Excelsior More Money For Tuition Out Of The Big Three?

[Christopher]

Excelsior More Money?

Maybe I am totally wrong or maybe I am not, but is Excelsior more money than the other Big Two in tuition? I ran the net calculator of the three schools, and Excelsior literally comes back $10,000.00 higher for the same credit amount transfered in, and major emphasis. The school counselor here at my job (I work at a school) did the same thing. We were playing with their net calculator with different credit/degree plans, and Excelsior always came back the highest of the three...I mean highest. Maybe I’m/we’re just doing something wrong. Or are they higher in their tuition? One time compared to TESC the tuiton was literally $12,000.00 more for the same amount of credits needed to complete degree plan. Im sure there’s differences and it depends on how many credits are taken per semester, testing out, and all that stuff. But Excelsior is coming back as almost that of the for profit schools. Charter Oak had the least amount (depending on major and credits). I don’t know. Maybe we’re just wrong lol.

What happens when it's a slow day at work.
Excelsior College | Excelsior College Costs & Financing

[sanantone]

Those net price calculators aren't always accurate, but you can see the tuition rates on their websites. Excelsior charges more per credit hour than the other two. Whether or not TESC is more expensive than COSC depends on what your'e doing. TESC has three tuition plans, and there are two ways one can go about finishing under one of those tuition plans.

Excelsior charges $465 per credit hour. There is no enrollment fee under the Excelsior Course Option Plan that requires 12 credits in residence. Those have to be Excelsior courses; they cannot be Uexcels. Under the Multi-Source Option with no residency requirement, there is a $1,065 enrollment fee and a $495 annual student fee for every year thereafter. Under the Multi-Source Option, you will only have to pay to take the capstone at Excelsior (and maybe the 1-credit information literacy course depending on what they're currently allowing or not allowing for transfer).
Excelsior College | Excelsior College Costs & Financing for Undergraduate Students

COSC charges a student services fee for every semester you're enrolled. This is $184 for Connecticut residents and $245 for nonresidents. Residents pay $263 per credit hour, and nonresidents pay $346 per credit hour.

TESC's Comprehensive Tuition Plan is for those taking 24 credits or more per year in TESC courses. This is a flat rate of $5,871 per year for New Jersey residents and $8,647 for nonresidents. This flat rate covers up to 36 credits in online and guided study courses, TECEPs, portfolio assessments, and e-Packs. If you earn the max of 36 credits per year, you are essentially paying $163.08 per credit hour as a resident and $240.19 per credit hour as a nonresident.

The Enrolled Options Plan is meant for those who want to complete more than 6 credits per year, but less than 24 credits per year in TESC courses. In reality, it's the best plan for anyone who wants to complete less than 24 credits per year and TESC courses and doesn't want to worry about the residency requirement under the per credit tuition plan. The annual enrollment fee under this plan is $1,691 for residents and $3,154 for nonresidents. Tuition is $175 per credit hour for residents and $236 per credit hour for nonresidents.

The Per Credit Tuition Plan is meant for those who want to complete 6 credits or less in TESC courses per year, but you have to complete 12 and 24 credits in residence for associates and bachelors degrees, respectively. There is no enrollment fee, but the tuition for online and guided study courses and e-Packs is $407 per credit hour for residents and $491 per credit hour for nonresidents. However, one can fulfill the residency requirement with TECEPs and portfolio assessments. TECEPs are $35 per credit hour for residents and $37 per credit hour for nonresidents. Portfolio assessments are $363 for the first 12-credit portfolio and $206 for every subsequent 6-credit portfolio.

TESC has a capstone requirement for almost every degree, but the BSBAs and a few associates degrees do not require a capstone in residence. COSC always requires a cornerstone for associates programs and the cornerstone and capstone for a total of 6 credits in residence for the bachelors programs.

[Christopher]

Right right, I figured the calculators weren’t always accurate. But, Excelsior was always coming up as the highest…like you said with the $465.00 per credit hour. I was estimated about $500.00 without looking at the page. That’s getting up there in my view. Yes, I know college isn’t cheap, but state schools here are only about $250.00 a credit for residence.

With the TESC CTP paying $240.19 as a non-residence is pretty good. I’m guessing the 36 credits is spread out literally over a whole year. Fall, Spring, Summer. I’m guessing with an eight week regular course the most one can take is two courses maybe three if they’re good as it moves at a faster rate than regular eighteen week colleges. Very few can do the traditional 18 units (six classes) in one semester. Our CC’s only allow a max of 15 units (five classes and they highly discourage it) per semester. Most non-working students take 12 units (four classes) over one semester which is eighteen to nineteen weeks. Going with TECEP is a better pay off I'm assuming. COSC is nice. I like their school a lot, but I don't care (just me though) for the "General studies in..." degree. Their website states the degree will say "General Studies" but the concentration will be on transcript.

Pretty much everything you said is what I pretty much expected. I thought I was off or wrong, but it fits in.

[sanantone]

Excelsior is a private college; TESC and COSC are subsidized by their state governments. However, there are some private schools, for-profit and non-profit, that are cheaper than Excelsior.

All of the credits under the Comprehensive Tuition Plan don't have to be courses. Students under this plan are usually receiving financial aid, and you only need to take 24 credits per year in courses to be considered full-time. The rest of the 12 credits can be TECEPs which are less time-consuming. If you're paying out of pocket, the 36 credits can consist of any combination of things.

[rebel100]

Remember that all 3 will allow transfer from other schools. That's the true beauty of the Big 3. To complete my BS at COSC I completed 24 credits, 6 at COSC, 18 at CSU Pueblo independent studies. The whole class (3 credits) at CSU was only $459. A lot less than rack rate at EC.

[Exfactor]

Excelsior is more expensive; however, the good thing about the "Big 3" is that they offer you the opportunity to complete your degree, especially for those of us who have scattered credits. When I looked into the "Big 3" I already had like 90 or more credits from various brick and mortar schools, so testing out really was not my thing. While my first choice was Charter Oak, they only provided General Studies majors, and as someone who wanted an exact major with a B.S in psychology Excelsior was the only one that offered me such. While I would had preferred to attend Thomas Edison (as it has the best name out of the Big 3), they lacked a B.S major for psychology, and they don't list grades on your transcript. Excelsior was the only one out of the Big 3 that would also combine all my credits for an official cumulative GPA, while also listing the grades I earned and worked hard for on my official transcript with them (Charter Oak also does this). I know some people say this shouldn't matter, but as someone who applied and was accepted to 3 graduate schools, while only sending in my Excelsior transcript, I believe having a GPA played a role in my admission. While some schools maybe cheaper than the others, and more expensive than the others, you should always select the school that works best for you academically, as well as financially.

[sanantone]

Having a BS in psychology is not that important. It's not even all that important for the natural sciences, but is even less important for the social sciences. A BA in psychology is perfectly fine.

[Exfactor]

Having a BS in psychology is not that important. It's not even all that important for the natural sciences, but is even less important for the social sciences. A BA in psychology is perfectly fine.

That maybe true in some areas; however, as someone who attended a brick and mortar (Morehouse College, and Georgia State) a B.A in psychology was projected as being inferior to a B.S in psychology, even on popular medical forums like studentdoctor you can also see this projection. A B.A was thought of as the easy way out, due to the more science courses that the B.S required. When I attended a brick and mortar students would switch only to a B.A if they didn't satisfy their degree requirements on time for graduation, it was typically not what they wanted, and as a former Biology major, the same exact projection existed in regard to the natural sciences, I even had a Biopsychology professor who had a B.A in biology make fun of herself, because the thought of a B.A in biology was funny to her, as she stated you are more likely to see a B.A in biology from someone in her older age group.

[Yanji]

Excelsior was the only one out of the Big 3 that would also combine all my credits for an official cumulative GPA, while also listing the grades I earned and worked hard for on my official transcript with them (Charter Oak also does this). I know some people say this shouldn't matter, but as someone who applied and was accepted to 3 graduate schools, while only sending in my Excelsior transcript, I believe having a GPA played a role in my admission.

It doesn't matter. While having no GPA at all would definitely limit the graduate programs you could get into, transfer credit grades not being recorded on a transcript does not mean that your grades do not exist, it simply means that you have to send in another transcript. In fact, this is standard practice at most institutions and Excelsior should be considered an exception to the rule. Since you have to send all previous transcripts with your application anyway, whether your grades exist on one transcript or another is irrelevant. My own successful graduate school application history with only CR grades on my TESC transcript and that of many others on this forum over the years only proves this. Yes, having lots of exam or other non-traditional credits puts a lot of pressure on you to do well on the GRE/GMAT/MAT as well as writing strong essays, but it's not like it would be any different if the same grades were on one transcript instead of three.

[sanantone]

That maybe true in some areas; however, as someone who attended a brick and mortar (Morehouse College, and Georgia State) a B.A in psychology was projected as being inferior to a B.S in psychology, even on popular medical forums like studentdoctor you can also see this projection. A B.A was thought of as the easy way out, due to the more science courses that the B.S required. When I attended a brick and mortar students would switch only to a B.A if they didn't satisfy their degree requirements on time for graduation, it was typically not what they wanted, and as a former Biology major, the same exact projection existed in regard to the natural sciences, I even had a Biopsychology professor who had a B.A in biology make fun of herself, because the thought of a B.A in biology was funny to her, as she stated you are more likely to see a B.A in biology from someone in her older age group.

It doesn't matter what the misconceptions of other students are. It only matters what employers and graduate admissions think. They usually don't distinguish between a BA and BS in psychology. Oftentimes, they're expecting to see a BA because there are many schools that only offer a BA in psychology. The differences between BA and BS programs varies by school. At some schools, the difference could be as small as the BA requiring foreign language courses. Some of the top schools in the nation only offer BA programs in the liberal arts e.g. Harvard College. I'm certain that an A.B. from Harvard in anything would look better than a BS from an unranked school.

On forums like Student Doctor, you will also come across those who look down on the psychology field as a whole. You have PAs looking down on nurse practitioners, psychiatrists looking down on psychologists, MDs looking down on DOs and so on and so forth. Your biopsychology professor is still a professor with her BA in biology. She was still able to get her masters or PhD or whatever. If she knew about the history of education, then she would know why BAs in the natural sciences exist. The natural sciences have been considered liberal arts for centuries.

Ironically, the BS in Psychology at Excelsior is easier and more flexible than their BA in Psychology.