HSD; No credits. Looking to complete my BA by the end of 2027

[Day]

My answer remains the same, my first post mentioned: "You would have shot yourself in the foot if you graduated a bachelors with a majority of credits from ACE sources." In other words, they'll look at your first bachelors, if you did 90 ACE, and only 30 RA, you're missing 30 RA credits. I still stand by the double major, not a double degree.

My last sentence of my first post indicated the double major using 90 ACE transfer credits and the 60 RA graded from UMPI: "UMPI BA History/Political science would be my recommendation, get a double major or a dual degree if you wanted to, max your ACE credits obviously, but take at least 60+ credits to get the max GPA."

My second post was an answer to your question: So, if I got 60 credits from ACE, that would be okay?
For instance: if I graduated with a 3.8 for 60 credits, would I see a negative weight?

My answer again was the same (2nd sentence): Transfer more than the 90 if each major allows, to max that transfer credit.  You just need 10 classes for the first major and 10 classes for the second, thus, allowing you 60 graded credits.

I think my disconnect stems from how many credits you're suggesting. I'm new to the college experience, and have limited knowledge. It seems like you're suggesting 150 credits? 90+60? Is this recommended? Would it not be more efficient to get 60 credits transferred, and 60 credits from umpi? If I'm going to push for 60 from UMPI regardless, what is the virtue of striving for more sophia credits?

At this point, I have completed no courses, and signed up for no programs. This is still in theoretical stage. Solely because I'm just so lost! 

I apologize for my ignorance; my lack of education about how these institutions function is causing confusion.

[bjcheung77]

Basically, it's more work planning resourcefully and for the future career goals. Yes, you can do with the 60+60, but since you're going to be paying for 2-3 sessions, I like to get the most out of it. When people are looking for just A+B, I look for the A+B+C and anything else I can get from it. Think of it this way, you're just looking for a quick lunch combo, I am also doing the same, but I grab coupons that get me a BOGO offer, same price we're paying, but I get two combos!

Get this, I like to have a backup option in case law school doesn't cut it for me. You fall back on that with a degree in Business and you've got the History/Political Science degree for entry into Law School. It's not going to take you that much longer to get the 10 extra classes at UMPI, if it was going to add a few years, then by all means, skip it. A session is 8 weeks, if you can handle 8 extra weeks, you've got a second degree - graded RA credits to boot, get more, for less...

Your ACE credits from Sophia.org, Study.com, etc, are for the general education and electives requirements for both majors. Your 10 classes you take for 30 credits is to finish off one major, the other 10 classes for the second set of 30 credits is for the second major. Try to do a triple session and not rush yourself - you don't need to finish 10 classes in 10 days like some speedsters do, you want the 3.8-4.0 or A/A+ grades. Take your time, there is no rush, go at it YourPace.

[Day]

UMPI is the best choice if you're aiming for a high GPA (3.9 or higher) Summa Cum Laude honors, and 60 RA credits at the lowest possible cost. Essentially, for each paper you submit, you get two opportunities to perfect it: one for the draft and one for the final version. This gives you a significant advantage that you can't get at other colleges.

I would suggest that if you're planning to earn 60 credits at UMPI anyway, you could pursue a major and three minors. For example, you might choose a Business major with minors in Psychology, Political Science, and Philosophy.
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UMPI_!Minors

TESU has some tough exams, which could negatively impact your GPA. It would cost quite a bit if you did 60 credits there.

Penn State World Campus does accept transfer credits from Sophia, Study.com, CLEP, and similar sources. However, earning a high GPA there can be challenging, and the cost is considerably higher.
Check out this thread for tips on getting into law school.
https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Law-School

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This plan lists a lot of credits for sophia, but on the right, it only lists as 12 credits for umpi. Am I interpreting this incorrectly?

You’ll also need to complete the General Education requirements, which are covered by this plan and apply to all UMPI degrees.
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...ts_Roadmap

Three courses required for the major can also count toward the General Education requirements. Those credits are counted in GE in the degree plan.

The draft opportunity is definitely a selling point. I'm confident in my abilities, but only a fool would turn down a free attempt, imo. So, +1 to UMPI. This thread/board has generally turned me off from attending in-person, so I'm looking now to do 60ACE+60RA, PoliSci focus, with as little high-end math, and as little foreign language as possible. I speak conversational Japanese, but no one seems to offer credits for it! >

At this point, it's all road map building. Sophia+Study+Etc for 60 -> Umpi for the remaining 60 -> LSAT -> Online JD

Is this an acceptable path?

Edit: I should amend that I'm also open to SNHU. I think TESU is out because they would require two years of attendance since they're not "your pace" style institution.

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Basically, it's more work planning resourcefully and for the future career goals.  Yes, you can do with the 60+60, but since you're going to be paying for 2-3 sessions, I like to get the most out of it.  When people are looking for just A+B, I look for the A+B+C and anything else I can get from it.  Think of it this way, you're just looking for a quick lunch combo, I am also doing the same, but I grab coupons that get me a BOGO offer, same price we're paying, but I get two combos!

Get this, I like to have a backup option in case law school doesn't cut it for me.  You fall back on that with a degree in Business and you've got the History/Political Science degree for entry into Law School.  It's not going to take you that much longer to get the 10 extra classes at UMPI, if it was going to add a few years, then by all means, skip it.  A session is 8 weeks, if you can handle 8 extra weeks, you've got a second degree - graded RA credits to boot, get more, for less...

Your ACE credits from Sophia.org, Study.com, etc, are for the general education and electives requirements for both majors.  Your 10 classes you take for 30 credits is to finish off one major, the other 10 classes for the second set of 30 credits is for the second major.  Try to do a triple session and not rush yourself - you don't need to finish 10 classes in 10 days like some speedsters do, you want the 3.8-4.0 or A/A+ grades.  Take your time, there is no rush, go at it YourPace.

OK! I found the disconnect in my brain. I actually already have a "backup" haha

I'm doing this specifically and *only* to become a lawyer. Nothing else is really relevant to me in that sense. I'm terribly disinterested in the coursework for the purpose of anything other than the final goal. That isn't to say it couldn't be valuable, but it's just not something I'm willing to put the work into. Though, if I have time leftover, there is a chance I would burn a few courses for the hell of it!

This helps a lot! The only thing I would disagree with, is that there isn't a rush. I'm so old now !!!

I appreciate you sending me all of the information you have. You've been amazingly helpful. When I get everything squared away, I'll make sure to come back and design a guide to help future prospects looking for this path as a thanks <3

Edit: I guess, due to me being green, the onus is on my ability to figure out which courses *will* be accepted to UMPI for my degree path.

[Avidreader]

Along with the other excellent suggestions in this thread, I think the thread opener should send an email to both of their target universities and ask how many ACE credit they accept. Some schools are very generous (which are the ones mentioned frequently on this forum), others only accept CLEP and DSST exams. Wouldn't hurt to ask discords or other social media where alumni from the law schools of interest have had any issues getting accepted to that school with ACE credit. The nice thing about this forum is users learn by trial and error and kindly share their knowledge of successful credit transfers here. Then other members update the wiki in case someone in the future has similar interest in getting that degree.

Oh! I see the poster speaks Japanese! UMPI accepts ACTFL exams and there is a spoken exam available for Japanese. Depending on your skill level, you can get up to 12 ACE credits for just a simple 40 minutes exam where you get to talk aboit various everyday topics. The exam last time I checked cost I think 160 USD. If you are intermediate level speaking, 6 credits are still good bang for your buck. I've heard UMPI's Spanish course is notoriously difficult, so transferring the credit from elsewhere is what the forum veterans suggest.

[Miggies]

Your Location: NJ
Your Age: 39
What kind of degree do you want?: BA in PoliSci
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 0
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0
Any certifications or military experience?: No!
Budget: 20k
Commitments: Open
Dedicated time to study: Full time
Timeline: Be graduated by Summer 2027
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Approved for 8k Pell /y

My goal is to get my BA with a GPA of 3.8 or higher from a more prestigous uni, so that I can apply to Law schools and have a better chance at `old people` scholarships. I want to do as many credits as possible on Sophia/Study (which I've only learned about today, along with this forum), transfer them to TESU, and then use those credits to transfer into my final Semester (Or 1.5 Semesters) at either Rowan or Penn World Campus.

I'm dangerously new to this field, and it feels ripe for me to be taken advantage of. Chatgpt is telling me that certain courses *will* transfer over, but it's hard to gauge the accuracy of genai. Youtubers asking for hundreds for personalized guides doesn't seem like the worst path; however after reading this forum, I feel like you all might have advice that would help fill in some knowledge gaps before I fully commit.

I am one of the very few people on here who actually go to Penn State and have utilized some of these alternate credit methods, here is literally everything you need to know if you're considering Penn State. (If an admin is reading this, feel free to put this info elsewhere because Penn state is heavily under utilized on this website, and nobody else has really shared this info).

Go to the Penn State's Bulletin and find a Major. Here is the B.A. in Political Science on the bulletin website, and Here it is on the World campus (online) website. Go to Program Requirements, look at the classes that are needed to complete the degree.
This is honestly easy to complete! I am a University Park (Main campus, in person) student that happens to minor in PolySci, and have taken PLSC classes both in person and online through the world campus, and they're not that bad hen taken online. With dedication, you can totally get a high GPA as a full time World Campus PolySci student. 

Penn state has an AMAZING Comprehensive Transfer credit tool that you're gonna fall in love with. You can find a class you need, such as PLSC 3, and see literally every college that offers an approved PLSC 3 equivalent. So, look down that list, find a cheap offering college, and boom you got cheaper credit. You can find some PLSC major classes for a lot cheaper and depending on the college, easier. You can also find cheap community colleges, type them in "Institution", and see if they transfer over any courses you need. If a class does not show up on the tool, it has yet to be reviewed.
When you're enrolled as a student, there is another tool called the "Course Substitution tool" that allows you to submit a syllabus from any non-reviewed class from any college and get it reviewed, and it takes about a month (which is pretty good). This process takes a lot longer when you aren't a student; honestly just find the classes that have already been reviewed and are on the tool, there are a lot. 

They accept ACE credit, mainly being Sophia, Saylor, Study.com, Straighterline. Use this whenever you can, You should do *most* of your General education classes through here, mainly through Sophia. For Sophia for example, when you're on the tool, put in "American Council on Education" for the Institution, and either click see all, or type in SOPH, and hit all classes.

For GenEd's, you can complete all requirements through ACE (mainly via Sophia) except the "Interdomain" requirement. All degree's need 6 credits of Interdomain GenEd's. Interdomain are GenEd classes that are multiple academic areas, like math, arts, sciences, etc. Good news, this can also be knocked out with your major required courses. There are PLSC interdomains! Any course that ends with an "N" after the number is also an interdomain (Look through the bulltin, first link, trust me). Definitely look into taking one of those. Straighterline's "Cultural Anthropology" is the only ACE credit that counts as interdomain credit, look into that.

Make an excel spreadsheet and create a study plan with everything you've found here. You should notice that Sophia's American Politics will transfer over as PLSC 1. 

There is a residency requirement, there is a minimum of major-related classes you must take at Penn State. It varies depending on degree and awarding college, I have no idea what it is. You really should show all of this to an academic advisor, be transparent about what you're doing, and get them to give you info regarding the minimum credits you can take at penn state. I've personally never had an issue with an academic advisor, I know some people hate them but I've spoken to a lot at penn and they've never let me down.

If you get a degree from penn state, whether you get one from the world campus or university park, there is no distinction on your transcript, they have a "One Penn State" policy, everything is the same even though the World Campus classes are a lot easier than University Park classes.

This is the method if you want a degree from Penn State. You're welcome *mic drops*