Newbie Introduction

[southsidej]

Hi All,
I just stumbled on this site a couple of weeks ago, and had no idea that The Big 3 existed, nor that 100% test out was even possible. Today marks the end of my first week on the journey to BA, and I've already socked away 12 credits! Lurking around all of you has helped me so much already, so THANKS!

So, my brief story is, I have 3, count 'em, 3 CC credits to transfer. I am more or less going BA from scratch. I've been fortunate to have succeeded as far as I have in the past 15 years, based solely on performance and results in IT Operations and Leadership. The time has come however to get the piece of paper to show people that DON'T know me.

Attached is what I believe to be a decent degree plan for a BSBA-CIS at TESC. I grabbed the template from another forum member, and changed most of the tests and classes to make it relevant to me. I tried to go back and find the member in order to give them credit here, but could not for the life of me find the thread where it was posted (sorry man). In my signature, I have a couple of industry certs and a non-credit class at BU I attended. If anyone has any thoughts on possible credit for those, I'm all ears. Also, thoughts on electives would be appreciated too.

I see these questions asked a lot, but I haven't been able to tell what the Masters question has to do with anything. I do not reside in NJ, CT, or NY. I DO plan on going for a Masters at some point. I test REALLY well and I enjoy it, I am a good writer but hate doing it, I hate coding (successfully avoided it since FORTRAN, COBOL, and Basic), and I dread the thought of taking any B&M or even online classes that take an entire semester. Thoughts on those details anyone?

And, I look forward to contributing to the forum!

[cookderosa]

Welcome! My first suggestion, drop the CC transfer credit. I made the mistake of using a 2 credit University of Iowa credit on my TESC application- that sucker has cost me a boat load of cash. AND to add insult to injury, it came in as free elective, something I could have used FEMA for. Why? Because if TESC puts it on your transcript as a transfer, then every time you ever have to use your degree (jobs, grad applications, etc) and they want transcripts, you're at risk to need all of them. For me, I take a lot of classes, and I've had to send those to more schools than I can count. Total WASTE of MONEY.
An official transcript fees from EVERY credit source (CLEP, DSST, CC, etc) even after your degree means the whole package- all your sources, not just TESC. I even went through a period of applying to nursing school (3 schools) and took online classes elsewhere (4 schools) applied to 7 grad schools (cha-ching) and have had to update my official employment record, you get the idea. I have a lot of transcripts anyway, so one "batch" of officials for me is about $100 per event. Don't do the math, it's sad.

I have zero input on anything computer degree related, but you'll get lots of good help here. hopefully Ryoder will chime in.

[dcan]

I'm doing the same BSBA CIS plan. Right off the bat this jumps out at me. Drop your two math tests (pre-cal and stats) and instead use ALEKS. You can do ALEKS trig and get credit for pre-cal so you don't even have to do pre-cal itself. College Math CLEP is good because that will get you 6 credits for your gen ed electives. I think you are limited to 9 credits below calculus so that maxes you out. With that you may need to rethink College Algebra, but if you can use it too then just use ALEKS for it too. Much cheaper than a CLEP and you work at your own pace and have unlimited tests.

BTW use the PDF for equivalencies, there's a TON more there than just CLEP/DSST tests. Gives you more flexibility.

Also, I think you can get Managerial Accounting through Straighterline. I've tossed around the idea of doing that myself.

Finally, if you haven't already, read the wiki (link below). It's designed specifically to help you get started and avoid some "bumps" along the way. For example, watch out for Penn Foster. They look like an easy source for CIS credits and they were in the past, but they've got some accreditation issues lately that caused at least one other person here to lose a chunk of money in wasted classes. Details on the wiki.

And welcome aboard!

[ryoder]

Good luck on your journey.
I would get started ASAP on CLEP testing. Try to knock out the business core so that you understand what business is all about. You might decide you love it or hate it. Best to get that answer early. My recommendation is to start with the CLEP Marketing exam.

[southsidej]

Hi Jennifer, you make a good point about the CC credit as it relates to transcripts. I'll have to give that some thought. I suspect that Soc101 would not be a tough CLEP exam in any event.

dcan, Thanks. My plan is to start ALEKS for the math in about a month, but good to know about Trig satisfying PreCalc. Thanks for the suggestions, and that PDF is great. Not sure how I missed that initially. Have you enrolled or been eval'd yet at TESC?

ryoder, CLEPs are next on the list. In fact, I'm going to try and knock out A&I Lit and Eng Comp w/essay in the next week or so. My background is in financial systems analysis, so a lot of the business stuff will be review I think. My reasoning for the BSBA is that because my next career hop is either SVP-IT or CIO, and IMO, these days, the most effective people in those roles have business degrees, and not technical.

[dcan]

dcan, Thanks. My plan is to start ALEKS for the math in about a month, but good to know about Trig satisfying PreCalc. Thanks for the suggestions, and that PDF is great. Not sure how I missed that initially. Have you enrolled or been eval'd yet at TESC?

Yes I am enrolled at TESC. I fall under different rules since I am military using Tuition Assistance. I am effectively "permanently enrolled" it seems.

[ShotoJuku]

Welcome aboard and GOOD LUCK in your degree pursuits!

[cookderosa]

Hi Jennifer, you make a good point about the CC credit as it relates to transcripts. I'll have to give that some thought. I suspect that Soc101 would not be a tough CLEP exam in any event.

If you were a 15 year old high school student and asked me what a good first CLEP would be, it would be Sociology. Just sayin....