No Credits to Transfer - TESC BS in Marketing is the end game

[mbruz]

I've been at this for weeks, and every time I think I have a smart plan drawn up, I end up scrapping it. I've been clicking around here all afternoon and while I didn't want to waste anyone's time handing me an answer I could find myself, I'm honestly not finding it myself...

I have no credits to transfer - I never went to college. I had a son at 16, and went to a secretarial school after HS (dumb choice - it was just fast). Got my first job as a receptionist, and moved up from there. I'm 12 years into a marketing career and it's hard to keep moving up without the degree. I have 4 kids now and my career is intense. I want to get a degree more than anything, but I have to be smart about it.

I want to test out of as much as I can - I'm a very independent learner and I know I can do this well. Do all the tests people are listing in their plans work towards a TESC degree, or are there intricacies I need to be aware of? I see there's a common strategy of testing out of everything and/or taking CC courses until you're in the final stretch, at which point you apply to TESC, transfer credits, and take any finishing courses. Is that right? If you haven't applied until the end, how do you know all the work you've done will count? What's a reasonable timeframe to expect it to take to do a degree this way, start to finish, starting from ZERO? What about the TECEPs - do those have to be done as a registered TESC student or anyone can do those without paying admissions fees?

I really appreciate any help or advice or just links to applicable threads - thank you so much!

[cookderosa]

I've been at this for weeks, and every time I think I have a smart plan drawn up, I end up scrapping it. I've been clicking around here all afternoon and while I didn't want to waste anyone's time handing me an answer I could find myself, I'm honestly not finding it myself...

I have no credits to transfer - I never went to college. I had a son at 16, and went to a secretarial school after HS (dumb choice - it was just fast). Got my first job as a receptionist, and moved up from there. I'm 12 years into a marketing career and it's hard to keep moving up without the degree. I have 4 kids now and my career is intense. I want to get a degree more than anything, but I have to be smart about it.

I want to test out of as much as I can - I'm a very independent learner and I know I can do this well. Do all the tests people are listing in their plans work towards a TESC degree, or are there intricacies I need to be aware of? I see there's a common strategy of testing out of everything and/or taking CC courses until you're in the final stretch, at which point you apply to TESC, transfer credits, and take any finishing courses. Is that right? If you haven't applied until the end, how do you know all the work you've done will count? What's a reasonable timeframe to expect it to take to do a degree this way, start to finish, starting from ZERO? What about the TECEPs - do those have to be done as a registered TESC student or anyone can do those without paying admissions fees?

I really appreciate any help or advice or just links to applicable threads - thank you so much!

Welcome to the board! We have similar backgrounds I had a degree, but it didn't have proper accreditation, so I started with zero credit too.
First off, know that MOST adults who come here have very little to no credit, and have hit a brick wall at work. That story is heard here often. I don't see that as a bad thing. When you start at zero, that means you are WIDE OPEN! You can choose ANY program! Sometimes, when you already have a bunch of credit and you're trying to build a degree, where the credit will fall determines which degree you pick. So, consider yourself fortunate that you can choose any program you'd like!

Take one test. Any test. Get in the game. Worry about the plan as you learn the ropes. I think you'd do well studying for the Marketing exam (since it's your field), Human Growth and Development (since you're a mom and have LIVED this exam first hand), or Analyzing and Interpreting Literature (because it isn't content-driven, it's a comprehension exam).

I'm not an expert at building business-related degree plans, but so many here are, you'll have no trouble getting all your questions answered.
How do you know that the exams will work? You'll create a degree plan based on your school's requirements and you'll run it past everyone here, and then you'll work on it. You don't have to wait until exactly the end to enroll, but you want to limit enrollment to 1 year for minimum cost. Even with small changes, everyone here is pretty obsessive about keeping current on all things TESC. Sometimes, advisors will give you the wrong info, but it doesn't get past anyone here lol.
Start to finish - a year is absolutely reasonable. I did 6 months of just testing before I enrolled, then 1 year of TESC classes while I finished up my last couple tests. Most people here use fewer classes than I did, but that's up to you.
Good luck! You can do it. We have ALL been where you are!

[ncpenn]

Look at this pdf file. http://degreeplanners.com/media/TESC_Equ...Course.pdf

Then start to match up tests/ALEKS courses/Straighterline courses with requirements listed here: BSBA in Marketing Degree Program

Some of it's easy. For example, the English CLEP (with essay) takes care of the 6 credits required for English Composition. And so on and so on . . .

Hope that helps a little.

I've been at this for weeks, and every time I think I have a smart plan drawn up, I end up scrapping it. I've been clicking around here all afternoon and while I didn't want to waste anyone's time handing me an answer I could find myself, I'm honestly not finding it myself...

I have no credits to transfer - I never went to college. I had a son at 16, and went to a secretarial school after HS (dumb choice - it was just fast). Got my first job as a receptionist, and moved up from there. I'm 12 years into a marketing career and it's hard to keep moving up without the degree. I have 4 kids now and my career is intense. I want to get a degree more than anything, but I have to be smart about it.

I want to test out of as much as I can - I'm a very independent learner and I know I can do this well. Do all the tests people are listing in their plans work towards a TESC degree, or are there intricacies I need to be aware of? I see there's a common strategy of testing out of everything and/or taking CC courses until you're in the final stretch, at which point you apply to TESC, transfer credits, and take any finishing courses. Is that right? If you haven't applied until the end, how do you know all the work you've done will count? What's a reasonable timeframe to expect it to take to do a degree this way, start to finish, starting from ZERO? What about the TECEPs - do those have to be done as a registered TESC student or anyone can do those without paying admissions fees?

I really appreciate any help or advice or just links to applicable threads - thank you so much!

[ncpenn]

Something I forgot to mention, TESC is changing their requirements for the 60 credits of gen ed courses starting July 1. Some of the same tests will apply (like the English CLEP), but some will be very different. See here for more details. Thomas Edison State College: General Education Electives

[mrs.b]

I've been at this for weeks, and every time I think I have a smart plan drawn up, I end up scrapping it. I've been clicking around here all afternoon and while I didn't want to waste anyone's time handing me an answer I could find myself, I'm honestly not finding it myself...

I have no credits to transfer - I never went to college. I had a son at 16, and went to a secretarial school after HS (dumb choice - it was just fast). Got my first job as a receptionist, and moved up from there. I'm 12 years into a marketing career and it's hard to keep moving up without the degree. I have 4 kids now and my career is intense. I want to get a degree more than anything, but I have to be smart about it.

I want to test out of as much as I can - I'm a very independent learner and I know I can do this well. Do all the tests people are listing in their plans work towards a TESC degree, or are there intricacies I need to be aware of? I see there's a common strategy of testing out of everything and/or taking CC courses until you're in the final stretch, at which point you apply to TESC, transfer credits, and take any finishing courses. Is that right? If you haven't applied until the end, how do you know all the work you've done will count? What's a reasonable timeframe to expect it to take to do a degree this way, start to finish, starting from ZERO? What about the TECEPs - do those have to be done as a registered TESC student or anyone can do those without paying admissions fees?

I really appreciate any help or advice or just links to applicable threads - thank you so much!

Hello! Great advice above. Good on you for working towards the credentials needed to break that education glass ceiling. Testing out of your degree is one of the very few ways to get a regionally-accredited degree without spending tens of thousands of dollars, and taking on a ton of debt. And as Cook said, we've all been there and are here to pass on the great advice received as we moved through the channels. Please never hesitate to ask if you feel you're running into an insurmountable hurdle.

To build on ncpenn's comments, please apply before July 1st if you want to lock in the current degree requirements. TESC is changing General Education requirements as of July 1st, so students starting after that point will be on a new degree plan which will take some back-and-forth with the school to sort out the nitty gritty details. The current degree requirements have been hammered by many here, so a lot of us can chip in to help you build a testing plan. After applying, you'll need to enroll within six months of the date of application to make that evaluation sticks; if you enroll after your initial application expires, you'll have to re-apply and be on the new Gen Ed requirements. Should you need more time or will not be able to apply before July 1, I do not think the changes will be extremely difficult to meet with CBE (credit by exam) options, so do not let that cramp your budget or timeline too much. In answer to your questions how we know which CBEs to take to meet which requirements, it's because others have gone before us to meet those same requirements so they've already blazed the trail at matching specific requirements to specific CBEs or independent study courses, etc. If you fall under the new requirements, some new trailblazers will need to experiment and figure out which CBEs meet which requirements.

Next, a few questions:
1) Are you in a financially comfortable place to pay for the tests as well as the enrollment fee out of pocket? I'm not asking to dive into your personal finances, but if you'll need to look at any financial aid, it will alter the advice of courses and timeline because you'll have some additional restrictions and considerations to plan due to the courseload requirement above CBEs.
2) Have you decided if you'll do a General Mangement degree, or are you going to select one of the specializations (there's a BSBA-Marketing, for instance). Take a look at the BSBA options on TESC's website; they are all similar, but there are some differences in the core requirements that will adjust suggested course routes. Thomas Edison State College: Online, accredited degrees that can be completed entirely online

To decide your first testing options, here is the Degree Forum Wiki that may answer a lot of your initial questions: Degree Forum Wiki About two thirds of the way down the page, under Short List of Topics, you'll see a link to Example TESC Degree Plans. There are variations of most of the BSBAs listed there. If you want a BSBA specialization that isn't listed, you can grab the General Management plans and use those for most of the requirements, and when you start planning out your core, shout here for additional help; there are a few people working towards BSBA-Marketing degrees that can probably chime in with the courses they've had approved.

Hope that helps get you started. It's a lot to take in initially. The best starting point is to decide which BSBA variant you want, apply, then start studying for a test. Cook's suggestion of Intro Marketing CLEP is great; it's reputed to be one of the easiest, you have experience, and no matter which BSBA you select, it's required for your Business core.

[alleycat]

Actually we all had zero credits at one point. I went back to school and have four children also. It can be done. I recommend you test what you already know. Get the official Clep exam book and take a peek. You will be shocked at what you already know. Since you are already in marketing take a look at that exam. Many of the business exams have lots of overlap so it can make testing easier. Also I would look at DSST Here's to your Health exam. Pretty easy and a great first exam. Good luck. You can do it.

[IrishJohn]

A lot of good advice above. There are a couple of things I add to all of this:

1. Don't forget to look through this site: Degree Forum Wiki. It was put together by members here and you'll find a LOT there to help you!

2. What secretarial school did you go to? Some of the courses might be worth some credit hours depending upon its accreditation, or if they are approved by ACE. Another trick might be to use PLA to obtain credit for these courses if they'll fit into your degree plan.

Oh and don't worry about anything from the past, many of us here finished our degrees through the Big 3 - including myself! I despaired of ever getting even an Associate's degree until I discovered this forum and TESC, now I'm working on a Master's!!!

[mbruz]

Thank you all SO MUCH for taking the time to respond!

I am feeling very confident about this, for the first time. I'm going to apply to TESC before July 1 so I can get in on the current guidelines. I have my degree plan pretty well mapped out I think, and I'd like to post it on the forum when I'm done fine-tuning it to see if everyone thinks it'll work.

Thanks again everyone!