Disappointed (That's Putting it Mildly) and Ready to Quit

[dewisant]

Just for an example. All 25 tests in my signature block account for 3/4 of my degree, that's 90 semester credits, and have cost me less than $3,000 out of pocket. I have never had a student loan either.

[Lemurian_Spirit]

Hey Everyone,

Many thanks desisant. Maybe I could go the test route if I was planning to be unemployed for any length of time, however, just FYI, my landlady just TEXTED me to let me know that my rent is going up by $200 in February. Will one of you military types please shoot me now and put me out of my misery ;-]? I'm really sorry, but I'm not ready to move in the middle of getting a degree, and that means that I can't remain unemployed for any length of time. I will take advantage of the time I am unemployed, but I dare not prolong it.

[KayV]

Straighterline is going to be your best bet as far as completing upper-level Humanities requirements. Here's an idea of how you could complete your requirements at TESC.
A. General Education Requirements
1. DSST Technical Writing 3
2. CLEP Intro to Sociology 3
3. DSST Ethics in America 3
4. DSST Anthropology 3
5. Any CLEP or DSST Social Science 3 or 6 (for 3 free elective)
B. Concentration: Humanities Requirements (8 upper level)
1. Straighterline BUS-105 Business Communication TESC COM-300 3UL
2. Straighterline BUS-106 Business Ethics TESC PHI-384 3UL
3. Straighterline REL-101 Intro to Religion TESC REL-405 3UL
C. Free Electives
1. Complete with free FEMA, TEEX, NFA, etc.

Good luck!

[sanantone]

Thanks Everyone,

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your encouragement. However, before I just let these credits go I want to actually be able to speak with people at various schools to see if there is a way around this first. It would be unfortunate indeed if there was a way for these credits to count somehow and I didn't spend a week or so trying to make that happen--a week that could potentially save me months of time. If there is some way to use these credits I don't want to kill them off too soon, if you know what I mean. Here is my evaluation from TESC. Also, please understand that for some reason the school never received my College Mathematics CLEP exam score (60), which should take care of the math requirements completely. I have also just completed the Social Sciences and History CLEP, which should count for another 6 credits. Also, in answer to cookderosa, I can't afford yet another student loan (the last one took me ten years to pay off, and quite frankly, I don't think I'll still be on the workforce for that much longer), so I am biting the bullet and paying for everything myself.

I have also looked into Western Governors University--especially since I'm a Washington state resident and it would be much more affordable for me. However, unfortunately, most of my credits couldn't be used on any of their degrees. Another reason I chose TESC is because they have a Humanities Bachelor, and since as you can see, literally all of my credits are in the humanities it seemed like the best option. If I can actually use these credits with PLA or something I'm all for it--especially if it is the only option that works in my timeframe. Believe me, I will be calling TESC again tomorrow. I'm not enrolling unless and until I get some pretty good answers, and I need to get them now, before I enroll and have some leverage.

Here is what we have so far. If you have any ideas as to how to salvage this in the shortest possible time I'm all ears! I will post the evaluation separately because it is too long to submit with this post.

Many thanks,

Lemurian_Spirit

Before it was regionally accredited, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts was accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre which was recognized by CHEA and currently recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. According to the U.S. Department of Education, The Art Institute of Seattle was unaccredited before it received regional accreditation in 1999. I don't think you will find a regionally accredited school that will accept those unaccredited credits, but Excelsior College might accept credits from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Excelsior is a lot like TESC. You should most definitely apply so that you can get an evaluation.

[cookderosa]

Hey Everyone,

Many thanks desisant. Maybe I could go the test route if I was planning to be unemployed for any length of time, however, just FYI, my landlady just TEXTED me to let me know that my rent is going up by $200 in February. Will one of you military types please shoot me now and put me out of my misery ;-]? I'm really sorry, but I'm not ready to move in the middle of getting a degree, and that means that I can't remain unemployed for any length of time. I will take advantage of the time I am unemployed, but I dare not prolong it.

You don't have to stop testing if you go back to work. I think most of us here work part or full time. I worked a 30 hour per week "job" homeschooling 4 kids M-F, taught at the community college which accounted for 10 hours per week, and volunteered 10 hours per month on top of that. I sold things on ebay to pay for my tests, which I studied for on nights and weekends as possible. When classes started, I carved out 1 night and a full Sunday for that. Somewhere in there I managed to do what you have to do when you have a family- cooking, cleaning, laundry, driving to activities. I'm not saying my schedule should reflect what your schedule should look like, but just to give you encouragement, testing works well AROUND your life, it doesn't have to consume it!

Part 2: the 27 free elective credits that you'll get at TESC (free as in $0 through FEMA) off-set the advantage of getting your art credit via EC which won't take your FEMA. I'm also going out on a limb and say that your art credits are lower level. I know this is frustrating, but you'll make up for it with FEMA. I still take the position after seeing your transcript that your not going to make big advancements toward completion for the effort invested at trying to make gains through your old credit. **Question for someone else- are all art classes humanities by default or are there instances when they fall outside gen eds? Studio maybe? I don't know** By the way, you can work on FEMA credits from home, anytime. MANY people complete all 27 credits in under a week.

[sanantone]

It is not really clear if the OP will spend more at Excelsior unless the OP takes the Per Credit Tuition route and includes 7 TECEPs toward the completion of the degree. Otherwise, the OP will be paying $3,870 for the enrollment fee, technology services fee, and capstone. Excelsior would be $2,340 for the enrollment fee and capstone. That's a difference of $1,530. Once you include the graduation fee, the savings drops about $200, but it's still significant. At the most, 27 credits worth of free electives will cost $900 meaning that the OP would still come out ahead a few hundred dollars at Excelsior depending on how the credits are evaluated. If the NA credits are accepted, that is money and time that doesn't have to be spent on CBEs or FEMAs potentially making the savings even greater.

Excelsior accepts FEMAs; they just require that they be on a Frederick Community College transcript which costs $77 per credit hour. Excelsior will still directly accept other free or nearly free credits that are ACE or NCCRS-approved such as TEEX, Saylor, and NFA. Well, I don't know for sure if they actually will give credit for these courses, but they will take the transcripts directly from ACE or the NCCRS evaluated organization without any additional costs.

[Lemurian_Spirit]

Thanks everyone, the reason I didn't apply at Excelsior was because they would only accept something like 90 credits, but if I'm losing 30 credits anyway, I think it's definitely a good idea to apply and I will call them and do that tomorrow. Also, just FYI, the CLEPs I've passed so far are Natural Sciences (reflected in my TESC evaluation), College Mathematics, and Social Sciences and History (not currently reflected in my evaluation, but worth another 12 credits). At this point I am hoping to take the Educational Psychology CLEP on December 9th and the Ethics in America DSST on the 30th (assuming I am still unemployed by then--a safe bet at this time of year). I am also planning to take the Intro to Sociology CLEP last. These three give me another 9 credits. If I add this up correctly that would leave 37 credits after credits that are accepted and all testing (I hope) is done. If I then go the PLA route and take the three credits from that and also the three credit capstone away, that would leave me 31 credits of PLA to come up with (or 32 if I only take the 8-week PLA course). I think if I continue with TESC that might be a possibility, but I would have to have a PLA evaluation done before enrolling.

I'm not sure what happened, but I have no FEMA credits, and I'm not sure why you thought I did. I'm not even sure I'd be qualified or whatever to take them. I'm not in the military or government. What FEMA exams are you talking about, and how can I tell if I qualify to take them? If Excelsior will take 30 of the 60 credits in addition to the 62 credits that TESC have accepted, then that with the remaining CLEP/DSSTs I planned to take at least gets me a total of 113 credits. Excelsior requires two courses at a total of four credits, so that would get me to 117. With one more CLEP or DSST I could do this, and hopefully in my timeframe or thereabouts. I will definitely apply there, but it will take a while because they won't let me send the transcripts myself. They insist on receiving them from each school. That will be more transcripts to purchase--when I have unopened ones sitting here waiting to mail, but I'll do it.

BTW, according to my transcripts, fully half of my Art Institute of Seattle credits were 300-400 level, and 5 of my American Academy of Dramatic Arts credits were upper level as well. That is why if there is any way (read PLA) for these to count it would be great. However, as you can see from the evaluation I do have some upper level credits from NYU and Pace, so I guess it's not a complete lost cause--it only feels like it is.

Many thanks,

Lemurian_Spirit

[sanantone]

Any American citizen can take FEMA courses. You'll find the requirements for Excelsior's Humanities program on page 23.
http://www.excelsior.edu/c/document_libr...upId=78666

Excelsior does require more upper level credits than TESC, and they are more strict about which courses/tests count as UL.

[Lemurian_Spirit]

Thanks for reminding me of yet another reason why I chose not to deal with Excelsior (more upper level credits required). However, if I could get 27 credits done in a week or two that might be OK. You say TESC doesn't accept them though? Sheesh! It would really be nice if anyone accepted my CPLP for credit--that only took me two years to get and it's current--it has to be renewed every three years, and also has continuing education requirements that I can't take as long as I'm dinking around with this degree business. Believe me, I'm all for getting a degree--even continuing to spend as much time as I have (and more while I am unemployed) as long as I can do it before next summer. It's my fault really. I was totally burned out from the CPLP when I started working on bachelor's completion, but like I said, at my age, time is running out. It's not a question of whether or not I could get a degree eventually. I'm positive that I could. I simply haven't got until eventually to get this done. It's now or never folks. I will contact Excelsior and TESC again tomorrow (as well as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts). Hopefully I will get somewhere--even if it's only to la-la-land.

Many thanks one and all,

Lemurian_Spirit

[sanantone]

Thanks for reminding me of yet another reason why I chose not to deal with Excelsior (more upper level credits required). However, if I could get 27 credits done in a week or two that might be OK. You say TESC doesn't accept them though? Sheesh! It would really be nice if anyone accepted my CPLP for credit--that only took me two years to get and it's current--it has to be renewed every three years, and also has continuing education requirements that I can't take as long as I'm dinking around with this degree business. Believe me, I'm all for getting a degree--even continuing to spend as much time as I have (and more while I am unemployed) as long as I can do it before next summer. It's my fault really. I was totally burned out from the CPLP when I started working on bachelor's completion, but like I said, at my age, time is running out. It's not a question of whether or not I could get a degree eventually. I'm positive that I could. I simply haven't got until eventually to get this done. It's now or never folks. I will contact Excelsior and TESC again tomorrow (as well as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts). Hopefully I will get somewhere--even if it's only to la-la-land.

Many thanks one and all,

Lemurian_Spirit

Accept what? FEMAs? TESC and COSC accept FEMAs directly. That's why they have an advantage over Excelsior in that regard. You can just send a FEMA transcript directly to them. It's all free.