Associate of Science in General Studies at COSC

[dartheminence]

Hey everyone! I know you don't know me, but I am very familiar with this board. I've been a lurker for about a year and a half now. In fact, it was ya'll who inspired me to go ahead and attempt an associates degree from COSC. So far, it's going extremely well. I've attained all the requirements except for one course, which is Ethics. All of my previous 120 hours of credit comes from prior course credit I've taken at other regionally accredited schools. I've never taken a DSST or CLEP exam before, and that's where I need your help. I want to take either Business Ethics and/or Ethics in America in the next few weeks. What do you recommend I study/do to prepare myself as best as possible in order to ace this?

I would also like to add that I have spoken with an advisor and they've agreed to allow me to begin testing out of Psychology concentration requirements, as I also intend to get a bachelors from the same college. I will be taking the GRE subject test in October. Any advice or suggestions to ace that as well? Thanks!!!

[NAP]

Welcome; I'm glad you have gotten a lot of help just through reading the forum already!

For Ethics, are you interested in Philosophy or Business aspect? I started to study for Ethics in America but it was too much philosophy for me. Business Ethics was a much better fit for me. Here is my feedback, it may help you decide which is best for you:

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...post128285

For the GRE, Alissaroot, Kaz, and Irnbru are some of the successful test takers. Look for more of their posts. These should get you started:

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...tests.html

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post88565

I'm looking forward to your success with the GRE, too!

May I ask - you have so many credits already, what are you missing for a bachelor's degree?

[dartheminence]

It's not that I am missing something for a bachelor's. I know what I need to do. What I'm doing is taking advantage of other opportunities. Basically, I've spent the last 5 1/2 years of my youth at my home institution studying English with a minor in Professional Writing. I one decided I needed more motivation to make it through. After all, working full time to avoid debt and pay for tuition, and having such slow progress can sometimes be discouraging. I wanted credit for what I had already done. Enter COSC. I knew I could very easily get a General Studies Associates degree and have that to place on a resume and just be that piece of paper to keep me moving forward.

As far as Ethics goes,I don't mind either way. I know I can either for credit. I may end up taking both and hoping I pass both or one or the other to satisfy the requirement.

Reason 1: I am also taking this semester off from my home institution. Why? Because I don't see the logic in paying full tuition for silly things like a transportation fee and parking fee when I don't even have a car, a global learning fee, whatever that is, which rivals the cost of 4 classes. Tuition remains the same no matter how many classes you take, so if I'm taking a full 18 hours, I'm not going to go because it's a waste of my money and seeing as how I'm self-funded, I need to be fiscally responsible. Also, 2 of my requirements are two years of Spanish. Instead of taking them, I can CLEP out if I use my time wisely and study. Also, I'm taking one English class via distance learning with LSU, which will help my requirements, so really I'll be getting 9 credits for 2000 dollars less than I would have paid if I had chosen to enroll and take those classes at my home institution this semester.

Reason 2: I've already stated I'm an English Major with a Professional Minor. If I want just the major, I'll have 15 credits left to take, that's one semester. With the minor? Two semesters, maybe one if I can test out of Spanish and pass my LSU course. The problem is, I'm not confident English is what I want to do. Also, I really want a Psychology degree. Now that I have some money, I can pursue testing to make those dreams come true. I'm confident I can get this degree within 2 semesters and for cheap. I just need some help with strategy. The Psychology concentration is 36 credits. I also left my home institution because of COSCs concurrent degree policy. I would not have been allowed to pursue the Psychology degree while doing the English degree. Seeing as the English is more costly and requires more saving, as well as more time, I put it on the backburner.


Reason 3: I'm crazy and also want a third degree. I have applied and been accepted to Eastern Oregon University for the Summer term for a potential degree in Politics, Economics, and Philosophy. In order to do that, I have to finish the other two degrees ASAP. Why do I want to put myself through this craziness? Because I'm an autodidact, and because I just love it. This is something I've been planning for 4 years now, and I want to make my dreams come true. I'm so close. I think for someone who is only 23, I'm doing really well for myself.

Reason 4: I feel confident about this. I've accomplished a lot through degree forum and other academic sites. So far, this summer, I have become certified to teach English as a foreign language, became ordained, became a notary, took three US Institute for Peace Courses for fun, and am on my last leg of a Paralegal certificate. Things are looking up. I looked at your transcript and followed the same format, so that I could show you what my classes were. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated with regard to any of these matters.


Some of these courses are used twice or three times in different categories. That's because credits may apply to more than one category or requirement but credits are only counted once toward the total needed for the degree. Hours: 105

My Transcript COSC

COSC Cornerstone Seminar AT COSC A- 3 Credits

Non US History or Culture: (3 credits required)

Intro to World Civ. Transfer 3.00 B

Oral Communication: ( 3 credits required)

Human Communication Transfer 3.0 B

Written Communication: (6 credits)

English Comp 1 Transfer 3.0 A
English Comp 2 Transfer 3.0 B

Ethics: (3 Credits) Still needed

Global Understanding (3 credits):

World Regional Geography Transfer 3.0 B

Literature and Fine Arts: (3 credits required)
World Literature Transfer 3.0 A

Mathematics: (3 credits)

Mathematical Modeling Transfer 3.0 C

Natural Sciences (4 credits with Lab or 6 credits no-lab)

Environmental Science I with Lab Transfer 4.0 A
Environmental Science II Transfer 3.0 B

Social/ Behavioral Sciences (3 credits):

Foundations of Criminal Justice Transfer 3.0 B

US History/ Government (3 Credits):

American Government Transfer 3.0 A

Liberal Arts Courses (60 required) All Transfers:

Anthropology 2 credits B
Macroecon 3 Credits B
Microecon 3 Credits C
Global Econ 3 Credits A
Brit Lit to Present 3 Credits A
Brit Lit to 1660 3 Credits B
Major African Writers 3 Credits B
Shakespeare 3 Credits B
Literary Nonfiction 3 Credits B
Poetry Writing 3 Credits B
American Lit Survey 3 Credits A
Lit Genre/ Shakespeare in Film 3 Credits C
19th Cent Brit Lit 3 Credits B
Intro to Eng Studies 3 Credits B
20th Cent Brit Lit 3 Credits B
Critical Theory 3 Credits B
American Since 1890 3 Credits C
Into to the European Union 3 Credits B
Arts in Society: Music 3 Credits B
Philosophy and Ways of Knowing 3 Credits B
Theories of Personality 3 Credits C
Introduction to Spanish 2 3 Credits B
Fitness for Living 3 Credits A

[NAP]

You do have a lot of liberal arts credits (almost no free electives!) and interests to go with them. You have found a group of many life-long learners, too.

Be sure to find the policies at each school for "additional (second/third) degrees" at the bachelor's level. EC is concerned about encouraging students to move forward (toward graduate school) and not laterally (more bachelor's degrees or other degrees at the same level). They have a limit on the number of degrees allowed and they limit the topic. In other words, they would prefer degrees in different subjects among liberal arts, business, technology, health, etc. versus multiple degrees in liberal arts. I don't want you to get "quick" bachelor's degrees in all of your interests/back-up plans and then not be allowed to finish the degrees for your main interests, which are just taking a little more time to achieve. (I do understand wanting an associate degree in the mean time. If you are enrolled and working closely with your COSC advisor, you should be in good shape on that one.)

Some schools will give you credit for both Ethics exams, so it may not be wasted to take both of them if you want.

How many UL credits do you have?

[Prloko]

I took both the Ethics in America (E.I.A.) and the Business Ethics (B.E.) DSST. Both tests have some overlap, but B.E. was eaisier IMO. ALso, COSC has the more stringent standards of the big 3 with UL credits, and since they count B.E. as UL and not E.I.A., I would go for B.E. if I were to choose one. Also, Excelsior's Ethics Theory and Practice counts as upper level and may be an alternative to E.I.A., unfortunately I have no experience with the test to advise on difficulty.

It may still be in your interest to study for and take both (BE and EIA). Like I said above, if you study for and pass EIA, half of your studying for BE is complete. Nice way to maximize your study time and get 6 credits out of it. free-clep-prep.com also offers some solid advice on grouping your test study time.

[dartheminence]

If I had to guess, I’d say half of my credits are Gen ED lower credit. All English other than Comp and World Lit is upper level. Psychology is upper level. I’m not enrolled with EC, and I know I’ve been discouraged from doing it, but I’m not going in with the expectation of better job opportunities. I’m simply doing what it is I love to do, which is study. I’m very close to the English degree, and I wanted to drop that but my mom asked me to finish it, and after 6 years of effort, I figured I may as well. I will most likely get a Masters too, eventually. I was originally a English and Psych double major, but my home school made it almost impossible to get a double major in a reasonable time frame. A finance double would have taken 3 years more of work, after CLEP exams and they don’t accept DSST. So, COSC def seemed like a more logical thing to go for. Honestly, I’m not sure what I want to do in life, other than teach English abroad after graduation for a while. I just enjoy education.

[rebel100]

Dart,

I get that you love study and enjoy school. I have a couple questions for you though, they are really rhetorical as the answer matters not to me.

How are you paying for all of this? If your borrowing money or relying on someone else (parents maybe?) is multiple liberal arts degrees really the best use of your funds?

You mention a love of teaching...and that's great...but having a liberal arts Psych degree and a liberal arts English degree isn't going to do much for you. Really a Bachelors degree in just about anything will allow you to teach at the High School level and lower...should be fine for teaching English abroad...why waste that time and money?

You might be better served by simply finishing whichever Bachelors your closest to...then skipping right on to a Masters. With a masters degree and 18 credits within a field you could teach in that field as an adjunct at the college level and still retain the ability to teach at lower levels. If you then wanted to branch out into teaching other fields you just grab 18 more credits in that field.

Just as an example...you could complete the Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies at Western New Mexico University online and study at that level both Psychology and English...you would be rather marketable in that way at many schools. That would also give you the ability to go get 18 more Masters level courses in say history or writing, or social work...you could start building a formidable teaching resume. Grad school is arguably more fun than undergrad...I think this is a better way to challenge yourself.

There are good reasons that Excelsior (and other schools) discourage too many Bachelors degrees...it can be a silly expense of time and energy. Your desired degrees being so closely related it sort of magnifies the issue.

Sorry...I understand you didn't ask, the frugal Dad in me just can't resist stating what seems obvious...please take the advice or ignore it at your discretion.

Best,
Reb

[dartheminence]

I’m more than happy, and proud, to answer your questions. My parents told me they’d pay for my first semester of college to encourage me to go. That was 6 years ago. They then told me I needed to get a job to pay for it on my own and that they’d allow me to stay at home while I continued my studies. That being said, I pay for my education on my own with cash. I have worked my entire college career and work 40 hours a week. I would never want to use someone else’s money to fund my education, and I would never take out a loan.

Let me correct you: I do not love teaching. I love children and I love sharing opportunities with people. I want the English degree to finish what I started. I am so close to being done it would seem silly to not finish, and the Psychology degree because it interests me, and because I’ve always wanted to study it, and with the GRE being 150 dollars and being able to bank 18 credits, I don’t expect the degree to be very expensive. I want to travel and give back to my community. You only need a bachelor’s degree to be able to acquire a visa in places like Thailand, etc. I’d also want the English degree because my grandmother is sick in Bosnia and because of the ethnic cleansing I escaped to the states and have never really been able to spend adequate time with her. These degrees will not only enable me to assist with Post Traumatic Stress Issues but also supplement my income teaching English while I am there. In some places those with an English degree do get paid more, a Masters is definitely a plus. In many places where English is needed, schools reimburse your airfare, and give you free accommodation. You can get a 6 month or year- long contract. When my parents first came to the states, they were extremely poor. They spoke no English, and I would come home from work and do Hooked On Phonics with my mom. She taught me everything I know. I feel I owe it to her to make her proud and getting that accomplishment will allow me to assist many more people and just make her proud. This liberal arts degree has done more for me and will do more for the world than many know.
Keep in mind, the Masters is definitely going to happen. I’ve been looking at this program from California State Dominguez Hills in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution and PeaceBuilding which is only 10k completely through distance, but I haven’t made up my mind yet.