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How to get a degree in 2020?
#1
Lightbulb 
Hello everyone!  Smile

I am new to this testing out world, but I've done my research and got the mechanics of it down...
But now it's time to invest in this, so I'm curious as to which direction would be the best to start with, especially during these...

What are yall's experience as to the most linear route towards a degree? There seems to be a lot of factors, which seem to change quite frequently too...

I'm not an American, I have no prior credits, and I live outside the USA so I'd prefer to take as few in-person exams as possible  Wink

Any recommendations? I'm open to anything that could be the quickest route... It's just vital for me to have that paper atm, I'd love to expand my curiosities when a Masters is in closer reach.

Thanks so much in advance! Looking forward to hearing of yall's experiences  Smile
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#2
What kind of master's are you wanting to get? A liberal studies degree would be the absolute fastest but it might or might not allow you to pursue a master's of your choice.

However, the best thing for you to do RIGHT NOW before making any concrete plans is to go to Sophia.org, register, and take as many courses as you can ASAP. They're free until the end of the month, so time is running out on that. Skip the foundations courses, the 1-credit courses, and the college readiness course. Start with English Composition I and one other course that does not have touchstones (see the list here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List ). While you're waiting for your touchstones (essays) to be graded, you can run through the other courses. If you start now and concentrate on nothing but Sophia, you should be able to finish most of them by the end of the month. That's up to 74 credits for FREE.

At the end of the month, come back, report what you managed to finish, and then you can have a solid plan worked out.
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#3
(07-11-2020, 07:19 AM)rachel83az Wrote: OMW that's incredibly helpful, thank you so much! Shouldve done this sooner haha! Will they be trasferrable to most universities? Im thinking of TESU...

I would like a masters in Education... IDK much about a liberal arts degree, we don't have them here, so I hope it can convert...
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#4
Also, go to https://ea.asu.edu/courses/ and sign up. $99 total for 3 RA (regionally accredited; I.E., actual college) credits is a steal right now. You'd need RA credits if you wind up going to COSC (COSC has a BA in education: https://www.charteroak.edu/early-childhood-education/ ). Less important for TESU and Excelsior, but multiple sources of credit are still good. Courses that have an August 18 start date and will be $99 are:
  • Brief Calculus 
  • Calculus for Engineers
  • College Algebra - but Sophia is easier and FREE
  • Computer Applications & Technology
  • English Composition I & II - Sophia is free but Eng. Comp II from ASU may be easier. Good options if you run out of time with Sophia, too.
  • General Chemistry for Engineers (4 credits, should count as a science with a lab)
  • Human Origins
  • Intro to Human Communication
  • Introduction to Sociology - Sophia is FREE, take that one instead
  • Introduction to Solar Systems Astronomy (4 credits, should count as a science with a lab)
  • Macroeconomic Principles - Sophia is FREE
  • Precalculus
  • Programming for everyone: Intro to Programming
You have until August to actually sign up for these classes, so that gives you some time to see what you are/are not able to finish at Sophia. However, it can take a while to activate/verify your account, so you're going to want to get that process started now. Also, some of these have self-paced options, so you could start working on them now, in between Sophia courses.

I would highly recommend taking no more than 4 or 5 ASU non-self-paced courses at once unless you literally have nothing else to do with yourself right now. I suppose you could do 6 or 7 if you're very, very motivated. I'm currently doing 4, just started a 5th (English Composition) and it's a lot. If I weren't finishing Astronomy up, I don't think I'd be able to do 5 + Sophia + little things like eating and getting groceries.
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#5
(07-11-2020, 07:19 AM)rachel83az Wrote: However, the best thing for you to do RIGHT NOW before making any concrete plans is to go to Sophia.org, register, and take as many courses as you can ASAP. They're free until the end of the month, so time is running out on that. Skip the foundations courses, the 1-credit courses, and the college readiness course. Start with English Composition I and one other course that does not have touchstones (see the list here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List ). While you're waiting for your touchstones (essays) to be graded, you can run through the other courses. If you start now and concentrate on nothing but Sophia, you should be able to finish most of them by the end of the month. That's up to 74 credits for FREE.

At the end of the month, come back, report what you managed to finish, and then you can have a solid plan worked out.

One and done.
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#6
(07-11-2020, 07:41 AM)ThatGuyInAHurry Wrote: OMW that's incredibly helpful, thank you so much! Shouldve done this sooner haha! Will they be trasferrable to most universities? Im thinking of TESU...

I would like a masters in Education... IDK much about a liberal arts degree, we don't have them here, so I hope it can convert...

You should be aware that if your ultimate goal is to get into a good US grad school program, using alternative credit providers to provide the bulk of credits in a bachelor's degree is not the best approach. Alternative education providers are not regionally accredited (RA) colleges and do not provide graded credits, which will make it more difficult to gain admittance when schools want to see the 60 most recent [graded] RA credits to derive the GPA. Additionally, if the grad program has specific course requirements, ACE credits will generally NOT meet those requirements (particularly if the college itself doesn't accept ACE credits). This means that you may need to go back to retake those courses at a RA college or spend extra time and money re-taking leveling courses as part of the grad degree.

Using alternative credit providers is a great way to earn a degree to get a promotion at work or meet the minimum requirement for jobs that require a bachelor's degree, but they are generally not the best option for people whose ultimate goal is to attend a good grad school. That isn't to say that you cannot get into grad schools with a degree built around alternative credits, but it will make the road harder--unless you focus only on schools with low entry requirements and/or schools that accept a lot of ACE credits in their undergrad program. If you were a US resident I'd suggest you look at WGU since they meet both criteria and offer master's degrees in education, but I don't know many good options outside of WGU.

If you're serious about completing a degree specifically to pursue a graduate degree afterward, what you should do first is figure out what grad programs and schools you are interested in. Once you have identified those, you need to work backward from there to figure out the entrance requirements and focus on those to be competitive for entry. Each program will generally have its own requirements, so you will need to understand what specific courses they require as pre-requisites, the minimum entrance GPA you'll need to qualify (and how it will be calculated), and any other co-requirements you may need to have GMAT/GRE, academic references, research experience, etc.
Working on: Debating whether I want to pursue a doctoral program or maybe another master's degree in 2022-23

Complete:
MBA (IT Management), 2019, Western Governors University
BSBA (Computer Information Systems), 2019, Thomas Edison State University
ASNSM (Computer Science), 2019, Thomas Edison State University

ScholarMatch College & Career Coach
WGU Ambassador
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#7
Thanks so much, everyone! I will definitely do some research on the points that were brought up.
I already started at Sophia, so hopefully, I'll write back soon with a couple of credits haha...
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#8
I forgot to mention, but ASU is also great because you don't have to pay unless you're satisfied with the grade. Normally, you have to pay $25 now + $400 once you pass the course. However, the courses that start on Aug. 18 are $99 if, and only if, you want that grade on a transcript. They're completely free to start taking and there is no penalty for dropping a course.

In theory, you could sign up for every single one of those ASU courses and then only finish the ones that you want to finish.
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#9
(07-11-2020, 06:02 AM)ThatGuyInAHurry Wrote: Hello everyone!  Smile

I am new to this testing out world, but I've done my research and got the mechanics of it down...
But now it's time to invest in this, so I'm curious as to which direction would be the best to start with, especially during these...

What are yall's experience as to the most linear route towards a degree? There seems to be a lot of factors, which seem to change quite frequently too...

I'm not an American, I have no prior credits, and I live outside the USA so I'd prefer to take as few in-person exams as possible  Wink

Any recommendations? I'm open to anything that could be the quickest route... It's just vital for me to have that paper atm, I'd love to expand my curiosities when a Masters is in closer reach.

Thanks so much in advance! Looking forward to hearing of yall's experiences  Smile
(Edited) 
Was wondering if Master degree from any of the BIG 3 is good enough since it has to accept the fact the Bachelor's degree has been achieved with alternative credits.
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#10
(07-12-2020, 06:39 AM)Lacedonia4 Wrote: Was wondering if Master degree from any of the BIG 3 is good enough since it has to accept the fact the Bachelor's degree has been achieved with alternative credits.

In 99% of the cases, you will not want to pursue a master's degree from any of the Big 3 schools. They are extremely overpriced for the value you get from them, they are all traditional courses without the ability to accelerate, and there are almost no options for alternative credit transfer at the graduate level which is the only reason why you'd want to go there to begin with.

There are plenty of other open-entry grad schools out there that will take degrees from the Big 3 without question and regardless of where the credits were earned. They just won't be well-known or top-ranked schools.

Ultimately, it comes down to why you want a graduate degree and what you plan to do with it? For some purposes, you really want to be able to get into a top school... for others, it doesn't really matter.
Working on: Debating whether I want to pursue a doctoral program or maybe another master's degree in 2022-23

Complete:
MBA (IT Management), 2019, Western Governors University
BSBA (Computer Information Systems), 2019, Thomas Edison State University
ASNSM (Computer Science), 2019, Thomas Edison State University

ScholarMatch College & Career Coach
WGU Ambassador
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