Yet another request for advice on schools.

[LevelUP]

Doing both Bachelor's degrees, (BSBA CIS & BA CS) is a good idea.

Since you said you preferred BSBA CIS, you could start with this first by doing all the Sophia credits.

The Wiki's for TESU BSBA CIS & BA CS degrees are up to date, so you can follow the Wiki.  Generally, the Wiki path should be the fastest/easiest/cheapest path based on past student experiences.

There is a difference in alternative providers and there could also be differences on a course-by-course basis.

For example, it might take you 40 hours to Psychology at Onlinedegree vs 20 hours as a CLEP vs 10 hours at Sophia.
However, it might take you 40 hours+ to do Sophia English comp I & II vs 10 hours with a CLEP.

"You must avoid bad courses at all costs.  They will make you unhappy, they will upset your academic momentum, they will sap your will to achieve, they will hurt your grades." quote from the book, How to Win at College.

Here at DF, we try and put you on the best path that should help you earn a Bachelor's degree in around 6-12 months, providing you put 20hr a week into your studies.

People here can earn a degree while working a full-time job and other commitments.  At a minimum, you will be moving 4x faster than brick-and-mortar college students and with a lot less stress. 

The hardest part is getting started, gl.

[bjcheung77]

*ding ding* Yup, I am probably one of the few that also recommend a double associates/bachelors. Having said that, I do things differently, I would only focus on the BSBA Accounting/CIS for now, the reason is you want to "have" a degree if something comes up, you don't want to be stuck in between not able to finish either/or... If you need to graduate soon, get the Associates under your belt, otherwise graduate them at the same time...

That BSBA will grant you enough credits for the ASNSM Comp Sci. With a little bit more work, you can get the ASNSM Math along with it. The final chunk of the puzzle can be added "later" if you decide to go for the BA Comp Science. We like to save cash and get the most out of those courses, you can ladder the associates into the Bachelors, so your associates are free en route to the BSBA... Note: Make sure you have enough RA credits!

[dfrecore]

I always advise doing the 114cr that you need for a single degree, and then if you still feel like you want it, finish up the 2nd degree. But if something happens, and you only get 114 total credits, and half are for 1 major and half are for the other, you are nowhere close to getting either. So go ahead and get that first degree mostly completed before you decide.

If you want to plan in everything you need for both degrees (like taking Calculus instead of College Algebra for the BSBA, or using Macro and Microecon for your SocSci's for the BSCS), that's a smart idea that you can take advantage of. But don't do anything to derail finishing (or mostly finishing) the first priority of A DEGREE. But it's very easy to plan the BSBA/CIS and BACS to complement each other.

[LevelUP]

I agree with dfrecore that it is best to focus on one degree.

If you do the AOS for BSBA CIS. All those courses transfer to BA CS except for the marketing course.  The marketing course however can be used as a free elective course. 

Once you finish the BSBA CIS, that will leave you with approximately 6 courses to finish your BA CS.  (maybe a few more electives)

[FurthestSights81]

Hey guys thanks for taking your time out to give me all of this advice. sorry for the delayed response. I believe what I will do is what dfrecore implied and work towards a single bachelors. My goal really is the Bachelors. And follow wikis provided. I do like that there is an option to go for another degree and it is something I want to keep in mind because of the versatility in education. I notice a thread that states a change in catalogs 2021 and 2022 for general education. Does this happen often and would be a cause for concern? I wanted to follow the wiki but I worry there could be a possible change to my approach. Do you guys consider starting general Ed or would you go for RA at a different institution or a hybrid of both?

[dfrecore]

Hey guys thanks for taking your time out to give me all of this advice. sorry for the delayed response. I believe what I will do is what dfrecore implied and work towards a single bachelors. My goal really is the Bachelors. And follow wikis provided. I do like that there is an option to go for another degree and it is something I want to keep in mind because of the versatility in education. I notice a thread that states a change in catalogs 2021 and 2022 for general education. Does this happen often and would be a cause for concern? I wanted to follow the wiki but I worry there could be a possible change to my approach. Do you guys consider starting general Ed or would you go for RA at a different institution or a hybrid of both?

TESU changed their GE requirements in July 2016, July 2019, and July 2021; so my guess is they won't do it again until July 2023 at the earliest.  But, the way to get around that is to apply to TESU, send in any credits, and then register for the Medical Terminology TECEP exam (you don't have to take it).  Once you do this, you are considered an enrolled student, and can then send in as many credits as you'd like, and they will update your eval each time you send something in; it also locks in your catalog, so your degree requirements will not change as long as you continue to stay enrolled (which you should do once a year by registering for a TECEP each time).

If I were you, I would get ACE/NCCRS and RA credits as you see fit - if you're a good test-taker, take the English Comp II TECEP exam for both RA credit and enrollment (instead of the Medical Term TECEP).

I also wouldn't necessarily start with GE.  Start wherever you want, go in whatever order you'd like.  It really doesn't matter.  I know people that have done all GE first, ones that have done all of the major first, and ones that do some of each.  I am a fan of doing courses in the major (core and AoS) because I think it's better to figure out if you hate your major sooner rather than later.  For CompSci, I'd say that you should start with the math - if you can't pass (or hate) Calc, then it's better to know that early on and adjust as necessary.

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I would also consider EC, since they don't have an RA requirement, and their BSB is similar to TESU's, except that you don't have a concentration (they have a few, but aren't alt-credit friendly).  If you just want a fast business degree, this is a good and cheaper by $2,600 option.  You could do it and then move onto that WGU degree (or even a WGU master's degree) after you're done, and have saved that money; EC is also more FAFSA-friendly, as there is no large fee that you pay (I think it's all covered by FAFSA).

[LevelUP]

Build up some momentum.

I would do Sophia first, which takes care of quite a bit of your General Education courses + Professional Business Requirements. 

I would do the TESU flat-rate tuition for $4600 to get 16 RA credits. Then you don't have to pay the $3200 residency waiver.  That would leave you with 2 TECEPSs or TEL learning, etc., classes for the remaining RA.

The English Comp II TECEP exam is a good idea.  If you fail that, consider the CLEP exam for that course requirement. 

If you make a spreadsheet of your degree plan with the courses you plan to take, some of us could review it and see if you planned the quickest/easiest courses.

[FurthestSights81]

Hey guys, thanks for this advice. I am currently figuring out exactly what degree program I want to pursue then going to pull up the wiki and see which courses I can take. You all have been more than helpful and I truly appreciate this.

[FurthestSights81]

I'm sort of planning it out. The wikis are really helpful with sifting through this stuff. So many places to get courses lol I'm debating on how I want to approach this. Either core or gen ed or a mixture. I am a little confused with the RA. I think what I might need to do is apply to TESU first and see which of my cc courses would transfer and what areas they would cover. I realize algebra covers 3 credits for intellectual and Practical Skills section of the General Education requirement. If my college algebra class could cover that it would be awesome. That would be 3 RA credits? Still have 12 more credits in that section. Maybe my english comp 101 might cover 3 more RA credits for written communication. Just speculating wont know unless I do a transfer articulation. That leaves my music appreciation class(possibly a 3 credit RA elective) . Hopefully thats a good amount possibly 9 RA credits.

[dfrecore]

I'm sort of planning it out. The wikis are really helpful with sifting through this stuff. So many places to get courses lol I'm debating on how I want to approach this. Either core or gen ed or a mixture. I am a little confused with the RA. I think what I might need to do is apply to TESU first and see which of my cc courses would transfer and what areas they would cover. I realize algebra covers 3 credits for intellectual and Practical Skills section of the General Education requirement. If my college algebra class could cover that it would be awesome. That would be 3 RA credits?  Still have 12 more credits in that section. Maybe my english comp 101 might cover 3 more RA credits for written communication. Just speculating wont know unless I do a transfer articulation. That leaves my music appreciation class(possibly a 3 credit RA elective) . Hopefully thats a good amount possibly 9 RA credits.

College Algebra course will go in Quantitative Lit, and count for 3cr RA (this is also the required course if you get a BSBA degree
English Comp I will go in Written Communication, and count for 3cr RA
Music Appreciation will go in Knowledge of Human Cultures as a Humanity course, and count for 3cr RA


Then, the cornerstone and capstone will count as 3cr RA each

That leaves 15cr of RA from somewhere.