TESU. It seems like CS would save me $69-78 or more on SL fees, but more importantly, save me about 4-10+ days of studying. And save me $50 on Saylor exams. And of course the $350+ lab course, if that can't get waived. There has been discussion about waivers being denied but sanatone had an offer for waiver later on.

I feel that I don't have much time to decide.

[Ideas]

I finally took my first online proctored exam. An easy one, study.com Personal Finance. I was nervous about the technical aspects, and not nervous about the exam questions. Next for me is study.com Principles of Finance. I won't have much time to complete this, because life obligations are keeping me busy for 4 days, but as I posted in another thread, I have relevant background.

I have "wasted" a lot of time on researching grad programs, undergrad certificates, and other things. I do feel better and better about my plans. I have to verify some things with TESU, but I'm likely to skip the Psych bachelor's, which I believe would have cost in the range of $3500, and instead just do a grad certificate at TESU. I know that employers don't like certificates that much, but at least it's grad level not undergrad, and it would also help me with entrance into a Masters program in the future. So I like this plan, if I think I can get most or all of those courses cheaply. I'm not sure yet because their grad cert isn't general Psych, but specialty, meaning it's harder to find courses.

I am planning to take cheap community college courses for summer 2017 and fall 2017, because of the Pell Grant, which will eat up some time. Possibly spring 2018, if it doesn't mess up other plans. Besides delaying my graduation. I wrote more about this in another thread, but doing this will allow me to afford some other things I'm interested in such as:

I am very interested in doing my ASNSM in both Biology and Mathematics if they allow it. Math would be only 2 extra courses for me, with one being sort of easy because it's at Straighterline. Actually, between the two majors, I think I prefer to do Math at this point, and may just do Math only. However, there's a good chance Biology would only cost me about $60 extra (and 1-2 weeks of studying) due to study.com scholarship covering half of what I need.

I am very interested in adding a Marketing concentration to my BSBA. I believe it would cost an extra $700.

Edit: TESU Grad Certificate seems too expensive for the courses So I am very torn between the COSC Psych Bachelor's which is quick and somewhere around $3500, or the Capella Psych Master's if it's $4800. (They might force the capstone in a third term, so it would be $7200.) I will still hope for another option to arise.

Edit: I might end up getting a boost in income before grad school starts, and I might be willing to do a payment plan or student loan. One other issue I face is I may be moving, which would take a lot of energy, time, and money.

[Ideas]

I'm so eager to knock out more courses, instead of studying for the TECEP I wish I could start my month of SL instead. It seems more wise to keep working on the TECEP. I wanted to at least take the next study.com exam, but my reset date is weeks away. I thought it was tomorrow. I wish CLEPs and DSSTs could be done through online proctoring.