36 years of Age, should do Bsc or Msc ?

[sarahmac]

I was also checking Outlier too, they also provide Associate Applied Computing, and accept Credits, and than to BSc. 

I would not do this, it'd be WAY too expensive. 

How is Golden Gate University too ?

Also outside of your budget, I believe.

Maybe i do side by side with TESU ? And maybe in TESU i take Data Science?

Most schools won't allow you to complete multiple Bachelor's degrees. It's also a really bad idea to try to complete two at once, especially with a limited budget.

What would be the faster way for English credit acceptance,
Well i can give IELTS, but will at-least take me 45-60 days to practice new vocabulary , and improve my skills further in English, to get a better Band Score.

I don't know how much it would cost you to get an IELTS, but here are a few options:

• Take 3 courses from ASU Universal Learner. Total cost would be $1225USD ($425 per course). https://ea.asu.edu/courses/
  
• Take 3 courses from TEL Learning. Total cost would be $600 USD ($200 per course). https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/TEL_Learning
  
• Possible solution: Take XAMK courses and get those evaluated. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/XAMK Since XAMK courses are conducted in English, I think this might work even though the university is in Finland. Total cost: Approximately $200 for the evaluation + any XAMK course fees. The Video Games Creation certificate is free, and you can do about 10 ECTS without any programming at all and in just a couple of weeks. (This should be about 30 US credits with an evaluation from ACEI.) But there are other XAMK courses that are free. You would want to do at least one of these in order to gain access to the Peppi system. This solution may be rejected by TESU as being invalid for proof of English proficiency. It can still be a cheap way to get non-alt source credits, however.
  
• 2nd possible solution: As outlined on the XAMK wiki page, take 1 XAMK course and then use that login to access another Finnish university that has courses that might interest you more. Helsinki has a much larger selection, including courses in AI and Data Science. For instance, this course on Data Analysis with Python. Other related courses here. Same caveat as XAMK: relatively cheap source of credits, but may not prove English proficiency for TESU's purposes.
  

You could also mix and match the above solutions, such as taking 1 ASU course and 2 TEL Learning courses.

Is Statistics.com worth it? Very expensive courses, can we not do most of the courses from Sophia.org / Study.com ?

For TESU's Data Science degree, no, the data science courses must come from Statistics.com. This is why I recommended Computer Science + inexpensive Coursera certificates in data science & analytics. It might not be exactly what you're looking for, but it's fast, low-cost, and will look good for immigration (wherever you go).

Update on the Finnish Uni route: I am now taking classes at Laurea, they have many more compsci-related ones than XAMK. They are easier than Helsinki's, though there are no cyber or AI ones. Some are in Finnish technically, but if you use Microsoft Edge with the autotranslate turned on you cannot really tell for the compsci ones. The only time it has mattered is for the healthcare ones where I've had to ram the short assignments through DeepL to submit them in Finnish. Not too big of a hassle.

Laurea gave me my own ID there in about 2 days after registering. There are quite a lot of classes there, but the following are CompSci related and free (plus Python, but Sophia has that and Coursera certs often give you SQL, Python and R at TESU):

Basics of Programming with C++ - Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu (English)
Programming with C - Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu (English)
DevOps Fundamentals - Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu (English)
C# programming - Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Technically Finnish) 
PHP Programming - Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Technically Finnish)
Ruby Programming - Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Technically Finnish)

[Pikachu]

Update on the Finnish Uni route: I am now taking classes at Laurea, they have many more compsci-related ones than XAMK. They are easier than Helsinki's, though there are no cyber or AI ones. Some are in Finnish technically, but if you use Microsoft Edge with the autotranslate turned on you cannot really tell for the compsci ones. The only time it has mattered is for the healthcare ones where I've had to ram the short assignments through DeepL to submit them in Finnish. Not too big of a hassle.

Laurea gave me my own ID there in about 2 days after registering. There are quite a lot of classes there, but the following are CompSci related and free (plus Python, but Sophia has that and Coursera certs often give you SQL, Python and R at TESU):

Basics of Programming with C++ - Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu (English)
Programming with C - Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu (English)
DevOps Fundamentals - Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu (English)
C# programming - Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Technically Finnish) 
PHP Programming - Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Technically Finnish)
Ruby Programming - Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Technically Finnish)

It's amazing how many credit-granting courses are offered by Finnish universities for free.

[sarahmac]

It's amazing how many credit-granting courses are offered by Finnish universities for free.

Tbh the "free, credit-granting" bit is reasonably common in continental Europe. I am in Germany right now and could take classes for free if I wanted. The real USP of the Finnish ones is that they are offered entirely online, including final exams.

The whole "online ed" is something many European universities don't do, because of how exams/classes work here. Unless it is a lab course, as a rule you study in your own time/at your own pace, then you can take the exam at a given day/time on one or two dates per year. Lectures are offered in person but they aren't mandatory. A lot of people will just travel to the university once a semester for the exam sessions. You can do this in Norway, Germany, Sweden, Italy (though they charge a small-ish fee for courses), Finland, and others.

So while education is broadly available freely or cheaply, taking the final exams usually means showing up in person. This is something the Finnish are changing and I am really happy for it.

Germany and Norway are starting to offer more programs online though, especially at the Master's level. I hope this trend continues. Sweden also moved some online but then they started charging for non-EU folks which is less great

[bjcheung77]

@sarahmac, thanks for letting us know. Maybe someone can create a WIKI for this in the future and have others go through and report back the processes and steps if needed (when changes may occur years later, people can update the wiki whenever needed) ...

[sarahmac]

@sarahmac, thanks for letting us know.  Maybe someone can create a WIKI for this in the future and have others go through and report back the processes and steps if needed (when changes may occur years later, people can update the wiki whenever needed) ...

I think it was Rachel who created a Wiki page for XAMK already. In terms of wiki-architecture, I guess the simplest way to do it would be a page for each of the Finnish uni's that allow those without a Finnish social to register, and an overview page.

I plan to have the Laurea transcript evaluated at the same time as XAMK's with ACEI since the credits are going to TESU. However, it is possible classes from the other unis will also have utility at Excelsior, UMPI etc. (who don't take ACEI evaluations). It is only XAMK that is restricted to ACEI solely because they won't directly send a transcript. We don't know yet if the others will. Having their own wiki page would be a nice way to keep track of this (i.e. like ENEB's). Plus we could start to collect course equivalencies.

I know there are people on the forum taking classes at LAB/LUT, UHelsinki and I think one other uni right now, I personally am waiting to hear back from UEF about enrolling. So incl. of XAMK and Laurelia that is potentially 5 or 6 universities where people can pick up RA credits free or cheaply.

--


Btw, if anyone wants a laugh, attached are the current open uni courses in English available at Lapin AMK (Lapland Uni of Applied Science). 5 credits in reindeer feeding. I did not see that coming but also I kind of want to take it.

[carrythenothing]

@sarahmac, thanks for letting us know.  Maybe someone can create a WIKI for this in the future and have others go through and report back the processes and steps if needed (when changes may occur years later, people can update the wiki whenever needed) ...

I think it was Rachel who created a Wiki page for XAMK already. In terms of wiki-architecture, I guess the simplest way to do it would be a page for each of the Finnish uni's that allow those without a Finnish social to register, and an overview page.

I plan to have the Laurea transcript evaluated at the same time as XAMK's with ACEI since the credits are going to TESU. However, it is possible classes from the other unis will also have utility at Excelsior, UMPI etc. (who don't take ACEI evaluations). It is only XAMK that is restricted to ACEI solely because they won't directly send a transcript. We don't know yet if the others will. Having their own wiki page would be a nice way to keep track of this (i.e. like ENEB's)

I know there are people on the forum taking classes at LAB/LUT, UHelsinki and I think one other uni right now, I personally am waiting to hear back from UEF about enrolling. So incl. of XAMK and Laurelia that is potentially 5 or 6 universities where people can pick up RA credits free or cheaply.

It looks like you can order a transcript without using Peppi: https://www.xamk.fi/en/education/informa...tofrecords

[sarahmac]

It looks like you can order a transcript without using Peppi: https://www.xamk.fi/en/education/informa...tofrecords

You can! Generally, they just email you a copy though. Which is not any sort of improvement. There are also instructions on the Wiki for this where you pay 30 EUR for a paper copy, but they only send it with your name on (i.e. a student copy) and to an address in Finland. This may be useful for some people if, like me, you have cousins there, but less utility for others.

They also are not willing to confirm any details with an evaluator if contacted by them for data protection reasons. ECE said if they had a paper copy and could confirm with XAMK it was legit they'd do it, but they are unwilling to touch the PDF one that auto-validates. For XAMK at this point, I think its pretty clear ACEI/TESU are the only option. I have high hopes for some of the other uni's though. Especially the universities (i.e. UHelsinki) and not the universities of applied sciences, who are more internationalized.

[rachel83az]

I think it was Rachel who created a Wiki page for XAMK already. In terms of wiki-architecture, I guess the simplest way to do it would be a page for each of the Finnish uni's that allow those without a Finnish social to register, and an overview page.

Created a basic page for all universities. Each one can get its own page as more is known about it. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Fi...iversities

I know there are people on the forum taking classes at LAB/LUT, UHelsinki and I think one other uni right now, I personally am waiting to hear back from UEF about enrolling. So incl. of XAMK and Laurelia that is potentially 5 or 6 universities where people can pick up RA credits free or cheaply.

LAB/LUT? UEF? I don't remember seeing these before, so I can't add them to the page. Links (or just the full university names) appreciated, if you have them, thanks!

Btw, if anyone wants a laugh, attached are the current open uni courses in English available at Lapin AMK (Lapland Uni of Applied Science). 5 credits in reindeer feeding. I did not see that coming but also I kind of want to take it.

Looks like fun! Alas, Lapin appears to be almost entirely in-person courses. They have some interesting offerings otherwise.

[carrythenothing]

I know there are people on the forum taking classes at LAB/LUT, UHelsinki and I think one other uni right now, I personally am waiting to hear back from UEF about enrolling. So incl. of XAMK and Laurelia that is potentially 5 or 6 universities where people can pick up RA credits free or cheaply.

LAB/LUT? UEF? I don't remember seeing these before, so I can't add them to the page. Links (or just the full university names) appreciated, if you have them, thanks!

I think LAB, LUT, and UEF are probably the following:

• LAB University of Applied Sciences: https://www.lab.fi/en/studies/open-uas
  
• LUT University: https://www.lut.fi/en/studies/open-university
  
• University of Eastern Finland: https://www.uef.fi/en/open-university
  

[sarahmac]

I think it was Rachel who created a Wiki page for XAMK already. In terms of wiki-architecture, I guess the simplest way to do it would be a page for each of the Finnish uni's that allow those without a Finnish social to register, and an overview page.

Created a basic page for all universities. Each one can get its own page as more is known about it. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Fi...iversities

I know there are people on the forum taking classes at LAB/LUT, UHelsinki and I think one other uni right now, I personally am waiting to hear back from UEF about enrolling. So incl. of XAMK and Laurelia that is potentially 5 or 6 universities where people can pick up RA credits free or cheaply.

LAB/LUT? UEF? I don't remember seeing these before, so I can't add them to the page. Links (or just the full university names) appreciated, if you have them, thanks!

Btw, if anyone wants a laugh, attached are the current open uni courses in English available at Lapin AMK (Lapland Uni of Applied Science). 5 credits in reindeer feeding. I did not see that coming but also I kind of want to take it.

Looks like fun! Alas, Lapin appears to be almost entirely in-person courses. They have some interesting offerings otherwise.

LAB/LUT are a consortium with a uni of applied sciences and a university. The links the last person posted are correct. I know one guy on the forum was taking their free diploma modules in computer-related things (similar to XAMK's D of HE). Not sure if we ever got an update from him as to how it went though. UEF I can update as soon as I get a reply from them re feasability.

I can collate a couple uni's over the next week or so and maybe send out some feelers as to whether they will take students without a Finnish ID. I know for sure these guys do because when you go to register there is a box you can tick to say you don't have one. Unfortunately, most of their courses are paid ($15/credit). Still, I spy three courses there that should work for TESU's environmental studies, which has historically been difficult to alt-credit, and the GIS for bioeconomy someone might be able to argue with the registrar as an AOS elective for BA Biology. So $15/credit isn't as good as free, but better than US RA.