Need a degree to get the CFP

[mikehart82]

Hi everyone...

I'm 38 and I work as a Paraplanner at a small financial firm.  I have my insurance license, my FPQP designation, and I'm sitting for my 65 in a month, but the Certified Financial Planning Board requires a degree.  

I have a really hard time with ADD, particularly executive function so college was just about impossible for me. I just hate homework/writing papers, etc.  So I've started working with a therapist on the executive function stuff.  

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on the easiest/quickest way I should go about this.

Thx!

[rachel83az]

If you don't want to do papers, that means UMPI is out. Their degrees are the cheapest, but only if you can knock out papers easily.

Thankfully, you can get a degree at TESU with few papers. You technically will need to write an essay or two for English Comp, but (IIRC) you might be able to avoid this by taking the College Composition modular CLEP (free through ModernStates) for English Comp I and then the "Principles of Advanced English Composition" DSST for English Comp II. IIRC, both of these are multiple-choice and no essays are required. This does require being close enough to a college testing center to take these exams, though.

For as few papers as possible, you could get a Liberal Studies degree or a BSBA. Several BSBA degrees can be had with maybe between 2 and 5 papers written for the whole degree. Check https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap to see what degrees are available. Maybe the BSBA Finance? Let us know which degree you would prefer and we can help steer you in the right direction.

[dfrecore]

I'm thinking TESU's BSBA/Fin is the best option. You can do most of the degree via alt-credit, which can include a heaping helping of CLEP, DSST & Coopersmith exams if you don't want to write papers. You can also use TECEP exams for your RA credit.

The AoS for the finance concentration can be done via 5 UL Finance courses at Study.com and then the UL FIN-301 through either Saylor, UExcel, or PF.

[carrythenothing]

I have a really hard time with ADD, particularly executive function so college was just about impossible for me. I just hate homework/writing papers, etc.  So I've started working with a therapist on the executive function stuff.  

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on the easiest/quickest way I should go about this.

Thx!

You should also consider requesting academic accommodations from whichever school you choose. Your therapist should be able to provide documentation.

[rachel83az]

I'm thinking TESU's BSBA/Fin is the best option. You can do most of the degree via alt-credit, which can include a heaping helping of CLEP, DSST & Coopersmith exams if you don't want to write papers. You can also use TECEP exams for your RA credit.

The AoS for the finance concentration can be done via 5 UL Finance courses at Study.com and then the UL FIN-301 through either Saylor, UExcel, or PF.

I'm pretty sure that the UL courses at SDC require at least one paper/project each (if not more). But there are UL finance courses at Davar and I don't think those require any papers, just exams.

You should also consider requesting academic accommodations from whichever school you choose. Your therapist should be able to provide documentation.

I wouldn't trust TESU to do this in a timely manner (or at all, really). The capstone & cornerstone are pretty much each one paper. Schools might be willing to give more time to write papers, but you're still going to have to write papers for at least the capstone & cornerstone.

[dfrecore]

I'm thinking TESU's BSBA/Fin is the best option.  You can do most of the degree via alt-credit, which can include a heaping helping of CLEP, DSST & Coopersmith exams if you don't want to write papers.  You can also use TECEP exams for your RA credit.

The AoS for the finance concentration can be done via 5 UL Finance courses at Study.com and then the UL FIN-301 through either Saylor, UExcel, or PF.

I'm pretty sure that the UL courses at SDC require at least one paper/project each (if not more). But there are UL finance courses at Davar and I don't think those require any papers, just exams.

You should also consider requesting academic accommodations from whichever school you choose. Your therapist should be able to provide documentation.

I wouldn't trust TESU to do this in a timely manner (or at all, really). The capstone & cornerstone are pretty much each one paper. Schools might be willing to give more time to write papers, but you're still going to have to write papers for at least the capstone & cornerstone.

Forgot about Davar.  Yes, there are 3 courses there that you can do, 2 of which would replace the SDC courses.

[bjcheung77]

I think you may want to provide us more details on any commitments you have and college credits you may possess already. If you have kids, work, volunteering, etc... Further to that, if you have any tuition benefits or reimbursement from work, do you have a budget? The reason is because it will determine if Big 3 is a better option or going the competency based degree option... Last but not least, do you just want a degree to check the box, or are you looking at BSBA Finance, or a General Business degree... again, more info, the better!

[mikehart82]

I think I may have 9 credits from community college back in 2003, but I'm not sure.

I work as a Paraplanner at a small financial firm.

I have no tuition assistance, but I have a good amount of money saved up so my budget to do this is basically unlimited.

I honestly just want get this over with as quickly and painlessly as possible so I can get my CFP credentials. I'd prefer something finance/economics related, but the Certified Financial Planner Board only mandates that you have a 4 year degree, but they don't care what it's in.

[rachel83az]

Definitely check to see if, and how many, credits you have already. It will save you both time & money if you have some credits. Especially if any of these credits happen to be English Composition!

Since you say you have "almost" unlimited money for this, I'm going to suggest that you might prefer ASU Universal Learner courses for at least some of your RA credits. See https://ea.asu.edu/courses/ and https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ar...al_Learner Each course only costs $25 to begin. You owe nothing further unless you pass the course in question, then it's another $400. If you don't pass the course, nothing happens; there's no record of your attempt on your ASU transcript.

A lot of courses consist mainly of watching videos or reading text weekly for 1-3 hours per class, then taking a quiz. Culminated by a proctored final exam. The ones I've taken are some of the most chill, yet also most interesting, classes I've had. If you take a class and it turns out that you've bitten off more than you can chew, you're only out the initial $25.

A few ASU classes to avoid would be: English Comp (so much writing), Intro to Sociology (I think this one also has essays), Human Communication (definitely essays), Intro to Psychology (might have essays). We do not yet know how the CIS-3XX courses are, because they are new, but some of them might be easy for you (due to your current employment) and could make good electives (BSBA Finance has 15 free electives) at the very least.

[mikehart82]

I think you may want to provide us more details on any commitments you have and college credits you may possess already.  If you have kids, work, volunteering, etc...  Further to that, if you have any tuition benefits or reimbursement from work, do you have a budget?  The reason is because it will determine if Big 3 is a better option or going the competency based degree option... Last but not least, do you just want a degree to check the box, or are you looking at BSBA Finance, or a General Business degree... again, more info, the better!

Definitely check to see if, and how many, credits you have already. It will save you both time & money if you have some credits. Especially if any of these credits happen to be English Composition!

Since you say you have "almost" unlimited money for this, I'm going to suggest that you might prefer ASU Universal Learner courses for at least some of your RA credits. See https://ea.asu.edu/courses/ and https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ar...al_Learner Each course only costs $25 to begin. You owe nothing further unless you pass the course in question, then it's another $400. If you don't pass the course, nothing happens; there's no record of your attempt on your ASU transcript.

A lot of courses consist mainly of watching videos or reading text weekly for 1-3 hours per class, then taking a quiz. Culminated by a proctored final exam. The ones I've taken are some of the most chill, yet also most interesting, classes I've had. If you take a class and it turns out that you've bitten off more than you can chew, you're only out the initial $25.

A few ASU classes to avoid would be: English Comp (so much writing), Intro to Sociology (I think this one also has essays), Human Communication (definitely essays), Intro to Psychology (might have essays). We do not yet know how the CIS-3XX courses are, because they are new, but some of them might be easy for you (due to your current employment) and could make good electives (BSBA Finance has 15 free electives) at the very least.

And this is all accredited?