BS in Psychology - Cheap and Fast (and dirty)

[Merlin]

I am going down the same road as the poster. I am wanting to do most of my classes free via testing out. I then will transfer the last minute to Wichita State University to fulfill the minor in American Sign Language also doubling as my foreign language requirements. This will give me the ability to have most of my credits earned at one of the big 3, but allowing myself to receive a ba in psychology from Wichita State University. ( amore recognizable school).
Any advice befor I enroll at one of the big 3 and start testing out of my classes? Is that all I have to do is enroll in a big 3 and pay for the test and test out? Thanks!

FYI, if you're looking to enroll and test out of a "Big 3" degree, I hope you understand that means you'd be graduating from one of the "Big 3" colleges, not Wichita State. There is no way to earn credit by testing out and use the "big 3" to transfer credits to WSU to complete a degree. Well, not unless WSU also accepts those alternate credits, in which case there is no reason to involve the "big 3" schools to begin with.

People mistakenly get the impression that there is somehow a way to launder alternate credits through TESU/COSC/Excelsior, but that isn't the way college credits work. Each school requires original transcripts from each source of credit. The reason why the "big 3" are important is that they will accept so many sources of transfer credits, and will allow you to transfer in everything but the capstone (and maybe a cornerstone) course needed to graduate.

For example, lets say you test out of a bunch of courses towards a BALS from TESU, and then send your TESU transcript to WSU. That transcript will show only courses you take directly from TESU. None of the alternative credit courses would appear on the TESU transcript (or will show where they originally came from) since they were not earned at TESU. Credits transferred toward a degree work like any other college credits. They still "belong" to the school where you earned them, not the school that accepts them.

The exception might be if you get an AA from one of the "big 3" using alternate credit. If you send your transcript to WSU after that, you may be able to get WSU to waive your Gen Eds if they accept a block transfer for the AA, but that is unlikely. Most schools will still want to see original transcripts from each school or credit provider and will evaluate courses individually. If they don't accept CLEP or ACE or whatnot, you're still out of luck.

The only other option would be to get a bachelor's degree from one of the Big 3 and then go on to WSU (or wherever) to get a masters degree. In that case, your bachelor's degree is a credential that allows you to pursue a higher degree but doesn't guarantee acceptance or that the degree will meet any requirements. They may still ask you to take foundational courses if they don't accept the alternate credits.

This latter option is what I'm doing, for example. I'll be starting a master's program in the Spring.

Hopefully, that clarifies things for you.