Updated information concerning testing out

[sanantone]

sanantone-
I found your outline on Wiki, which was very helpful. Thanks for posting it.
Someone recommended not to hone in on one college until posting my AA credits on the general ed forum and get feedback. From what I've read, excelsior is less expensive and it provides letter grades that provide a GPA. Obviously the article I read might've been a little biased or outdated. I see you chose TESC-why?

I choose TESC way back in 2011, but many things have changed since then. With my credits (just emphasizing that it varies by person), I got a much better evaluation at TESC and COSC than at Excelsior. Excelsior wanted me to pay the enrollment fee to have some of my courses further evaluated, which I was not willing to do when I already knew where I stood at the other two. At the time, TESC gave upper level credits for community college courses, but they don't do that anymore.

A BA in Social Science will be more flexible than a BA in Psych regardless of which school you choose. Excelsior gave letter grades to DSSTs with 2-digit scores, but I believe those are all gone. They've been switched to 3-digit scores, so they are now pass/fail at Excelsior. I do not know if they give letter grades for Straighterline courses, but they definitely do not give letter grades for CLEPs. You can also earn letter grades from Uexcels. I think they count transfer courses toward your Excelsior GPA.

TESU only includes its own courses in the TESU GPA. If you're concerned about graduate school, most grad programs will calculate your GPA using transcripts from all colleges attended, so it doesn't matter what Excelsior or TESU does or does not do with them. As far as cost, if you choose TESU's Per Credit Tuition Plan and use TECEPs and/or portfolio assessments to meet the residency requirement for this plan, then it will be cheaper than Excelsior.

Under the Per Credit Tuition Plan, TESU's capstone will cost $1560 if you're not a New Jersey resident. If you add seven TECEPs, the cost will be $2337. Add the application and graduation fees, and you'll have a total of $2724. At Excelsior, the capstone will cost $1470. Under the Multi-Source Option, you'll have to pay a $1065 enrollment fee totaling $2535 with the capstone. Add the graduation and application fees, and you'll have a total of $3130. Also, keep in mind that TECEPs take the place of CLEP, DSST, etc., so the final cost difference of testing out at Excelsior vs. TESU will be even higher.

Excelsior has an Excelsior Course Option that does not require an enrollment fee, but it requires 12 credits of Excelsior courses at $490 per credit hour.