COSC degree plan for BSGS w/ concentration in Info Systems

[rvm]

Part of the issue you're going to run into here is that he's looking backwards at the credits he's going to lose, instead of forward at what he needs to take and how much it will cost to do that.  Always look at the upcoming costs, not at how many credits won't fit where you want them too.  You could end up paying more because of that faulty logic.

Also, he may not get a degree that he actually wants.  I wouldn't necessarily settle for just any degree if I wanted something specific, unless he's certain that the COSC degree will actually do something for him career-wise. A degree in Info Sys is totally different than a degree in Data Analytics.  He'd actually be better off taking more alternative credits toward his WGU degree, and save up money over 6-12 months in order to get that better degree.

I will do a spreadsheet that compares the 2, because I'm almost positive you can't get a COSC degree in a single term - you have to take the cornerstone and capstone, and I think they have to be in different terms.  Which would mean additional per-term costs.  Also, I will try to include courses that you can use in BOTH degrees.  That way, he can start with those, and then make a decision later as he sees how he's going through the courses.  If he goes very slowly, then he probably isn't a WGU student anyway, but it's worth looking at it several ways.

Start with CLEP/Modern States for free stuff that will work in both degrees:
College Composition
Any Social Science course (like history or psych)
American Government

Then do the $9 OD course:
Intro to Programming in Python

Both schools require a lab science, so he's going to want to do that.  Cheapest is probably Study.com's Bio I w/lab, and I'd do a speech course that same month because both schools require that as well.

Thank you Dfrecore!  That's very valuable info!  I had forgotten about MS/CLEP.

And you're correct, a concentration in Info Systems vs Data Analytics is not the same.  His new rational is: if he can complete his IT degree, he can get a promotion at work, which will give him additional income.  Additional income will give him some breathing room to pursue a graduate certificate in Data Analytics. If he chooses carefully, he can use the credits for the certificate and subsequently apply them to a MS in Data Analytics.

The main question with WGU is: can he complete the entire degree in one term?  I think the answer is that it is unlikely to be one term since they're only allowing him to transfer 16 credits.  He can't afford 2 terms at $7k.

If COSC accepts all his credits, he has 60% to go.  If he uses the free and low-cost options and supplements with SDC or SL, even if he has to take 2 semesters to finish at COSC, I think he'll still save more than opting for WGU.  I need to put this in a spreadsheet to see the numbers.