Bad News--Excelsior Unofficial Evaluation

[mlwilliamsiv]

I just received my unofficial evaluation from Excelsior yesterday and I am a little perturbed. Based on the sample degree plan I put together for my AS degree, I only needed 18 credits. Excelsior is saying that I still need 30 credits (it says 31 but I already have taken Info Lit).

Everything they say I need is correct except for the Applied Professional category. I took some real estate courses at my local cc last October/November that I was sure were going to transfer over to Excelsior with no problem. The courses were 12 quarter hours total, which would equate to 8 semester hours. It says on the eval that they received the transcript for Sinclair (my cc) so I don't understand why they didn't include them. Can anyone shed some light on this.

Also...just counting my CLEP credits + my 1 credit Penn Foster course...I have 34 credits. So I should only need 26 credits. Why are they saying I need extra?

Here is what my eval says:

Unofficial Summary - Associate in Science (AS)

Credits from the following sources were used in this evaluation:

1) CLEP GENERAL EXAMINATIONS
2) SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
3) CLEP SUBJECT EXAMINATIONS

Listed below are the requirements you still need to complete:

General Education (Arts & Sciences Requirement**)
6.00 semester hours in arts and sciences

Distribution Requirements
9.00 in Natural Science/Math
or
3.00 in Humanities
6.00 in Natural Science/Math

Written English Requirement
3.00 semester hours in Written English

Applied Professional Credits or Additional Arts & Sciences
13.00semester hours in any academic area

Information Literacy Requirement

First of all...That cheap a%*$)# evaluation pisses me off. I was expecting a real evaluation like the one my local cc provides and even TESC provides. I can't believe they had the audacity to call this an evaluation. I can't even see where they applied my credits and had this been an "evaluation," I wouldn't have to post about it here in this forum...I would already know the answers I seek.

I have attached a copy of my sample degree plan so you can see how I allocated all of my credits. The courses in blue have already been completed.

Thanks for any advice you can give me. I'm definitely going to call them on Monday to see what the heck is going on. I just wanted some feedback from you guys in the meantime.

I am thinking worst case scenario. I loved the fact that Excelsior had the Applied Professional category and based on the catalog, thought my real estate courses would transfer in. I also am going to be starting my Paralegal program at my cc in September---I was thinking I could use those credits (once earned) to transfer into my BS degree at Excelsior.

Now here is my dilemma. (Worst Case Scenario)...If Excelsior won't take my real estate courses then it's safe to assume that they won't transfer in my paralegal courses either. In that case...Excelsior is not looking so hot to me anymore...this is the main reason why I wanted to enroll at Excelsior. Plus...I could get grades for my Dantes exams. That's not looking so hot because based on the revisions that DSST is doing...by the time I take the exams, enroll, and get them on a trancript...Excelsior probably won't even be giving letter grades for any of them anymore.

Based on my personal projections, I won't even be close to graduating with a Bachelor's degree until June 2010. If Excelsior doesn't grade the vast majority of DANTES exams...it defeats the purpose of me enrolling there and I should have just stuck with my first choice...Thomas Edison.

The downside to TESC is that based on my degree goals...I don't plan on taking any courses at all (BA degree), and if I do have to take courses, I'm definitely not going to be taking them at TESC for $175 per credit hour. I will be taking them cheaper somewhere else and will have the course transferred in. What concerns me though is the GPA issue. Even though there is a huge chance that I won't even be going to grad school...I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by graduating from TESC with no gpa and then trying to get into grad school if I decide to go.

And another thing. If Excelsior doesn't tranfer in my real estate courses or my paralegal courses...then I would only have my 34 CLEP credits to apply towards my degree:mad: . At TESC---for the BA in Liberal Studies, I have 51 credits (because of FEMA) and for the BSBA in General Management...I have 56 credits. That's a huge difference in credits between the two schools. The thing that sucks the most is that if it wasn't for TESC's grading policy...I wouldn't even be in this boat.
This whole thing is complete and utter *#$U*$Y*$)#)#U*#*)@@)@)(($$*.

I am so stressed out because I can't decide on a damn school to go with. Somebody please help me sort this crap out.

SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.

From a loyal degree seeker,

Marshall