Best Course Of Action

[cpoteraske]

Hello,

I've been lurking here for a long time and my passion to finally finish a degree of any sort has popped back up again. I chose a degree at TESU that would transfer the most credits over and allow me to finish it in a quick amount of time. I wanted to post my information and see if I am overlooking anything major that would save me some time. I am currently enrolled in two classes for summer. The program I am in at the moment is a AA in Arts (General Studies). Am I missing something or am I going down a good path to finish this degree within a decent time frame?

The reason I'm looking to do this quickly is I work full time in a career that doesn't require a degree. It is more for personal fulfillment! 

Thanks!

[ChildovGod]

I think you are on the right path.

The best way to know what is missing is to check your academic evaluation within Online Student Services.

I think your next hurdle is completing the English composition and research requirement. How you go about this is your personal choice e.g. cost, time, energy etc.

Personally I completed the English requirements with the ASU program (formerly Earned Admission now Universal Learner) self paced for ENG 101 and a 7.5 week teacher led session for ENG 102.

Completing this degree could be a good stepping stone for a Bachelor's later on if you desire or need it.

[Dorothy44]

Many of your lower level requirements could be completed through CLEP. They just started allowing CLEP to be tested from home, so you do not need to go anywhere. Also, it is free from Modern States which provides the course information & a single practice exam plus an exam voucher when you apply online to take the exam, and they later refund the exam fee. My 3 children took ton of CLEP and they did well enough to pass which is all that is required. This states Freshman year for free, but you can actually get more than just a single year if you are in business. https://modernstates.org/

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There are lots of extra CLEP practice books and exams available here if you are interested. My kids liked the REA books to study because they had 3 CLEP practice exams in them. This is the book for College Algebra, but all the others are located here too. LINK REMOVED

[rachel83az]

I would absolutely NOT get an AA from TESU. The cost for that is around $5000 + RA credits. You will need 15 RA credits for an AA at TESU + paying for SOS-110 + the residency waiver fee. That's money better spent on a Bachelor's degree.

If you want an Associate degree right now, I would highly recommend Pierpont for a FREE AAS. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC You need 12 RA credits (which you can get quickly and inexpensively through TEL/ONU/ASU) and everything else could come from Sophia. TEL is $200 per class, Olivet is $150, and ASU is $425. It looks like you have 6 credits that they'll accept (C or higher). If you get 6 more credits through TEL and need a couple of classes at Sophia to round out requirements then you could have your degree for around $500. It's about 1/10th of what it'd cost to get an AA from TESU.

[dfrecore]

I'm not an AA fan, but I'm certainly not a fan of spending $5000+ for one. My advice is to switch to a Bachelor's degree, which will only cost slightly more; or to switch to a cheaper school. The Pierpont BOG AAS is free if an AAS will suffice. COSC is about $1700 for an AA, and if you "ladder up" to the bachelor's there, then you will only pay an additional $1700 to finish your capstone there.

[cpoteraske]

This is why I reach out to people much smarter than I, I really do appreciate the advice!

[bjcheung77]

Hi. How far are you into the SOS-110 and the MAT-105 courses? Are you starting the courses this June term or in July? I'm a fan of getting the Associates FREE en route to the Bachelors, I would not pay for an Associates at all though. My suggestion is to pay for courses required to get that Bachelors at TESU and transfer in all the classes you can with ACE course providers. What degree is it you're wanting to finish with? A BALS or BSBA, or something else?

I see you have 3 graded courses for 9 credits, you need 21 RA credits to reach the 30 RA credit requirement at COSC/TESU. You just need to take a few more RA credits and you can take 16 credits at TESU to complete that requirement, you will also get the residency waiver fee removed from your degree plan. If you want, I suggest getting the Associates (not the AA) en route to the Bachelors and just graduate them at the same time. For example, change it to the ASNSM Comp Science and do a BALS or BSBA.

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Oh, and I forgot to ask, are you active service person or a vet? Do you have tuition assistance or reimbursement from work?

[cpoteraske]

Hi.  How far are you into the SOS-110 and the MAT-105 courses?  Are you starting the courses this June term or in July?  I'm a fan of getting the Associates FREE en route to the Bachelors, I would not pay for an Associates at all though.  My suggestion is to pay for courses required to get that Bachelors at TESU and transfer in all the classes you can with ACE course providers.  What degree is it you're wanting to finish with? A BALS or BSBA, or something else?

I see you have 3 graded courses for 9 credits, you need 21 RA credits to reach the 30 RA credit requirement at COSC/TESU.  You just need to take a few more RA credits and you can take 16 credits at TESU to complete that requirement, you will also get the residency waiver fee removed from your degree plan.  If you want, I suggest getting the Associates (not the AA) en route to the Bachelors and just graduate them at the same time.  For example, change it to the ASNSM Comp Science and do a BALS or BSBA.

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Oh, and I forgot to ask, are you active service person or a vet?  Do you have tuition assistance or reimbursement from work?

I have not started those course, they were supposed to start in July but I decided against it from the advice here. At the moment I am just wanting to finish with an associates. Eventually I'd like to finish my bachelors but due to my work schedule its hectic enough as it is. I am full time National Guard. I refrain from using any sort of TA because #1 its a nightmare and #2 everything the army gets involved in goes south. I know people would kill to have TA but it wasn't the primary reason I joined and I believe I can save it for my kids in the future.

I want to thank you because I've read a lot of your post here and they are always insightful and useful.

[bjcheung77]

You're so very welcome, and I'm actually not asking you to take any TA or anything remotely close to getting any financial assistance OR any loans/grants. As a service person, you get TECEPS that count towards your residency requirements and also the 30 credit requirements. The only courses you should be taking again are the ones you can't test out of for cheaply. So, you're technically paying just $250/credit and can get your Associates & Bachelors for an amazingly inexpensive price... I suggest taking your time as you are now - score the Associates first!

This is how you should score your courses and take up the credits for residency, TECEPS are your best friend, find any one of those you haven't got credit for and take your top 3 choice, this will net you 18 credits. You then take 16 credits at TESU - more TECEPS and/or e-packs/PLA/Courses to finish the 30 RA credits with them. For individuals in your shoes, I highly recommend doing the AAS - two of them. And as crazy as it sounds, you can also go for the BS Tech and/or BSBA, slowly after you have graduated from the AAS's.

[dfrecore]

Hi.  How far are you into the SOS-110 and the MAT-105 courses?  Are you starting the courses this June term or in July?  I'm a fan of getting the Associates FREE en route to the Bachelors, I would not pay for an Associates at all though.  My suggestion is to pay for courses required to get that Bachelors at TESU and transfer in all the classes you can with ACE course providers.  What degree is it you're wanting to finish with? A BALS or BSBA, or something else?

I see you have 3 graded courses for 9 credits, you need 21 RA credits to reach the 30 RA credit requirement at COSC/TESU.  You just need to take a few more RA credits and you can take 16 credits at TESU to complete that requirement, you will also get the residency waiver fee removed from your degree plan.  If you want, I suggest getting the Associates (not the AA) en route to the Bachelors and just graduate them at the same time.  For example, change it to the ASNSM Comp Science and do a BALS or BSBA.

---

Oh, and I forgot to ask, are you active service person or a vet?  Do you have tuition assistance or reimbursement from work?

I have not started those course, they were supposed to start in July but I decided against it from the advice here. At the moment I am just wanting to finish with an associates. Eventually I'd like to finish my bachelors but due to my work schedule its hectic enough as it is. I am full time National Guard. I refrain from using any sort of TA because #1 its a nightmare and #2 everything the army gets involved in goes south. I know people would kill to have TA but it wasn't the primary reason I joined and I believe I can save it for my kids in the future.

I want to thank you because I've read a lot of your post here and they are always insightful and useful.

OMG - do NOT use your TA at TESU, instead use your status as a military student, where you can use TECEP's for residency!  That makes the bachelor's degree $2700 including tuition for the cornerstone, capstone, and 6 LL TECEP exams (or $1500 for an AA including cornerstone and 3 TECEP exams).  Then do the rest with alt credit - if you use CLEP and DSST exams, you can do those for free as well.

COSC is also an option for active duty military - an AA would cost $1000 for the cornerstone + fees; a BA would cost $1750 for the cornerstone, capstone and fees. I think COSC is a smidge less, but it's really a very tiny amount of money for the AA (like $50).