COSC Questions

[drewthedude]

Greetings Folks!
First off, I'm brand new to this forum. I have great respect for all of you mid-career people who've decided to take the time to complete a degree... that's awesome! I'm now in a similar boat.... 24 and 5.5 years in the Army so I'm basically not in the typical student category anymore. I have an AAS from a community college, and plenty of military transfer credits as I work in MI and we get alot of great training which ACE evaluates. Echem.
Anyway, I've researched pretty much every online institution of higher learning out there, from Harvard Extensions to PSU to Excelsior. I've come to the conclusion that COSC is probably my best bet, as I am in a rush to complete my BS or BA by next February, then start an MPA program by next fall. I currently have about 100 credits, 15 of which are Political Science. I want to go for the PoliSci concentration from COSC. Here are my questions:

-For the BS from COSC, I noticed you only need 60 Liberal Arts credits. Does this mean the BS is easier to get than the BA? Would many of my military credits be considered "applied professional" and therefore meet the criteria for BS credits?

-I took a class called something like "Survey of Mathematical Methods" (MAT126), which satisfied the math requirement for my AAS; will this satisfy COSC's math requirement? It appears that their math requirements are a bit stringent.

-I'm also looking into TESC, but noticed for the military degree completion program that TECEP "tuition" runs $177 per credit. Did any of you run into this problem? I had thought TECEPs were like CLEPS; you take the test and get the credits (if you pass). Am I wrong?

-ALSO: Is it realistic to finish the degree by February? I'm really eager to get this knocked out and move on to grad school.


OK... that's it for now. If any of you read this, thank you. And also - for anyone who's ever doubted the legitimacy of a big 3 degree, you have NOTHING to worry about. Learning CLEP material is harder (in my opinion) than taking an actual class. PLUS after all my (truly extensive) research, I realize now more than ever that these schools, especially COSC and TESC are solid, public, regionally accredited institutions. You really can't go wrong. Not that any of you had doubts... but just in case. I run a military intelligence department and trust me, if I ever interview a mid-career applicant who recently graduated from a big 3 school, they would TOTALLY have a good chance of getting a job; doing this now takes alot more drive and motivation than as an 18 year old kid surrounded by hotties at a B&M. Just my two pennies.

I'm out... thanks for a great forum & God bless.

[dew125]

I don't have the answers to all your questions, but I did notice that today (Wed, 24th) is the last day to enroll for the first start for the fall classes. Next one is 5-8 weeks down the road.

The biggest difference at COSC is the two required courses. If you plan to finish before February, you have to get started in the cornerstone as soon as possible. If you could somehow enroll in the cornerstone today, you would be in a much better place.

I personally am choosing to attend COSC because they will accept up to 89 community college credits. I can't remember if you mentioned where your 100+credits came from, but for me it makes the most sense to receive credit for what I have already earned, which is a similar number to yours.

Good luck!

[burbuja0512]

Greetings Folks!
First off, I'm brand new to this forum. I have great respect for all of you mid-career people who've decided to take the time to complete a degree... that's awesome! I'm now in a similar boat.... 24 and 5.5 years in the Army so I'm basically not in the typical student category anymore. I have an AAS from a community college, and plenty of military transfer credits as I work in MI and we get alot of great training which ACE evaluates. Echem.
Anyway, I've researched pretty much every online institution of higher learning out there, from Harvard Extensions to PSU to Excelsior. I've come to the conclusion that COSC is probably my best bet, as I am in a rush to complete my BS or BA by next February, then start an MPA program by next fall. I currently have about 100 credits, 15 of which are Political Science. I want to go for the PoliSci concentration from COSC. Here are my questions:

-For the BS from COSC, I noticed you only need 60 Liberal Arts credits. Does this mean the BS is easier to get than the BA? Would many of my military credits be considered "applied professional" and therefore meet the criteria for BS credits?

-I took a class called something like "Survey of Mathematical Methods" (MAT126), which satisfied the math requirement for my AAS; will this satisfy COSC's math requirement? It appears that their math requirements are a bit stringent.

-I'm also looking into TESC, but noticed for the military degree completion program that TECEP "tuition" runs $177 per credit. Did any of you run into this problem? I had thought TECEPs were like CLEPS; you take the test and get the credits (if you pass). Am I wrong?

-ALSO: Is it realistic to finish the degree by February? I'm really eager to get this knocked out and move on to grad school.


OK... that's it for now. If any of you read this, thank you. And also - for anyone who's ever doubted the legitimacy of a big 3 degree, you have NOTHING to worry about. Learning CLEP material is harder (in my opinion) than taking an actual class. PLUS after all my (truly extensive) research, I realize now more than ever that these schools, especially COSC and TESC are solid, public, regionally accredited institutions. You really can't go wrong. Not that any of you had doubts... but just in case. I run a military intelligence department and trust me, if I ever interview a mid-career applicant who recently graduated from a big 3 school, they would TOTALLY have a good chance of getting a job; doing this now takes alot more drive and motivation than as an 18 year old kid surrounded by hotties at a B&M. Just my two pennies.

I'm out... thanks for a great forum & God bless.

Hi there and welcome!

First of all, if you have time and other questions, feel free to check out the COSC thread that I started some time back: http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...s+answered

You are correct in that the only difference between a BS and a BA at COSC is number of liberal arts credits. In my mind, that is a no-brainer. I preferred a BS anyhow and many people do if given the choice. This is why at the COSC graduation ceremony, there was just a very small handful of BA's and a long line of BS graduates.

I'm not sure about your math question. Only COSC can tell you how they'll view your class. I actually see COSC's math as less stringent than TESC or EC.... well at least for the biz major, which is what I did. I only had to do the CLEP College Math and both EC and TESC require statistics and pre-calc. (or maybe it's one or the other, I can't remember. Either way, it's harder than COSC.)

COSC is a great choice for many people, but I don't know that you would be able to finish by February unless you move QUICKLY. You have to complete both the Capstone and the Cornerstone. However, even if you can't meet the current enrollment deadline, you may be able to take the required courses this semester. Check out their online catalog: http://www.charteroak.edu/PDF/Fall_2011_...hedule.pdf You'll see that there are several class start dates throughout the semester but you'll need to check to see if you can get the classes YOU need before your deadline.

HTH!!

[rebel100]

Bubbles nailed it as always. BS is likely your best bet for the reasons you mentioned. You are definantly late to the party for a february graduation. If thats a hard and fast date you should re-check tesc, the lack of in residence courses is the issie. No getting around cornerstone and capstone

[drewthedude]

Thanks good folks! Based on the above commentary, I think I'll definitely go for the BS vs. the BA, AND I'm moving my deadline up to.... March or April? As long as I can graduate by early summer and start grad school in the fall, I'll be happy. :-D

Thank you!


PS: Burbuja... thank you for the other thread as well, and yes I've read almost all your commentary on COSC; definitely influential in my decision to look into their program. :-P

[burbuja0512]

Thanks good folks! Based on the above commentary, I think I'll definitely go for the BS vs. the BA, AND I'm moving my deadline up to.... March or April? As long as I can graduate by early summer and start grad school in the fall, I'll be happy. :-D

Thank you!


PS: Burbuja... thank you for the other thread as well, and yes I've read almost all your commentary on COSC; definitely influential in my decision to look into their program. :-P

Hee hee hee.. too bad they don't pay me commission on my COSC sales Kidding of course. Rebel100 and I both like to provide more details about COSC every now and again so people know all of their options.

You won't have any problem graduating by March or April as long as you keep a decent pace on your CLEPs and stay on track.

The biggest thing you'll need to watch out for is the scheduling your Capstone class. The Cornerstone is easy - just schedule it right away. The Capstone takes a little more planning because there are a list of pre-requisites that you have to have met before you're allowed to enroll. I didn't realize this until it was almost too late and BARELY managed to get all of my biz tests done in time to make the last Capstone class before graduation in May. In order to do all this, I highly recommend putting together a spreadsheet with tests and dates or making good use of your calendar. You have a lot more credits than I did when I started, so this may be a lot easier for you than it was for me.


Here is one other thought - if you have met all of the pre-reqs for your Capstone, is it possible to take the Cornerstone and the Capstone simultaneously? I have no idea but it is a thought so that you could speed through things quicker.

Here's another thought. If you can't graduate until next year, but need the degree sooner, it is perfectly acceptable and honest to say "Charter Oak State College, Bachelor of Science in Political Science Degree Expected Spring 2012" on your resume. Don't know if you would need this for a job, but you're not breaking any rules by saying this. You don't need to bring up CLEP - just let people know that you're one or two classes away and will have those completed by Spring. Also, you can start applying for Master's programs when you're just a few credits away. You can't complete the process until you're done with your final class, but you can at least get the ball rolling.

Can't wait to hear how things go!

[drewthedude]

Thank you Burbuja for all the help! :-D I believe I will check on the simultaneous enrollment (Cornerstone & Capstone)... wouldn't hurt to try!

Ok three more questions:

-If one of my concentration courses meets a general education requirement, will it satisfy that requirement, or will I still need to take an additional course?

-I took a Military History class from a nationally accredited college; should I even bother to send in the transcript, or is it an unequivocal certainty that COSC will NOT accept the credits? I don't want to waste the money on a transcript if so. :-D

-Is there a place to check the winter/spring course schedule? I'm only seeing Fall on the COSC website... perhaps they don't publish them in advance?


Thank you once again!

[ryoder]

Can't help with COSC but I have found on geteducated.com the cheapest doctorate in the country is a DPA at Valdosta State at an estimated $12.5K.

public admin

They have an MPA also.

[rebel100]

A course can fulfill more than one requirement.FOr example I took an UL Ethics that was focused on Health Care. It was 3cr for my Health Care concentration and covered the three hours needed for Ethics....just know that you will need 60 credits for an AA/AS and 120 for a BA/BS

Send them all your credits, IDK specifically that they will accept the credits, but unless the transcript fee is just rediculous you should send them the transcript. I do know they accept some credits from Penn Foster and they are Nationally accredited/ACE qualified.

Don't know about the Course schedule.

[burbuja0512]

Thank you Burbuja for all the help! :-D I believe I will check on the simultaneous enrollment (Cornerstone & Capstone)... wouldn't hurt to try!

Ok three more questions:

-If one of my concentration courses meets a general education requirement, will it satisfy that requirement, or will I still need to take an additional course?

-I took a Military History class from a nationally accredited college; should I even bother to send in the transcript, or is it an unequivocal certainty that COSC will NOT accept the credits? I don't want to waste the money on a transcript if so. :-D

-Is there a place to check the winter/spring course schedule? I'm only seeing Fall on the COSC website... perhaps they don't publish them in advance?


Thank you once again!

You're welcome - please post when you find out about the simultaneous enrollment. I have been wondering about that since they added the Capstone requirement.

Good question on the general education requirement and the answer is yes courses can satisfy two requirements at once. I had this happen with Business Ethics. I only got three credits for the test, but these three credits simultaneously fulfilled two requirements. There are other general education tests that also check more than one box on your list. For example, DSST Environment & Humanity covers both global understanding AND natural science.

I'm sure you've already seen this, but check out the general ed requirements here: General Education Requirements at Charter Oak State College and see how the different tests meet those general ed requirements here: http://www.charteroak.edu/Current/Academ...r-list.pdf I love this master list! It's so helpful and makes it really easy to figure out which exam gives you more bang for your buck.

I have absolutely no idea on the Military History class. I would probably just try to submit it and see what happens unless the cost is prohibitive to do so. I was very surprised when COSC accepted a D from a chemistry class I took in the early 90's. I know it's not the same thing, but you just never know.

I found this catalog on their site and it's listed as 2011-2012, but at a glance I'm not sure it will help. http://www.charteroak.edu/PDF/Official%20Catalog.pdf However, do check it out and read through it. At the beginning, it's got a ton of helpful info and it may answer other questions you have too.

How exciting!! I really think that you're soooooooo close to the bachelors degree. It won't take you long at all!