I would appreciate some advice on any parts or all of this!
I'm looking to complete my bachelors cheaply and easily. But not quickly. Because of serious health issues, I need the ability to sometimes take months off, or go slow, without running up more costs. But some weeks/months, I'd like to accomplish a lot quickly. I really prefer studying at my own pace and testing out. I feel like my best route would be to test out as much as possible, then enroll only when I'm sure I can complete the rest in about 3-6 months. Is that the only way I can avoid running up the cost, to delay the enrollment?
I would like a degree transcript that won't look too bad if I decide to pursue DL grad school (because I might have more money and time later), but yet, I'm eager to do this as fast as my life allows (which won't be too fast). My eagerness is because I believe I'd earn more once I have the degree. So I'm also considering making an Associates my first goal, or even a Certificate. (However, I'm not seeing appealing Certificates at COSC.)
I have old AP exam credit and old college courses, which I hope are not too old. On a TESU Associates degree page, it says if more than half your credits are over 10 years old, you have to demonstrate current knowledge. Would I just write about why my knowledge is still current?
The last time I was enrolled, the school was giving me 41 L credits in total for my previous stuff. I believe Excelsior gave me more credit for the same courses, with some being U. My credits are in calculus, english, psych, chem, bio, physics and I did that Excelsior "Information Literacy" course... I think that's it! No history, art, or foreign lang credits.
My old plan involved getting 2 certifications, which I did, but I never got the transcripts sent so I could get credit. I let the certifications lapse, but I think I could get credit still? For the one certification (EMT through NREMT) it looks like I'd get 2 L 2 U at COSC or 4 credits at TESC. However, I'm not sure this helps much as I have many "general" L credits. In my research, I found a post saying the other certification (CPhT) is worth 6 UL + 9 LL credits at COSC. If that's true, that seems significant. TESC only gives 1 credit for it.
My old plan also involved getting lots of credit for the Psych GRE Subject exam. I took that exam, but I don't believe it got put onto a transcript. (I know COSC still offers GRE credit, but I read it's 15 L and only 3 U, so it seems like little help in my situation.)
I would prefer a degree in Human Services or Health Studies. Human Services seems to only be a TESU. However I was worried about the requirements to show 1500 hours employment in the field at TESU (800 for Associates degree). I have hours but am not sure what they consider good enough. I guess I could always change the degree if they deny me. For Health Studies, at COSC and TESU they say it's for people already in healthcare, and at TESU it's through a partner school. The courses seem harder too.
So I was also considering an Individualized Studies degree. and TESU seems to make the "Learner Designed Area of Study" easy? At the other school I was enrolled in, it seemed pretty hard to design a custom degree. Possibly also considering "BA in Liberal Studies with concentration in Health and Wellness". TESU also has a H&W Certificate. And I know the TESU BSBA General Business doesn't needing capstone, and I do have knowledge and interest in the field so it might be easier for me, but I don't feel it would help my career the same as the HHS field degrees, so I'm torn.
Financially, I think I would qualify for a Pell grant, but since I don't want to take courses very much, I don't believe that helps me? If I decided to go for the 7 TECEPs route, then there's no point in my getting financial aid, since I can't use it toward anything? Or can I use it toward the capstone course?
In terms of cost, I want to do as much of the cheapest ones like Straighterline, but one issue for me is that I'm afraid schools will change what's accepted after I've done some exams. I guess I'm worried because of how my GRE result became sort of worthless, and because I know I might take a while to get this done. (And how my choice of school changed in the past, making those certifications probably worth less... the one certification took so long...) I know that more math credits are easy to get, but I doubt I could even use them.
I see how COSC takes the FEMA credits, but I guess then the degree must be in "Emergency Management" which I'm not as interested in... but, then again, if the cost/effort is that much lower, I can't just eliminate it. For me, any Bachelors degree is better than not completing it, and I don't know if I can keep at this for years (when you include my necessary medical breaks).
Oh, and I could get doctor's letters saying that I need a leave of absence, if that helps the enrollment/cost issue. I believe I could earn more (in my PT jobs) if I could say I'm actually enrolled somewhere rather than just working on self-study toward the degree.
I'm looking to complete my bachelors cheaply and easily. But not quickly. Because of serious health issues, I need the ability to sometimes take months off, or go slow, without running up more costs. But some weeks/months, I'd like to accomplish a lot quickly. I really prefer studying at my own pace and testing out. I feel like my best route would be to test out as much as possible, then enroll only when I'm sure I can complete the rest in about 3-6 months. Is that the only way I can avoid running up the cost, to delay the enrollment?
I would like a degree transcript that won't look too bad if I decide to pursue DL grad school (because I might have more money and time later), but yet, I'm eager to do this as fast as my life allows (which won't be too fast). My eagerness is because I believe I'd earn more once I have the degree. So I'm also considering making an Associates my first goal, or even a Certificate. (However, I'm not seeing appealing Certificates at COSC.)
I have old AP exam credit and old college courses, which I hope are not too old. On a TESU Associates degree page, it says if more than half your credits are over 10 years old, you have to demonstrate current knowledge. Would I just write about why my knowledge is still current?
The last time I was enrolled, the school was giving me 41 L credits in total for my previous stuff. I believe Excelsior gave me more credit for the same courses, with some being U. My credits are in calculus, english, psych, chem, bio, physics and I did that Excelsior "Information Literacy" course... I think that's it! No history, art, or foreign lang credits.
My old plan involved getting 2 certifications, which I did, but I never got the transcripts sent so I could get credit. I let the certifications lapse, but I think I could get credit still? For the one certification (EMT through NREMT) it looks like I'd get 2 L 2 U at COSC or 4 credits at TESC. However, I'm not sure this helps much as I have many "general" L credits. In my research, I found a post saying the other certification (CPhT) is worth 6 UL + 9 LL credits at COSC. If that's true, that seems significant. TESC only gives 1 credit for it.
My old plan also involved getting lots of credit for the Psych GRE Subject exam. I took that exam, but I don't believe it got put onto a transcript. (I know COSC still offers GRE credit, but I read it's 15 L and only 3 U, so it seems like little help in my situation.)
I would prefer a degree in Human Services or Health Studies. Human Services seems to only be a TESU. However I was worried about the requirements to show 1500 hours employment in the field at TESU (800 for Associates degree). I have hours but am not sure what they consider good enough. I guess I could always change the degree if they deny me. For Health Studies, at COSC and TESU they say it's for people already in healthcare, and at TESU it's through a partner school. The courses seem harder too.
So I was also considering an Individualized Studies degree. and TESU seems to make the "Learner Designed Area of Study" easy? At the other school I was enrolled in, it seemed pretty hard to design a custom degree. Possibly also considering "BA in Liberal Studies with concentration in Health and Wellness". TESU also has a H&W Certificate. And I know the TESU BSBA General Business doesn't needing capstone, and I do have knowledge and interest in the field so it might be easier for me, but I don't feel it would help my career the same as the HHS field degrees, so I'm torn.
Financially, I think I would qualify for a Pell grant, but since I don't want to take courses very much, I don't believe that helps me? If I decided to go for the 7 TECEPs route, then there's no point in my getting financial aid, since I can't use it toward anything? Or can I use it toward the capstone course?
In terms of cost, I want to do as much of the cheapest ones like Straighterline, but one issue for me is that I'm afraid schools will change what's accepted after I've done some exams. I guess I'm worried because of how my GRE result became sort of worthless, and because I know I might take a while to get this done. (And how my choice of school changed in the past, making those certifications probably worth less... the one certification took so long...) I know that more math credits are easy to get, but I doubt I could even use them.
I see how COSC takes the FEMA credits, but I guess then the degree must be in "Emergency Management" which I'm not as interested in... but, then again, if the cost/effort is that much lower, I can't just eliminate it. For me, any Bachelors degree is better than not completing it, and I don't know if I can keep at this for years (when you include my necessary medical breaks).
Oh, and I could get doctor's letters saying that I need a leave of absence, if that helps the enrollment/cost issue. I believe I could earn more (in my PT jobs) if I could say I'm actually enrolled somewhere rather than just working on self-study toward the degree.
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