Going back to school at 29 for CS with only freshman year of college completed

[LevelUP]

Hello again,
I’ve made some progress so I have some updates (as a reference for anyone else) and a few questions.

First, the Pierpont BOG AAS: I had the last of my credits show up on my portal the other day, and am now filling out my application for graduation. Overall, the Sophia classwork wasn’t difficult, and I was able to get the credits I needed in a month, so only one billing. I did have to check back a few times because classes I sent in weren’t getting added, but all in all pretty straightforward.

Now, I am looking at the TESU BA in CS and BS in CIS plan outlined here:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan
And a few questions have come up:

I saw there is a 2 degree max, and as the second degree is now just a BS instead of a BSBA, I’m wondering if it might be more useful to have one degree in business and one in computer tech, instead of a BA and a BS both in computer tech. Ideally, I think I would opt to change the BA in CS to a BSBA in something, so I would have a BS in Computer Information Systems and a BSBA in operations management (or something else, haven’t fully considered what major yet), but the guide explicitly says you can’t do the BS and BSBA together. Am I looking at this the right way, or is there another way I might do this?

The guide mentions getting an Associate’s degree if you don’t opt to get 2 Bachelor’s. If I do pursue 2 bachelor’s, does getting an associate’s add/change anything?

The flat rate term covers one semester of at least 15 credits, so if I needed/wanted to take more than 5 TESU courses that semester, they are covered, correct?  

If I end up not finishing a course, and have to retake it the following semester, what would that cost me?

The pierpont guide laid out the entire process of applying, submitting courses from Sophia, etc. Will it be largely the same; should I apply and start knocking out Sophia courses, etc. and sending them in? Would it be wise to have all the other sitework completed before I start the TESU classwork, to make sure I know exactly what I need?

How are the classes themselves?

Thanks for any assistance, I’m excited for this.

I saw there is a 2 degree max, and as the second degree is now just a BS instead of a BSBA, I’m wondering if it might be more useful to have one degree in business and one in computer tech, instead of a BA and a BS both in computer tech. Ideally, I think I would opt to change the BA in CS to a BSBA in something, so I would have a BS in Computer Information Systems and a BSBA in operations management (or something else, haven’t fully considered what major yet), but the guide explicitly says you can’t do the BS and BSBA together. Am I looking at this the right way, or is there another way I might do this?

I would do the BA CS and BSBA in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Operations Management. Since you are flying through Sophia courses, it wouldn't take much extra time to do a few extra courses versus the CIS.

The guide mentions getting an Associate’s degree if you don’t opt to get 2 Bachelor’s. If I do pursue 2 bachelor’s, does getting an associate’s add/change anything?

Getting an Associate's degree doesn't change anything. 

The flat rate term covers one semester of at least 15 credits, so if I needed/wanted to take more than 5 TESU courses that semester, they are covered, correct?  

You can't take more than 5 TESU courses in one term.

If I end up not finishing a course, and have to retake it the following semester, what would that cost me?

If you have 50% of the coursework done, you can apply for an 8-week course extension
https://www.tesu.edu/current-students/course-extension

The pierpont guide laid out the entire process of applying, submitting courses from Sophia, etc. Will it be largely the same; should I apply and start knocking out Sophia courses, etc. and sending them in? Would it be wise to have all the other sitework completed before I start the TESU classwork, to make sure I know exactly what I need?

Apply to TESU. Purchase the $50 1-credit TECEP to get unlimited credit transfer evaluations. Send in your credits to TESU about once every 2-4 weeks.  You need 100 credits completed before they allow you to take the capstone.

How are the classes themselves?

Classes are papers, forums and some courses have exams.  You see all the coursework required for the courses on day 1 which allows you to work ahead if you want to. There are deadlines for everything.  It's pretty easy to maintain a high GPA though some exams can be challenging. 

Thanks for any assistance, I’m excited for this.

[bjcheung77]

Yes, It also depends on what you're looking at, I would just focus on the BACS first, then the BS/BSBA business requirements, the AOS you can decide on later, be it the CIS or another option. You can have 2 associates, 2 bachelors, and a few certs (I believe 4). The only AOS not available as a cert, is Entrepreneurship and International Business.

Basically, If you have the energy, time to get extra classes completed through Sophia.org and Study.com, I would do the 4 certs of your choice, two Associates (with or without capstones), and the two Bachelors (heck, if you wanted, you can double major or double AOS them both). It's all up to you and how you want to slice the pieces of pie...

[RejuvenationOclock]

Thanks for the guidance everyone.

I've been working on the CS courses for the BA, and still am up in the air on whether the BSBA should be in Finance or Operations Management. Any suggestions on which of those has a better future? Also, Would there happen to be any guides for either of those 2?

Also, this might be a long-shot but are there any grants I might try for as someone who's older and makes a decent amount of money? I assume the vast majority of grants are tailored to students fresh out of high school, but may as well ask.

Thanks again!