CS Student Wanting to Transfer, What School is Best for a Senior with Anxiety?

[SeriouslySylvia]

I'm a senior in my CS program. My cc offers a BS in Computer Science. I've been in the program for years, and I'm technically almost done. I have 5 classes left. One of them being MATH270, another CS401 Algorithms, and the remaining three are the capstone classes (CS481-483). I know it sounds crazy, but I was really hoping to transfer to an online degree program. Even though I only have the few classes remaining, itll be impossible for me to finish faster than a year (class scheduling), and I'll have to take some classes in person. The capstone has a mandatory presentation requirement. I'm deathly terrified of public speaking (severe anxiety disorder). The capstone also requires working closely with a group of my peers, which I'm not thrilled about. I know this all sounds very silly, but I've been working my ass off for years just to get this degree, and I'm kind of at the end of my rope here. There's been several crises I've had to get through during the course of my schooling, but I'm determined to get this degree. Heres a list of my credits:
 
Bellevue College
Total Credits: 185 (Quarter) at GPA ~3.8
123 (Semester)
 
ENGL& 101 -  English Composition I : 5.B+
ENGL& 111 - Intro to Literature I 5.B
ENGL& 235 - Technical Writing 5.A-
 
PHIL& 101 - Intro to Philosophy 5.A
PSYC& 100 - General Psychology 5.A
GEOG 105 - Geography of World Affairs 5.A 
CES 180 - American Life & Culture 5.A 
POLS& 202 - American Government 5.A 
SOC 254 - Gender In Social World 5.A
 
DMA 102 - Digital Design Storytelling 5.B
 
ASTR& 101 - Intro to Astronomy 6.A
BIOL& 160 - General Biology 6.A
PHYS 104 - Discoveries In Physics 6.A
PHYS 121 - General Engr Physics I 6.B+
PHYS 122 - General Engr Physics II 6.A 
 
MATH 130 - Intro to Statistics 5.00 A-
MATH& 141 - Precalculus I 5.A
MATH& 142 - Precalculus II 5.A
MATH& 151 - Calculus I 5.A
MATH& 152 - Calculus II 5.A-
MATH& 153 - Calculus III 5.B  
MATH& 254 - Calculus IV  5.A
MATH 208 - Intro to Linear Algebra 5.A
MATH 238 - Differential Equations 5.B+
MATH 301 - Discrete Mathematics 5.A
 
CS 210 - Fundamentals of CS I 5.A-
CS 211 - Fundamentals of CS II 5.A
CS 300 - Data Structures 5.A-
CS 311 - Software Patterns 5.A
CS 320 - Programming Languages 5.A
CS 331 - Database Systems 5.A
CS 351 - Computer Architecture I 5.A
CS 360 - Operating Systems 5.A*
CS 380 - Web Programming 5.A* 
CS 410 - Software Engineering 5.A
CS 411 - Software Engineering Project Management 5.A
 
*Current Classes, grade is what I'm guessing I'll get
 
ACE, CLEP, NCCRS: None
Any certifications: None
 
Here's what I've found from my own research:
WGU: it seems like its for individuals who are already experienced/working in the field. I do well in classes, the content and my ability to learn has never been my issue. But I'm not a professional software engineer, and some of these courses I took years ago. It would be a lot of studying, and it doesn’t seem like WGU even lets you transfer more credits. And they have proctoring. I'm not seeing that many upsides here, besides it being faster if I put in a lot of high stress studying I assume.
TESU: At first I thought it was perfect for me, until I realized they only offer a BA in Computer Science, not a BS in Computer Science. I've worked this far to get a BS. I'm not entirely sure it actually matters, but I dont know. I guess I just don’t want to surrender the BS distinction if possible.
SNHU: What I'm leaning towards currently thus far. The capstone seems to only be one class, no group work or presentations. Seems to only allow you to transfer 90 credits to your Bachelors,  expected. I like learning, I don’t mind putting in the work, but its frustrating. At least it looks like its requirements are different than my program, so I'd  be able to learn some new things instead of retaking courses. The classes also seem to be shorter, so even though I'd need at least 30 credits, I'd be finishing up in about a year anyway. The downside seems to be I'd lose my GPA still. Also I heard they maybe accept more than 90, they just need the 30 credit residency, in which maybe I could go for a minor and actually gain something.
 
General Information + Preferences:
Location: Washington, USA
Age: 28
Degree: BS in Computer Science.
Budget: I don’t need something fancy. But I have assistance too so its semi flexible.
Commitments: Not many to speak of, besides the obvious mental health (Neurodivergence, Anxiety, Recovered Addict). I have a dog and a partner I live with.
Study Time / Timeline: I like self study. I'd also love to graduate within 1.5 years. But I'm bad at stress obv. Either less studying & longer overall timeline or more studying & get it over quicker. Both are fine to me.
Dislike: group work, proctoring, video/voice calls (webcam, zoom, etc), in person obviously, presentations, surprises
Fine: interacting with peers through text, short terms, exams.
Prefer: Self study, assignments/projects, asynchronous, low pressure, well structured/clear expectations, learning
 
I understand the rational decision would be to finish out my degree. Just wanted to know if theres other options.
If anyone has any options/ideas for me, especially anything I haven't thought of, please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated. I've been feeling pretty desperate and I would just love any sort of help. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[rachel83az]

BA vs. BS really does NOT matter, except in very specific circumstances. Unless you have a job offer that says you need a BS, these circumstances don't apply to you. What matters is the major, not BA vs. BS.

Looking at the courses you've completed, it looks like you might also be able to get both a BA Comp Sci and a BA Mathematics from TESU with very little additional effort. This would be arguably even better than "just" a BS Comp Sci. It opens up more job opportunities than just a standard Comp Sci degree.

The downside: you will need to take at least one Study.com class for TESU. Understandably, I don't see a Public Speaking class. There is a SDC course that is accepted at TESU as Public Speaking but it has ZERO presentations due. Just a final exam. Study.com uses a RECORDED proctor, not a live proctor. Probably 95+% of the time, nobody will even see the video and it'll get deleted without being watched.

You might also need to complete a few gen eds, like English Comp II. You've got Technical Writing, but TESU doesn't usually count that as English Comp II. If you're missing anything else, you can complete them on Sophia. Sophia is open-book and does not have traditional proctoring. They sometimes ask for ID verification, but they usually verify ID with a typing sample, if needed. Sophia's English Comp II isn't usually recommended, but it's not a bad option for students who want to avoid proctoring. If you're missing any other gen eds, you should be able to get what you need from Sophia.

No matter where you go, you'll get a new GPA. (WGU doesn't even do GPAs.) If you do ever continue to a Master's degree in the future, they'll either calculate your degree based on the last 30 credits you took OR your cumulative GPA based on all schools that you've attended. Some schools do one. Some schools do the other. A few might calculate your GPA solely based on whatever classes you took from the school where you graduated. But GPAs are weird and mysterious and don't really matter much outside of academia.

[origamishuttle]

You may want to apply to the schools you're considering to find out what courses you would have left. I suspect that TESU would have the least number of courses remaining.

Please note that a substantial portion of the TESU capstone grade is based on an 8-10 minute video presentation that must be reviewed and graded by the course mentor. The video is supposed to be shared with classmates in the discussion board, but that part can be skipped, losing only 2-3 percent of the overall course grade.

[natshar]

---

BA vs. BS really does NOT matter, except in very specific circumstances. Unless you have a job offer that says you need a BS, these circumstances don't apply to you. What matters is the major, not BA vs. BS.

Looking at the courses you've completed, it looks like you might also be able to get both a BA Comp Sci and a BA Mathematics from TESU with very little additional effort. This would be arguably even better than "just" a BS Comp Sci. It opens up more job opportunities than just a standard Comp Sci degree.

The downside: you will need to take at least one Study.com class for TESU. Understandably, I don't see a Public Speaking class. There is a SDC course that is accepted at TESU as Public Speaking but it has ZERO presentations due. Just a final exam. Study.com uses a RECORDED proctor, not a live proctor. Probably 95+% of the time, nobody will even see the video and it'll get deleted without being watched.

You might also need to complete a few gen eds, like English Comp II. You've got Technical Writing, but TESU doesn't usually count that as English Comp II. If you're missing anything else, you can complete them on Sophia. Sophia is open-book and does not have traditional proctoring. They sometimes ask for ID verification, but they usually verify ID with a typing sample, if needed. Sophia's English Comp II isn't usually recommended, but it's not a bad option for students who want to avoid proctoring. If you're missing any other gen eds, you should be able to get what you need from Sophia.

No matter where you go, you'll get a new GPA. (WGU doesn't even do GPAs.) If you do ever continue to a Master's degree in the future, they'll either calculate your degree based on the last 30 credits you took OR your cumulative GPA based on all schools that you've attended. Some schools do one. Some schools do the other. A few might calculate your GPA solely based on whatever classes you took from the school where you graduated. But GPAs are weird and mysterious and don't really matter much outside of academia.

I agree. I think as far as actual courses left TESU would be your best bet. Any other school you are looking a minimum of 30 credits you'd have to do.

Classes you'd likely only need (you can take via ACE credit):
English Comp II
Public Speaking
 
Another option is do to these as a TECEP (test out) at TESU. The Public Speaking appears not have a speech just a test only. This might be the easiest option and least messy without having to deal with extra transcripts and such waiting. The grade comes in as P/F TESU credit.

Classes must be taken at TESU:
SOS-110
LIB 495

If you wanted to and assuming you don't have any associates degrees you could get a AA in Liberal Arts and an ASNSM double major math and computer science for free. Sure the associates are kind of pointless but it'd be an extra piece of paper for no effort. I'd say apply

If you added a double major in math you'd need:
four courses in math at 300 or 400 level (this is assuming none of your 200 level math comes in at 300 level or none of your comp sci classes count for math major too which they might.)

I would say apply to TESU. Sign up for Public Speaking TECEP, English Comp II TECEP, SOS-110, and Capstone. Apply for AA Liberal Arts, ANSM Math/Comp Sci and BA Comp Science. See how if you are close for a BA mathematics and if that is worth pursing.

You must take 6 credits at TESU in order to graduate. However if you take 16 credits at TESU you don't have to pay the waiver fee. If you take all 16 credits in one term it is actually cheaper than taking 6 and paying the wavier fee. TECEPs don't count towards the 16 credit requirement. If you felt like it you could take the remaining courses you need (ENG comp II, public speaking, or even the remaining courses towards a math double major) at the same time as SOS-110 to get the 16 credits if you wish. You can also spread out the 16 credits over multiple terms and you still wouldn't have to pay the fee but it might not save money. Only thing is the wavier is not eligible for financial aid. Where is tuition is you can get scholarships, grants or tuition reimbursement so it might still be cheaper to do 16 at TESU depending on your situation.

Actually Public Speaking TECEP does have some sort of presentation but it looks like a single slide show thing you do over video sounds very low anxiety.

[rachel83az]

I would absolutely NOT recommend TECEPs to a student with any sort of anxiety. TECEPs use ProctorU, which is a live proctor. It's an entirely different experience than a recorded proctor. At the best of times, ProctorU can be... difficult. Sophia's English Comp II is lengthy, and sometimes fickle, but you don't have to deal with a live proctor.

[inf]

BA vs. BS really does NOT matter, except in very specific circumstances. Unless you have a job offer that says you need a BS, these circumstances don't apply to you. What matters is the major, not BA vs. BS.

Looking at the courses you've completed, it looks like you might also be able to get both a BA Comp Sci and a BA Mathematics from TESU with very little additional effort. This would be arguably even better than "just" a BS Comp Sci. It opens up more job opportunities than just a standard Comp Sci degree.

The downside: you will need to take at least one Study.com class for TESU. Understandably, I don't see a Public Speaking class. There is a SDC course that is accepted at TESU as Public Speaking but it has ZERO presentations due. Just a final exam. Study.com uses a RECORDED proctor, not a live proctor. Probably 95+% of the time, nobody will even see the video and it'll get deleted without being watched.

You might also need to complete a few gen eds, like English Comp II. You've got Technical Writing, but TESU doesn't usually count that as English Comp II. If you're missing anything else, you can complete them on Sophia. Sophia is open-book and does not have traditional proctoring. They sometimes ask for ID verification, but they usually verify ID with a typing sample, if needed. Sophia's English Comp II isn't usually recommended, but it's not a bad option for students who want to avoid proctoring. If you're missing any other gen eds, you should be able to get what you need from Sophia.

No matter where you go, you'll get a new GPA. (WGU doesn't even do GPAs.) If you do ever continue to a Master's degree in the future, they'll either calculate your degree based on the last 30 credits you took OR your cumulative GPA based on all schools that you've attended. Some schools do one. Some schools do the other. A few might calculate your GPA solely based on whatever classes you took from the school where you graduated. But GPAs are weird and mysterious and don't really matter much outside of academia.

Can you explain the little additional effort further? CS requires at the minimum, Calc 1, Discrete Math, Stats.  Math degree requires those WITH Calc 2, 3 Linear Alg, then 15 math electives ?

[natshar]

I would absolutely NOT recommend TECEPs to a student with any sort of anxiety. TECEPs use ProctorU, which is a live proctor. It's an entirely different experience than a recorded proctor. At the best of times, ProctorU can be... difficult. Sophia's English Comp II is lengthy, and sometimes fickle, but you don't have to deal with a live proctor.

Oh yeah I forgot about that. I took a TECEP once ages ago. I thought it make sense in OPs situation and the speaking TECEP sounds easyish and so does comp II. (in some ways the TECEP might be eaiser than Sophias. It looks like less work IMO) Also no issues with additional transcripts and waiting for them to come in added to plan and for grad school only having two transcripts TESU and Bellvue. But yeah I loathe ProctorU. But yeah I guess OP can decide if TECEP is right for them, which it might not be.

[dfrecore]

Just did a BACS degree plan, here's what you need at TESU:

English Comp II
Oral Communication (Presentation Skills at SDC if you want)
Ethics - Ethics in the Social Sciences at SDC if you want, it's the shortest ethics course there
History - I think you need a history course, I don't see one in your list

The BA vs. the BS is not important, I would never let this stop me from choosing TESU.

I wish I could say that you could get a BA in Math as well, but unfortunately, Bellevue has most of the math courses as LL, and so TESU may not bring them in as UL; if they do, then great, get that degree, you just need 1 add'l UL math course which you could take at TESU, or somewhere else.

Good luck!

[natshar]

Just did a BACS degree plan, here's what you need at TESU:

English Comp II
Oral Communication (Presentation Skills at SDC if you want)
Ethics - Ethics in the Social Sciences at SDC if you want, it's the shortest ethics course there
History - I think you need a history course, I don't see one in your list

The BA vs. the BS is not important, I would never let this stop me from choosing TESU.

I wish I could say that you could get a BA in Math as well, but unfortunately, Bellevue has most of the math courses as LL, and so TESU may not bring them in as UL; if they do, then great, get that degree, you just need 1 add'l UL math course which you could take at TESU, or somewhere else.

Good luck!

 
I forgot about ethics. And I don't know if they need a history course I never took one and some how had all gen eds at TESU complete.

[rachel83az]

Looking at the courses you've completed, it looks like you might also be able to get both a BA Comp Sci and a BA Mathematics from TESU with very little additional effort. This would be arguably even better than "just" a BS Comp Sci. It opens up more job opportunities than just a standard Comp Sci degree.

Can you explain the little additional effort further? CS requires at the minimum, Calc 1, Discrete Math, Stats.  Math degree requires those WITH Calc 2, 3 Linear Alg, then 15 math electives ?

Due to the courses that SeriouslySylvia has already completed, most of the math degree requirements are met.

Gen Ed suggestions: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap
Comp Sci suggestions: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ience_Plan
Mathematics suggestions: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan

For the BA Math, Calc I-IV requirements have been met. Linear Algebra has been met. Stats has been met. While it's true that the existing math isn't UL, there are still 15 UL AOS electives + Additional 12 AOS electives to meet this requirement.

Coopersmith's "Concepts in Math and Quantitative Analysis" uses ProctorU, so may not be a good option. Coursera's SAS Advanced Programmer Certificate is a good option, however, because it's completely unproctored. SeriouslySylvia also appears to have 27 UL Comp Sci credits. Take some LL Comp Sci credits from Coursera and/or Study.com to be able to use some UL Comp Sci credits in the Math degree without overlap. That maybe leaves 1 or 2 UL Math courses from TESU. Example:

AOS Electives for Math (pick 15 credits, depending on circumstances):

• SAS Advanced Programmer Certificate (UL)  @ Coursera
  
• MAT-301 History of Mathematics (UL) @ TESU (no proctoring)
  
• MAT-351 Mathematical Modeling (UL) @ TESU (no proctoring) - May or may not be needed.
  
• Precalculus 1 (already taken, LL)
  
• Precalculus 2 (already taken, LL)
  
• SAS Programmer Professional Certificate @ Coursera (LL math option, does not overlap regular Stats class) - may not be needed
  

Additional AOS Electives for Math (12 credits):

• Any UL Comp Sci already taken and not used for Comp Sci degree
  
• Any UL Comp Sci already taken and not used for Comp Sci degree
  
• Any UL Comp Sci already taken and not used for Comp Sci degree
  
• IBM Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate (if needed) - CLD-420 would be an UL class that should count here. The ITS credits may or may not apply to the Comp Sci degree. CLD-110 and COS-205 can be used in the Comp Sci degree to replace UL credits that can be used for the Math degree.
  

For Computer Science, the Programming, Data Structures, Discrete Math, Operating Systems, and Architecture are all UL. This means no more UL credits should be needed in the AOS electives for this degree. Already-taken UL Comp Sci credits will appear here unless replaced by LL ones.
AOS Electives for Comp Sci (18 credits needed):

• IBM Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate - Use at least CLD-110 and COS-205
  
• Introduction to Information Technology @ Sophia
  
• IT Support Professional @ Coursera (at least 3 credits, may now be worth more)
  
• UX Design from Google @ Coursera (6 credits)
  

This should be at least 18 credits, possibly more.

Additional AOS Electives (6 credits)

• Introduction to College Mathematics @ Sophia
  
• SAS Programmer Professional Certificate - If not needed for the Math degree.
  
• CSM Learn - not video proctored
  

There can be only 9 credits of overlap between the AOS courses for the two degrees. This also includes the Capstone and Additional AOS Electives, but does not include the gen eds and free electives. Everything in the gen eds and free electives can overlap.

You'll need to see exactly where TESU puts each course in order to decide what actually needs to be taken for these two degrees.