10 years removed from school, 108 credits want to finish my business/finance degree

[rebel100]

Prloko is a great contributor.... This is the sort of place we have here on the IC forum.

[Prloko]

Firstly, WOW. Thank you so very much, what a selfless thing you have done for me. I mean do you accept tips or just wow thank you, I'd like to know if there is a way we can maybe talk over the phone? If not I understand, I will try to post some of my questions here and maybe you or others can help me out.

1. This is a WAG where the credits will go-What does this mean? I googled every term I was not sure of and this is the one I could not find
2. annual enrollment fee of $3000 PLUS clep costs?
3. 24 TESC CREDITS (TECEP/TESC Online Courses)- Did not know what TECEP was but it does seem very enticing, So it looks like tecep 4 classes for 12 credits and 2 courses for the 6, so 102+18=120?
4. Why TECEP VS. CLEP?
5. TECEP is there information available to study before hand a bit for a better opportunity at passing?
5. If I had to 24 credits at FIU vs 24 credits at TESC through just regular online method I would think FIU would be better, but I assume TECEP would make it faster and probably cheaper than the actual courses?
6. Is Miami Dade college a better consideration than FIU? There is not much online about this business program but I do believe they have a bachelors in business now
7. I had not looked into Charter Oak yet, from the other board it seemed like preference was TESC and Excelsior, so would the second better option between Excelsior and COSC, be COSC?

I did a lot of research over the weekend and sent out a bunch of requests for information, I anticipate quite a few calls (hopefully) from the top 3 and maybe even Miami Dade College, as for Grad school, I honestly don't believe I will. I've learned to never say never, but if I can reiterate my concerns in order would be, Cost, Ease (exam preference over class), lastly time...I'm not in a super rush where I need my degree in a semester, It can be a year to a year and a half, even if it takes two not the end of the world. I just want to have it done before I sit for my CFP exam.

Thank you so much Prloko, I gained so much knowledge from your post and write up...you are a very kind person for doing that for a stranger.

1. WAG means Wild A** Guess. There are many homeschoolers who use this site so I try to tone down the language We used it in the military a lot, but I don't think the military came up with it.
2. TECEPs are TESCs challenge exams. They are similar to CLEP in format and cost, but are closer to a university challenge exam. They are Pass Fail. They count towards the school's residency for the per credit tuition plan. Downside, they won't help raise your GPA.
3. TESC has a strange tuition structure. They were founded as an adult degree completion college. They have no residency requirement and allow you to bring in credits from all over the place and apply it to your degree. Since they didn't collect much in tuition, the enrollment fee helped pay the costs. The enrollment fee is real high. (approx. 1800 for residents and military/ approx 3500 for everyone else). The fee was in addition to any tuition. They recently came up with a new tuition structure called the per credit plan. This plan allows you to forgo paying the enrollment fee all together. The caveat is that you need to complete 24 credits with the school. Both online courses and TECEPs count. Online courses are $490 a credit, TECEPS are about 35 a credit, so there is huge savings in you can incorporate TECEPs.
4. See above. The upside for TECEPs are above. The downside for TECEPs is that not many people here have taken them so there isn't much experience shared on their content/difficulty.
5. TECEP can be faster and cheaper, but like I stated earlier, FIU may be a better option. You will have to do the math to see which is better. FIU will def take longer as you have to stick to their semester structure. But TESC can take just as long if you are not one to move quick.
6. I forgot that Florida CCs are now offering Bachelor's degrees. I looked at Miami Dade real quick and didn't see a Bachelors in Finance, but you may be able to check your other schools.
7. Charter Oak had traditionally been the least popular of the "Big 3" because their degrees awarded were Bachelor's in General Studies and that turned SOME people off. Charter Oak is now offering a Bachelors in Business and you will probably see more people switch over to Charter Oak because according to people on this forum, COSC is more customer friendly, has a low enrollment fee and are more upfront on how their credits transfer. Some people don't like COSC because they transfer the CLEP business exams as lower level and some people liked that TESC transferred the same courses as upper level. I don't discuss Excelsior much only because I am completely ignorant of the school, but Excelsior is just as good as the other two and has served our members well.

The search function on this site doesn't work well. One member on here suggests you do a google search and place the following boolean after your search term "site:degreeforum.net" So if you want to find Finance, you would google search: Finance site:degreeforum.net

On a last note, I try to help because many members did the same for me when I was starting out so I try to pay it back. You're very welcome. I hope when you complete your program you stick around to help others. There's some people who would charge you for what I did. I don't blame them, my payment is helping. I wasted so much time trying to finish my degree before finding this forum. I finished both an associates and a bachelors in less than two years with their help and I will forever be grateful. I am now doing an MBA thanks to their help. People like Rebel100, Cookderosa, Sanantone, and many others have been a god send.

You can be done with TESC in less than a year, possibly 6 months if you take some TECEPs and find two Finance courses to squeeze in. Apply to all three schools if you can spare the money and see which one is the best. Keep us updated on your choice. We will gladly help you find other resources.

[rebel100]

WAG:wild ass guess.

Thats the thing the enrollment fee at TESC is very high.....unless youbuse tecep exams to work around....that's why one would select tecrp over clep at TESC, it saves money....you need 8 exams to do that though.... Likely more than you would otherwise have to take.

You need to know what Miami Dade will require.

Excelsior is great, but will almost certainly be much more expensive than TESC or COSC.

[infoe36069]

3. The way I am at though, is 102 credits based on your WAG , let's say it holds true though, I only need 18 credits. 18 credits puts me at the annual enrollment. Would it be ideal then to take 2 more TECEP's to avoid the annual enrollment fee?
6. School of Business - Miami Dade College looks like it has two business bachelors there..not sure about the second one but the first one seems more generic and I will inquire tomorrow

[Prloko]

Yes, if you want to do the 24 credit option, you can take 2 more teceps. You have to make sure they fit somewhere in your degree plan (i.e. free credits, etc.). The TECEP will bump one of your other credits off your evaluation. This will save you some $.

[infoe36069]

FIU needs me to take 8 classes and finish at a 2.0 24 credits for instate just the credit cost without any other fees attached is $4872

6 credits at $491 = $2946 + 18 credits at $37 = $666 so $3612 at TESC...better than 5k which is what I thought the minimum would be..I see why it is worth it and may ver well be the best option of Miami Dade...would also have to look at SOSC

Would any of the schools consider my insurance license or investment license or business ownership experience in a credit regard?


I think, thanks to you all I'm getting the hang of it

[infoe36069]

Did some digging on the Miami Dade College program sheet for their Supervision and management
https://sisvsr.mdc.edu/ps/sheet.aspx?pgm=P9200,P5200

is there a program out there that you all use to fill in the credit's that I have an apply them to this list to see what all I have and what I would need?

[Prloko]

Would any of the schools consider my insurance license or investment license or business ownership experience in a credit regard?

I think, thanks to you all I'm getting the hang of it

TESC awards credit based on licenses. They have already assessed some for credit (link below), and may give additional credits if you submit yours.

Academic Program Reviews


You may also be able to do a PLA, but this requires taking and paying for a PLA course and then paying for any additional PLA credit earned at the full tuition rate. It may not be cost effective.

[Prloko]

Did some digging on the Miami Dade College program sheet for their Supervision and management
https://sisvsr.mdc.edu/ps/sheet.aspx?pgm=P9200,P5200

is there a program out there that you all use to fill in the credit's that I have an apply them to this list to see what all I have and what I would need?

We all generally tend to create our own excel spreadsheets. If you google search degreeforum wiki, you'll come up with a site that members of this forum created with a LOT of info about our strategies. There are even degree plans. Some of the info hasn't been updated, so double check with us.

For Miami Dade, if you are seriously considering this program, speak to one of their Academic Advisors and see if they can do an un-official evaluation. Some schools will do this before you apply to see if it is worth it. I had luck with some schools before with this (ODU was one). Many times you will find out the school will accept your credit, but will not apply them to your degree plan because of equivalency issues. I had this problem with Univ of Wyoming. They accepted many of my business credits as general credits, but I would have had to retake them for business credit, so ended up not going with them.

[rebel100]

Charter Oak State College
Business Administration Concentration:

What you still need:

General Education: http://www.charteroak.edu/catalog/curren...ements.cfm
Speech (3) DSST Exam or seek a waiver (waiver for this is pretty common)
English Comp 2....you may have this with ENC1930, if not the DSST Technical Writing Exam.
Ethics, DSSt Exam, other exams available.
US History/US Government DSST and CLEP exams available
Global Understanding, DSST World Religions is a good choice
1 credit science lab. You might look into straighterline for a stand alone lab, won't be particularly cheap but you gotta have it.

So 3-5 exams (I think your OK with Speech and Eng. Comp 2, but might have to take those)
1 SL lab or a science with lab

Concentration:
Business Administration - Charter Oak State College Catalog
I think you are done here, I believe you have met the concentration requirements. You have enough UL credit.

Cornerstone Course (3) required: $1100
Capstone Course (3) required: $1100

2 semesters to finish
Application: $75
Semester fee: $245 (x2) $490
Graduation fee: $205

Total COSC Costs $2970 plus the cost of the exams ($300-500)....so right around $3500 for your bachelors degree

Current Fees - Charter Oak State College Catalog

**this was a quick look and you have to get the plan approved, but it should be very close.