Degree from TESC?

[degreeguy]

Thanks for that, but if you completely test out of TESC, what would your GPA be? Won't it be pretty light and make getting into another (possibly more well known on a resume) school for an MBA more difficult?

[hightecrebel]

Thanks for that, but if you completely test out of TESC, what would your GPA be? Won't it be pretty light and make getting into another (possibly more well known on a resume) school for an MBA more difficult?

While I'm not at that point yet, I know there are a number of folks who have had no issues going for their MBA after a TESC degree. Don't foprget, a grad school will want ALL of your transcripts, so the courses you took at the CC will be factored in by the grad school anyways.

[mednat]

Thanks for that, but if you completely test out of TESC, what would your GPA be? Won't it be pretty light and make getting into another (possibly more well known on a resume) school for an MBA more difficult?

If you know you're going on to get an MBA, I would start with the requirements they have. They typically either use a GPA from the last 30 graded credits, or 30 credits from major, or they use all credits you've earned. If you know the program you are interested in, you can mention it here and others can help you find out the requirements.

If you completely test out at TESC, your GPA will usually be whatever you earned at other schools. Graduate schools require copies of ALL transcripts, not just transcripts from the school who issued your degree. I would advise doing the following:

1.) Identify some graduate programs you're interested in.
2.) Review their GPA and pre-req requirements (some require a certain grade in a certain class).
3.) Develop a plan using those requirements. If they count the last x graded credits, take some easy/cheap classes somewhere to boost it. If they use credits in your major, make sure you test out of harder classes and get A's in the others. If it's a cumulative GPA, determine where you need to be and boost up your GPA by taking easier classes for a grade and harder classes with a test.

There is alot of strategy that can go into this if you know your ultimate goal upfront.

[dfrecore]

Just a quick not about your GPA, transferring, etc. When you "transfer" to a school, what you are really doing is sending over the CREDITS you have gotten. The grades you make stay at whatever school you make them. So if you have a 2.0GPA and 30 credits at School A, then go to school B, you can send over those 30 credits (which they may or may not give you credit for), but that 2.0 sits on your record at school A. If you take courses at School B, then you have a totally separate GPA there.

If Grad School C (where you want to get your MBA) wants to see your GPA, they will want to look at ALL of the transcripts. They will decide what they're looking at for GPA; they may only look at the last 30 or 60 units taken, or do a combined GPA (the weighted average from all courses you've taken). It just depends on that school's policy.

The only thing you can do to raise your GPA at any particular school is to retake courses where you earned a bad grade; take a look at your school's policy to see if they have that available. If not, then you're stuck. If they do, then you would have to take that course at that school to replace the bad grade (remember you can't transfer in grades from other places). They will normally show the first time you took the course, but the grade section will have a (D) or [D] or something like that to show what you originally received, but it won't count towards the GPA. The second time you take it will show the grade, and have the GPA on there (for instance A 3cr = 12.0 GPA units).

You can also work on getting your combined GPA higher by taking courses and getting good grades - it essentially pushes your bad grades back further and further until they're no longer a hindrance.

Also remember that when you want to bring your credits from one school to another, each school will only accept certain grades. I don't know COSC's policy, but TESC's is that they will accept D's when it's a course that does not pertain to your major (basically GenEd's or Free Electives). They will not accept anything less than a C in English I or II. That kind of thing. So those F's will not transfer (obviously), but the D's and even C- grades may not count either. Check the policy at the school you're transferring to to figure it out.

I know it's all rather confusing, so mednat's advice to check the policies of the school where you ultimately want your MBA is what you want to do. Begin with the end in mind. Then you can decide whether to retake courses to raise your GPA, or take new courses where you can get higher grades and push those old bad grades to the back of the line (or at least out of the period where they'll actually look at them).

[degreeguy]

Ugghhhh, this is extremely confusing (which I obviously expected)...

Things to note:

TESC changed some policies on 7/1/15 which makes a ton of the roadmaps others have laid out slightly outdated.
A lot of the information about those who have gone on to MBAs doesn't exactly highlight how many credits were testing out versus classes attended.

I'd be very happy to earn a degree within 6-12 months with a lot of work and transfer into any of the following:

NYU, Columbia, Villanova, Rutgers, Baruch

I checked Villanova's admission policy and this is all I got back:

To be eligible for this program, you must provide the
following materials:
•
Completed online application
- Resume
- Two essays
•
Official transcripts from all institutions attended
•
Two letters of recommendation
(professional or academic)
•
GMAT or GRE score
•
TOEFL, transcript evaluation and interview
(international applicants)

I will note one huge positive I have is letters of recommendations - I can provide two from well known CEO's of publicly traded companies, that should hold some weight in the reference sections.

[inkleind]

I'm in the same boat right now trying to decide the best way to come out of this with a high weighted GPA as all the schools I'm looking at for my MPA want a 3.0 or 3.2. I don't understand how to make that happen by testing out at TESC.

[degreeguy]

How are all of these tests taken prior to enrolling through DSST, UExcel, Penn & Foster, TEEX, FEMA, etc?

Can I do them 100% online? Do they use a service like Proctor U?

[inkleind]

They're all different bro.

[hightecrebel]

DSST, CLEP, & Uexcel are done at a testing center, TEEX & FEMA are online with NO proctor, Saylor is online WITH proctor, PennFoster I have not taken, so am not sure.

If they will apply to your degree plan (not sure with COSC), TECEPs are online w/ proctor

[dfrecore]

I'm in the same boat right now trying to decide the best way to come out of this with a high weighted GPA as all the schools I'm looking at for my MPA want a 3.0 or 3.2. I don't understand how to make that happen by testing out at TESC.

Testing out at TESC won't get you a GPA. When I finish with my degree there, I will have no GPA. I will have a GPA at other schools though.

If you want a GPA, you either have to take courses, or you have to go to a school where they will give you grades for some exams (EC will give you letter grades for some DSST's, and UExcels). Not sure about COSC. Not sure if there are other exams where you can get a grade from EC.

If I needed a high GPA in order to be admitted to a particular college, I would start taking actual courses at a CC, and take classes where I knew for sure I would get an A. I would also think about taking a few at a local 4-year college if one was nearby. You can add those into your TESC degree plan and test out of the rest. You can take 1 course at TESC to get a GPA there as well.