New International User Seeking Help with Plan for Bachelors Degree

[GlobalStudent]

Patience and compassion required, please! Since none of my country's universities are internationally recognized anymore and the standard of schooling has gone down severely, I thought it best to drop out of school in grade 11 this year. I've completed my GED & I'm currently busy with my SAT through Khan Academy. I've contacted Excelsior College where I found out they'll take me next year when I'm 18-years old (end of April) and I don't need SAT. Is this possible at TESU too? I prefer getting my degree from TESU, but it doesn't seem on their website as if they'll admit me before I'm 21. Please advise re this too if possible. If Excelsior is the better option, I'll apply there. The problem is that I won't be able to pay for online courses let alone full-time courses at a regular university. Hence I'm forced to go the testing-out-of-class route and attempt to get my degree in less than a year, which completely appeals to me, as I'm a 1st-world individual with colossal ambition presently stuck in a 3rd-world country and I think I'm worth a lot to the employer that is going to employ me. My original plan was to become a physicist of some sorts, but now I'll settle for nuclear engineering which seems to be the closest option because it is obtainable online. None of these are courses I can take in my own country anyway seeing that they're not offered here. Please help me with a degree-plan that will co-inside with my career goals and dreams. I sucked at business studies at school, so I don't think that will be an option unless I need to take such a subject for credit purposes to get my degree. To top it, I have no clue how to start, what is necessary to take to get my degree and where to get the study material. I presume I can take CLEP, DSST & other tests to obtain credits before I apply for admission next year. English is my first language. I welcome any other ideas and assistance.

[dfrecore]

None of the Big 3 require the SAT.

TESU will take you if you're under 21, although you have to have some credits under your belt first. But that would be your plan anyway.

Unfortunately, none of the schools has a test-out degree for Physics or Nuclear Engineering. TESU and EC both have Nuclear Engineering Technology, but that is not the same thing - and neither of them are able to be tested out of.

If you really need a degree, your better option might be to get a degree in something useful from one of the Big 3, with the hopes of using it to get a well paying job, that will then allow you to pay for more schooling in the degree that you actually want to get.

An upside to this is that many schools have a second-degree option, where they will take your first degree and give you a waiver for much of the second degree requirements, meaning that you only need to take courses in your major (and any prerequisites for it) for the second degree program.

Off of that subject: if you know a 2nd language, you can get a lot of credits for that.

[GlobalStudent]

Oh, wow! I knew I would get a good reply by the reputation this forum has, but I didn't know it would be so helpful and detailed. Thank you so much, I truly appreciate it. What would be a good test-out degree to earn as a stepping-stone for a second degree with my dreams and goals about Physics or Nuclear Engineering Technology in mind?

[sanantone]

Why not go straight for the physics or nuclear engineering program? I don't think there is an online nuclear engineering program, just nuclear engineering technology.

If you're interested in becoming a physicist, then you're probably going to want to continue on to a master's or PhD program in physics. You should look at some programs and see what the prerequisite courses are and if a bachelor's in physics will be required.

You'll probably be fine with any math or physical science-related degree, but testing out will mean that you'll have very few graded courses. This will make you less competitive for a graduate program in physics or engineering.

I'll come back with a list of undergraduate programs you might want to look at.

[GlobalStudent]

Thank you so much. I appreciate your help sincerely.

[davewill]

If I wanted to do either of those fields, and could only consider an online bachelor's, I'd be tempted to get a degree in math. Even so, you're likely to need to find butt in seat science courses with labs in order to get into a graduate program for either one.

[sanantone]

I looked at a couple of online master's programs in physics. You're going to need calculus III/differential equations. You'll also need some introductory science courses with labs. If you can't find an online bachelor's degree in physics, then I recommend mathematics or computer science.

TESU and APUS have mathematics programs. APUS accepts ACE credits, but not as many as TESU. You can get a good number of science classes with labs done in APUS' natural science or space studies program, but they only require calculus I. You would have to take calculus II and III in addition to the required courses for those two programs. APUS is known as an online-only school, so you would have to ask graduate schools if they'll accept online lab courses.

[GlobalStudent]

sanantone, thank you so much for your trouble and help. Words cannot express my gratitude.

I didn't know it would be possible to go straight for a physics degree. See, I'm clueless because I don't know what is possible. If it is necessary to first earn an easy degree via the test-out way so that I can find a job to pay for a second degree, I'll do it. It would just save so much time and money if I could earn a degree relevant to what I'd like to become and that I'm passionate about. I even thought about BA or BS Mathematics, but I also have no clue if I can do these the test-out way.

My setback is that I'm forced to earn my degree the test-out way as that is what my parents can afford. You're right, I would like to continue on to a Masters and PhD if at all possible, but I first need to earn a regionally accredited US Bachelor's degree. As you know, none of the universities in my country are recognized internationally anymore as the membership lapsed and it wasn't renewed. So, I can't relocate, study abroad or even do online courses because they are too expensive. My only option is to test-out from within my country. However, I'll work hard and do what is necessary to obtain my degree as quick as possible.

Sorry, I'm really clueless and unsure about the procedure. What is the first plan of action for me? Do I apply for admission at say TESU when I've turned 18 in April of 2018 and in the meantime I can write CLEP, DSST, etc-exams to accumulate credits? Or how do I go about it? I seriously need a plan of action because I don't know what to do.

Once I've obtained admission, am I allowed to inform the college that I'm going to test-out or do I merely enroll for the exam, pay the exam fee and write? How do I go about getting credits from other universities/colleges or do I have to enroll for an online course such as Calculus I, II & III to get the credits if I'm not able to use the test-out method for these and other important courses/subjects? I have so many questions and not having a course plan makes me very nervous. Please be patient and continue helping me.

[GlobalStudent]

Thank you so much all for your assistance. This is really a great forum.

[davewill]

The term "test out" is not always precise, many of the credit sources we use are actually online classes. However they are very cheap (typically $100) or sometimes even free, and self paced so that you can move as fast as your intellect and study skills will take you.

For TESU, you need to either be 18, or have some existing college credit. So your first step is to start acquiring credit. Since the general education credits are largely the same everywhere and for every degree, you should start getting those. The most popular sources are: CLEP, DSST, Saylor.org, Straighterline, Study.com, and Shmoop. CLEP and DSST require going to a testing center, which you may not be able to find in your country.

In addition, if your first language is not English, you'll have to pass the TOEFL before you apply to almost any school in the US.