Transferring credits to study an MBA in the US

[IA_288]

@IA_288, yes, you can try another evaluation with WES and see how that goes.  I also would recommend you to have a back up plan with the Bachelors option.  I suggest the Excelsior BSLA or UMPI BLS option, there are plenty of elective options and the degree will come out relatively affordable, easy/fast to complete.  Is there a particular Masters degree you're trying to get into?

I have in mind masters of science in Business analytics or Engineering management.

How the path would be with the Excelsior BSLA or UMPI BLS? do they make more sense than a bachelor on Mechanical engineering? I have no idea, but I thought the transference of my credits to a Mechanical Engineering bachelors would be more beneficial (number of credits transferred wise) that a liberal arts one.

[rachel83az]

I think Excelsior might be a better option than TESU for your circumstances - they have a BLS that allows for 60cr of Liberal Arts and 60cr of Free Electives - while TESU is 90/30.  Since almost all of your credits are Free Electives, you need a program that will take those.

My advice, since you already got an eval - apply to both TESU and EC (they both take ECE evals) and see what they tell you.  Then, come back and post your evals from both schools.  We will help you figure out what the best options are.

And remember, it's not what you get credit for, but what you have left to complete that makes the difference.  Always look forward to see what you will have to spend in time and money to get your remaining credits.

That's not accurate, according to my transcripts, only 10% of my credits are free elective, another 10% are optional courses, and the rest (80%) are core and compulsory.

Given that statement, wouldn't it make sense to pursue a Bachelor of science on Mechanical Engineering, to try to get transferred as many credits as possible (due to similarity of programs), so I have less to complete?

I saw this program from SFSU, for example:
https://bulletin.sfsu.edu/colleges/scien...ansfertext

The percentages are valid only for your current degree. If you were to try to get another degree in Mechanical Engineering, a school might look at that evaluation and say that none of your current classes are relevant. Or they're too old to be relevant. It's up to each school to decide. The evaluations are only a guideline.


I would say that a business degree + MBA would be your best backup plan right now. A mechanical engineering Master's might not admit you without a relevant US Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's degree. But getting a relevant ME Bachelor's could be very, very costly. A plain Liberal Arts degree might accept the most of your current credits, but then you'd be missing out on business prerequisites that some MBAs require. Because of this, I would think that a UMPI BABA would make the most sense. You could get it done quickly and cheaply, allowing you to move to your MBA ASAP.

[allvia]

@IA_288, yes, you can try another evaluation with WES and see how that goes.  I also would recommend you to have a back up plan with the Bachelors option.  I suggest the Excelsior BSLA or UMPI BLS option, there are plenty of elective options and the degree will come out relatively affordable, easy/fast to complete.  Is there a particular Masters degree you're trying to get into?

I have in mind masters of science in Business analytics or Engineering management.

How the path would be with the Excelsior BSLA or UMPI BLS? do they make more sense than a bachelor on Mechanical engineering? I have no idea, but I thought the transference of my credits to a Mechanical Engineering bachelors would be more beneficial (number of credits transferred wise) that a liberal arts one.

To be clear, your goal is not a MBA, but a MS Business Analytics or MS Engineering Management?  Do you have a short list of school/programs you're looking at?  Have you spoken to these schools to find out if they consider your degree from Universidad de Cordoba to be acceptable as a bachelor to admittance to their (US) program? In the US you don't transfer in credits from an undergrad degree in order to begin a master (MBA, MS, MA, etc) you are required to have completed a bachelor degree. That degree may contain courses that are prerequisites for a specific master program, but the course itself would not be transferred.  As already suggested a WES evaluation could possibly resolve the lack of 'bachelor degree' that ECE determined, if the indeed WES does equate it as a bachelor and the school you're applying requires a forgiven evaluation of the degree, and excepts WES as an evaluator.

[bjcheung77]

@IA_288, LOL, yes from a previous post, I already know you have a MBA, Business Analytics or Engineering Management degree you're interested in but have not decided on the school.  I should have been more clear, have you looked at specific schools already in California?  Is there a particular school that offers a Masters in one of those fields you're interested in?  The reason I asked is because I want to see if it's "suitable" for you or not... but it seems you've not decided on that as of yet.  So here goes...

We're about the same age! You've provided a concise, condensed introduction, answered questions, and provided more details when asked, but the template addendum hasn't been completed in full.  There are two things I really want to know, what commitments do you have?  Have you married, got kids, etc?  You've been transparent with your intentions of coming to California, but what is the personal reason, are you wanting to permanently move here?  The following is what I recommend...

Your initial evaluation from ECE designated your Bachelors as an Associates (US RA Equivalent), let's assume your WES will designate that as a Bachelors (also US RA equivalent).  Since you're from Spain, a very "logical" approach is to complete the Double MBA/Masters (of your choice at ENEB/UC1) and use Validential to evaluate it as a double MBA/Masters equivalent to US.  That's now done, select a school such as Westcliff DBA with ACBSP accreditation and complete their program in two instead of 3 years if you cram your courses.

The Westcliff DBA is just an example, there may be "more affordable" options but most likely at the Masters level not the Doctoral level.  Institutions such as these help with the F1 Visa, this particular DBA includes an internship so they help you "get" a job for the internship portion of the requirement, you may be able to extend that to a contracted or part time even a full time position to help with your "personal reasons for staying".

Westcliff DBA will cost about $46.5K USD, if you chose a cheaper option, the Masters in Engineering Management will be $26.5K USD, 2 years, with internship, I think all grad programs require this for their programs.  This allows you to "skip" the Masters in Business or Data Analytics if you chose the ENEB MBA/Masters Big Data and continue on with Engineering Management and prep you for "jobs".  Decide, it's up to you...

[IA_288]

I think Excelsior might be a better option than TESU for your circumstances - they have a BLS that allows for 60cr of Liberal Arts and 60cr of Free Electives - while TESU is 90/30.  Since almost all of your credits are Free Electives, you need a program that will take those.

My advice, since you already got an eval - apply to both TESU and EC (they both take ECE evals) and see what they tell you.  Then, come back and post your evals from both schools.  We will help you figure out what the best options are.

And remember, it's not what you get credit for, but what you have left to complete that makes the difference.  Always look forward to see what you will have to spend in time and money to get your remaining credits.

That's not accurate, according to my transcripts, only 10% of my credits are free elective, another 10% are optional courses, and the rest (80%) are core and compulsory.

Given that statement, wouldn't it make sense to pursue a Bachelor of science on Mechanical Engineering, to try to get transferred as many credits as possible (due to similarity of programs), so I have less to complete?

I saw this program from SFSU, for example:
https://bulletin.sfsu.edu/colleges/scien...ansfertext

The percentages are valid only for your current degree. If you were to try to get another degree in Mechanical Engineering, a school might look at that evaluation and say that none of your current classes are relevant. Or they're too old to be relevant. It's up to each school to decide. The evaluations are only a guideline.


I would say that a business degree + MBA would be your best backup plan right now. A mechanical engineering Master's might not admit you without a relevant US Mechanical Engineering Bachelor's degree. But getting a relevant ME Bachelor's could be very, very costly. A plain Liberal Arts degree might accept the most of your current credits, but then you'd be missing out on business prerequisites that some MBAs require. Because of this, I would think that a UMPI BABA would make the most sense. You could get it done quickly and cheaply, allowing you to move to your MBA ASAP.

Ok, I get it. I thought it was the opposite, and I'd get more credits transferred if I choose same/similar program but in the US (Mechanical eng bachelor's degree), but what you're saying makes sense. If the MBA I'm eventually picking, doesn't have Business prerequisites, then a Liberal arts degree would work as well, right? would it be easier/faster/cheaper to get than a Business one?

[IA_288]

@IA_288, LOL, yes from a previous post, I already know you have a MBA, Business Analytics or Engineering Management degree you're interested in but have not decided on the school.  I should have been more clear, have you looked at specific schools already in California?  Is there a particular school that offers a Masters in one of those fields you're interested in?  The reason I asked is because I want to see if it's "suitable" for you or not... but it seems you've not decided on that as of yet.  So here goes...

We're about the same age! You've provided a concise, condensed introduction, answered questions, and provided more details when asked, but the template addendum hasn't been completed in full.  There are two things I really want to know, what commitments do you have?  Have you married, got kids, etc?  You've been transparent with your intentions of coming to California, but what is the personal reason, are you wanting to permanently move here?  The following is what I recommend...

Your initial evaluation from ECE designated your Bachelors as an Associates (US RA Equivalent), let's assume your WES will designate that as a Bachelors (also US RA equivalent).  Since you're from Spain, a very "logical" approach is to complete the Double MBA/Masters (of your choice at ENEB/UC1) and use Validential to evaluate it as a double MBA/Masters equivalent to US.  That's now done, select a school such as Westcliff DBA with ACBSP accreditation and complete their program in two instead of 3 years if you cram your courses.

The Westcliff DBA is just an example, there may be "more affordable" options but most likely at the Masters level not the Doctoral level.  Institutions such as these help with the F1 Visa, this particular DBA includes an internship so they help you "get" a job for the internship portion of the requirement, you may be able to extend that to a contracted or part time even a full time position to help with your "personal reasons for staying".

Westcliff DBA will cost about $46.5K USD, if you chose a cheaper option, the Masters in Engineering Management will be $26.5K USD, 2 years, with internship, I think all grad programs require this for their programs.  This allows you to "skip" the Masters in Business or Data Analytics if you chose the ENEB MBA/Masters Big Data and continue on with Engineering Management and prep you for "jobs".  Decide, it's up to you...

Yes, I have not decided the school yet, I'm mainly looking at an MBA, from Westcliff, Humphreys, Sonoma State or San Francisco State.
About commitments, I have one kid, not married. 
Please allow me not to share, on a public forum, my motivation to come to California, it's personal, but to be clear, I'm not pursuing to permanently move here, as I said I'd like to complete the program in 1-2 years, work here with an internship (OPT or maybe CPT) and then come back to Spain when everything is done. International students can usually work off-campus since the second year, if job is related to studies, and approved by the counselor, as far as I know.

I'd like to find an affordable program and finish it asap, but that's not the main objective, which is to come to the US to study a Masters program (preferably MBA). 
Your option, to study at ENEB in Spain, it's a good point, but would hold me there for a while until I complete the program.

[rachel83az]

Yes, if the MBA you want doesn't have any business prerequisites, then getting a Liberal Studies degree would almost certainly be the fastest and cheapest. Depending on exactly what your evaluation says, you might already have some or most of the required UL credits completed.

[bjcheung77]

I'd like to complete the program in 1-2 years, work here with an internship (OPT or maybe CPT) and then come back to Spain when everything is done. International students can usually work off-campus since the second year, if job is related to studies, and approved by the counselor, as far as I know.

I'd like to find an affordable program and finish it asap, but that's not the main objective, which is to come to the US to study a Masters program (preferably MBA). 
Your option, to study at ENEB in Spain, it's a good point, but would hold me there for a while until I complete the program.

Yeah, basically, the ones I mentioned or will later mention, they usually will provide Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and not the Optional Practical Training (OPT), you can decide which one is more suited for you. I think for international students, it's better to have the CPT option instead of the OPT, it's actually the same thing as it's just an internship, but one is required vs the other is an optional choice. Internships actually gives you more "hands-on"...

Decide, it's going to take you about the same amount of time for completing a Bachelors and then applying to your Masters of choice. I did the 3 ENEB in about 7.5 months, it will be cheaper/easier/faster than completing the Bachelors and then applying for admission to your Masters. It really boils down to that commitment, time you have dedicated to get things done, people have completed a Bachelors or the ENEB in a few months - faster than I have.