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Beginners Guide To Getting Cheap/Fast College Credit
#1
Please review Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia as it has a great amount of information for Beginners.

The following guide is also available and updated on The Basic Approach - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia


Basic Approach - Online Education Guide: Steps to obtaining your desired degree

1) Find out what you have credit for / what you already know

2) Research the Big 3/WGU to find candidate degree plans

3) Decide on one or more schools and get an initial evaluation
($75 or so per school, plus the cost of each transcript you have to send in)

4) Based on the initial evaluation, decide on a school and degree

5) Build a degree plan using your unique combination of existing credits,
CLEP/DSST/ECE/TECEP tests, ALEKS/FEMA/Penn Foster/Saylor/Schmoop/Straighterline/Study.com courses, etc.

6) Once you are all done (all courses/tests completed), enroll in the school you chose, pay the enrollment fees
(check for current fees of the school) and submit all your transcripts for review.

7) Once approved, pay the graduation fee, then sit back and wait for your sheepskin to arrive!

8) Start planning on that Masters Degree as you aren't done learning for life!

Throughout all of the above: Read a lot over at DegreeForum.net as well and ask questions as needed for guidance!

(Note: This is "the basic approach." Nobody ever really gets to go through a process this simple,
but this is the general outline of what you should expect to have to do in order to get through this successfully)



Thread Links:

Beginners Guide To Getting Cheap/Fast College Credit - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia

How/When To Start? Start Now For Cheap - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia!

Several Sources Of Cheap Credit - Reference - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia

The Spreadsheet - Track Your Progress - Reference Tool - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia

The ABCs - A, CBD, E, F, G - Accreditation, Competency Based Degree, Evaluation, Fees, GPA - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia

Overwhelmed - Too Long Didn't Read - Just Help Me Please, Step By Step - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia!
In Progress: Walden MBA | TESU BA Biology & Computer Science
Graduate Certificate: Global Management & Entrepreneurship, ASU (Freebie)

Completed: TESU ASNSM Biology, BSBA (ACBSP Accredited 2017)
Universidad Isabel I: ENEB MBA, Big Data & BI, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Certs: 6Sigma/Lean/Scrum, ITIL | Cisco, CompTIA, MTA | Coursera & Udacity

The Basic Approach | Plans | DegreeForum Community Supported Wiki
~Note~ Read/Review forum posts & Wiki Links to Sample Degree Plans
Degree Planning Advice | New To DegreeForum? How This Area Works
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#2
Thanks for the post. Im new to the forum
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#3
hey, new to the forum...confused haha... have a few questions starting with what are some easy courses to start out on?
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#4
Think I ought to lock this thread? Twice now it's gotten cluttered requiring cleaning up.

I'd prefer to keep it open for updates...please keep it at least sort of on topic.

Thanks. Smile
MBA, Western Governors University February 2014
BS Charter Oak State College November 2011
AS in EMS August 2010

I'm always happy to complete the free application waiver for those applying to WGU (I get a free gift from WGU for this).  Just PM me your first/last name and a valid email so I can complete their form.

Thread; COSC AS using FEMA http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...total.html
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#5
Yet again the links are broken, I'm adding it to drop box for the Degree Plan Template Links
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9766o66mkeh1w...xnGPa?dl=0

The "other" forum has this Beginners Guide. It's also on the wiki (well, the majority of it anyways).
http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distan...dit-3.html
In Progress: Walden MBA | TESU BA Biology & Computer Science
Graduate Certificate: Global Management & Entrepreneurship, ASU (Freebie)

Completed: TESU ASNSM Biology, BSBA (ACBSP Accredited 2017)
Universidad Isabel I: ENEB MBA, Big Data & BI, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Certs: 6Sigma/Lean/Scrum, ITIL | Cisco, CompTIA, MTA | Coursera & Udacity

The Basic Approach | Plans | DegreeForum Community Supported Wiki
~Note~ Read/Review forum posts & Wiki Links to Sample Degree Plans
Degree Planning Advice | New To DegreeForum? How This Area Works
[-] The following 3 users Like bjcheung77's post:
  • adrianeraldo, ISKBizz15, Kirsten
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#6
All courses from two year community colleges/institutes will come in as LL, unless it's in the BSAST program (it's the ONLY exception).
In regards to the TESU BALS/BSBA, you need at least 18 credits UL - you'll get more of those UL if you transfer from SL/Study.com

Study.com $199/month for 2 exams, if you fail, you can take the exam again. All other subsequent exams are $70 each.
People don't intend on failing, and it's not that hard, you just need a 55% on the final. Make sure to ACE the quizzes.

Most courses are 100 points for quiz (33.3%) and 200 points for final (66.6%), so, just try to get 100% on those quizzes.
A few have assignments/discussions, 33.3% of grade, quiz 33.3%, and the final 33.3%. These are "SL easy" in my view.

Study.com also drops the price down by removal/waiving of the Cornerstone requirement.
TESU Tuition: http://www.tesu.edu/tuition/Comprehensiv...n-Plan.cfm
TESU Payment Plan: http://www.tesu.edu/tuition/payment-plan.cfm

TESU Study.com details: http://www.tesu.edu/studycom/
TESU Study.com BALS/BSBA: http://www.tesu.edu/studycom/How-to-Get-Started.cfm
TESU Study.com Tuition: http://www.tesu.edu/studycom/Costs-Tuition.cfm
TESU Study.com Transfer: http://www.tesu.edu/studycom/Transfer-Cr...o-TESU.cfm

TESU BALS UL Requirements: http://www.tesu.edu/studycom/BA-Degree-i...tudies.cfm
Area of Study: Liberal Studies
Students complete a total of 30 credits of Liberal Studies courses that include at least 15 credits at the 300/400 level (upper level) and no more than 6 credits at the 100 level.

TESU BSBA UL Requirements: http://www.tesu.edu/studycom/BSBA-Degree...gement.cfm
Area of Study: General Management
Students must complete one course from three of the following areas.
At least 12 credits within the specialization must be at the 300-400 level.
A total of 18 credits with a grade of C/CR or better are required.
In Progress: Walden MBA | TESU BA Biology & Computer Science
Graduate Certificate: Global Management & Entrepreneurship, ASU (Freebie)

Completed: TESU ASNSM Biology, BSBA (ACBSP Accredited 2017)
Universidad Isabel I: ENEB MBA, Big Data & BI, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Certs: 6Sigma/Lean/Scrum, ITIL | Cisco, CompTIA, MTA | Coursera & Udacity

The Basic Approach | Plans | DegreeForum Community Supported Wiki
~Note~ Read/Review forum posts & Wiki Links to Sample Degree Plans
Degree Planning Advice | New To DegreeForum? How This Area Works
[-] The following 6 users Like bjcheung77's post:
  • daelaria, Gloddy, luan22, Pikachu, scout2family, slmartin
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#7
Good guide
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#8
Ok, I have been researching Thomas Edison for BSBA. Background: Trade school with experience as Mechanic and Machinist. Currently, I have found that in order to move up in management, I need a minimum of an associate degree in management with bachelor's degree preferred. My employer provides tuition reimbursement at some schools--not sure that any of the big 3 are contenders though. Also, I have completed 18 hours at a local community college in: Principles of Accounting I, English Comp I, Principles of Mangement I, Principles of Management II, Introduction to Business, and Business Law. These hours were in years 2006-2008. Based on website for TESU, one can transfer in up to 90 credits "from a single source." Here lies some of my confusion: does the single source mean any ACE credit is 1 source, any DSST is a different source, any CLEP is a different source? OR does it mean Straigherline is 1 source, study.com is another source, etc.? Also, how many credits are you allowed to transfer in TOTAL? Can you complete ALL from outside sources EXCEPT the Capstone? Also, are there advantages of TESU over Charter Oak or vice versa? How quickly can one reasonably expect to complete the courses provided they are working full time? Finally, when should I enroll and how do I maintain enrollment inexpensively (take TECEP periodically)? Any insight for upcoming 2017/2018 start time would be very much appreciated!!!!
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#9
(09-19-2017, 11:24 PM)BigDaddy1 Wrote: Ok, I have been researching Thomas Edison for BSBA.  Background: Trade school with experience as Mechanic and Machinist.  Currently, I have found that in order to move up in management, I need a minimum of an associate degree in management with bachelor's degree preferred.  My employer provides tuition reimbursement at some schools--not sure that any of the big 3 are contenders though.  Also, I have completed 18 hours at a local community college in: Principles of Accounting I, English Comp I, Principles of Mangement I, Principles of Management II, Introduction to Business, and Business Law.  These hours were in years 2006-2008.  Based on website for TESU, one can transfer in up to 90 credits "from a single source."  Here lies some of my confusion: does the single source mean any ACE credit is 1 source, any DSST is a different source, any CLEP is a different source?  OR does it mean Straigherline is 1 source, study.com is another source, etc.?  Also, how many credits are you allowed to transfer in TOTAL?  Can you complete ALL from outside sources EXCEPT the Capstone?  Also, are there advantages of TESU over Charter Oak or vice versa?  How quickly can one reasonably expect to complete the courses provided they are working full time?  Finally, when should I enroll and how do I maintain enrollment inexpensively (take TECEP periodically)?  Any insight for upcoming 2017/2018 start time would be very much appreciated!!!!

I'm only going to answer some of this.

A single source is a particular provider.  So SL is a single source, Study.com is a single source, etc.  ACE just holds your credits for you - basically a bank in this instance (obviously that's not all they do).

I personally don't recommend TESU for an AA, as I think they're too expensive (the $2500 residency waiver is a killer for an AA).  You'd be better off with COSC or a BOG AAS (if your company will accept an AAS).  COSC will accept a lot of free FEMA credit, so that's a really inexpensive way to go.  Another good way to keep costs down is with Shmoop courses (88/mo for unlimited courses) and Saylor ($25/course).  When I look at the TESU AA, it's $4000ish, with the COSC AA around $3000ish.

Another good way to get an inexpensive AA is to go through Patten, but only if you are interested in one of their programs (they have 3 different concentrations, and they are fairly strict on what you have to take - but at the same time, they are $1316 for as many courses as you can fit into a 4-month term).


Attached Files
.xlsx   TESU 2016 AA.xlsx (Size: 26.63 KB / Downloads: 218)
.xlsx   COSC AA.xlsx (Size: 46.37 KB / Downloads: 184)
.xlsx   Patten AA.xlsx (Size: 53.59 KB / Downloads: 143)
.xlsx   WVNCC BOG AAS.xlsx (Size: 38.81 KB / Downloads: 133)
TESU BSBA/HR 2018 - WVNCC BOG AAS 2017 - GGU Cert in Mgmt 2000
EXAMS: TECEP Tech Wrtg, Comp II, LA Math, PR, Computers  DSST Computers, Pers Fin  CLEP Mgmt, Mktg
COURSES: TESU Capstone  Study.com Pers Fin, Microecon, Stats  Ed4Credit Acct 2  PF Fin Mgmt  ALEKS Int & Coll Alg  Sophia Proj Mgmt The Institutes - Ins Ethics  Kaplan PLA
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#10
Thank you for your info!!
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