New to the forum, couple questions.

[dfrecore]

I was just setting up my student profile at TESU so I can apply, as I was just reading TESU makes their changes in April/July so better to apply sooner than later. One question I have is about evaluations, and that you only get two before you actually enroll and spend a significant amount of money. I only have 15 credits at this point. I've read different things like Dfrecore say she liked to send transcripts in frequently, so they don't make changes on you and your credits go where you want them to. But how does this work if you only get two evaluations?
Or is this a case of one being able to send in transcripts often and the school accepts the credits but will only apply those credits to the different parts of the degree plan twice before enrollment.
If that was barely coherent I'm just trying to avoid a situation in which I find myself with a bunch of worthless shmoop-like credits. I'd send em in after every course if that was an option.

Once you're an enrolled student, TESU will do unlimited evals; it's when you've applied but haven't yet enrolled that they limit the evals to 2.

Also, you want to make sure you're enrolled if you decide to do CLEP/DSST exams, because it's free to send them at the time of testing, and TESU won't apply them unless you're enrolled.

Wait a minute... Have I been doing this wrong? I never signed up with TESU and always ask CLEP to "hold scores" at test time. Are you saying I need to sign up/enroll with tesu right now to start sending them scores? 

Can I finish all courses, and then send a transcript for eval, and there won't be any cost until then?

Not trying to hijack here; just want to clarify a point made.

So, there are 2 things here: 1) being able to send CLEP/DSST scores directly to a school rather than holding your scores, saving you time and money; and 2) deciding when to become an enrolled student at a school.

So, at TESU specifically, you should enroll immediately.  Always (although it did not used to be this way).  There are several reasons.

1) It's free to stay enrolled (no per-term or annual fees).

2) You lock in the catalog, and TESU changes their catalog (and the rules of the game) at least annually in July, but often also in April.  So, if you like your catalog, and want to keep it, you should enroll NOW.

3) Once you're enrolled and have all of your credits evaluated, they are locked in.  What that means is that if you take a course/exam, and TESU brings it in as UL (even if ACE says it's not), then if they decide later to downgrade that credit, you're exempt from changes - the course stays as is, thankfully.  Ask anyone who took LL Study.com courses that TESU decided to downgrade on Jan 1 of one year (maybe 2019?).  Everyone who had the courses on their eval got to keep them as UL.

4) You may get advance notice of changes, and get some time to transfer in courses.  For instance, back in 2015/16, TESU allowed BSBA students to take the Strategic Management capstone as a TECEP exam.  That was phased out, but everyone who was enrolled at that time got a certain amount of time to sign up and then complete the exam.  Around the same time, they allowed BSBA students to bring in the capstone course from Penn Foster, and it was only $350-ish to do.  Many people did this.  When they decided to stop allowing it, they gave enrolled students a heads-up, and they had a short window to enroll in the course, and then a deadline to complete it and bring it in.  If you were not already enrolled (or soon to become enrolled), then you did not get these options.

5) For TESU specifically, although this happens at all schools: your major may become one that the school no longer wants to offer, in which case if you're already enrolled, then you get to stay in that program; everyone else is out of luck.  This has happened many times in the last 9 years I've been on this forum, at all of the Big 3.

So, my suggestion at this point if you want to go to TESU - enroll now.  Reap the benefits of being an enrolled student.  Get those CLEP exams (and any other credits) posted to your eval.  Do it regularly (at least 2x annually).  Take a TECEP to stay enrolled (this is not a "fee" but rather an inexpensive way to extend your enrollment while getting credit for a course you need to take anyway).