Entirely Confused about TESC and Tuition/Fafsa

[kenya2009]

I've recently sent my application to TESC and should be expecting a response within the next week. I am looking to get my B.A in criminal justice and have absolutely no college experience or credits that can be applied to TESC from another school. I am just so confused about this college though, so please bear with me.

I also have applied for FAFSA through their website, and I am eligible for the $5,550 grant (which I was told was the highest amount of grant money offered by FAFSA). I am in the process of sending my separate fin.aid info to TESC, that they require. My main concern would be if TESC is the right school for me, considering I have no college experience at all and no credits to transfer over? Has anyone received their entire BA from this one school? I probably should have thought of this before spending $75 on an application fee but you live, you learn.

Secondly, I have no idea how the heck I'll be paying for this if my grant is only $5,550. I do work, but I also really cannot afford to throw down about $ 3 grand for their enrollment fees and any other extra fees that they state on their website. I've noticed I can take out a loan on top of the grant, which seems to be my only option right now. I am planning to begin courses in Feb of 2012, would my grant cover my annual enrollment as well as all the other fees? The enrollment fee is mighty expensive and I am concerned that my $5,550 grant will not cover much of all the fees associated with getting through my first term. If anyone could share the tuition info for me regarding FAFSA , in layman's terms, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if there are any other suggestions of online colleges I should look into that may be tailored better for someone like me, with no college education and on a budget - that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks so much

[rebel100]

TESC can be a very affordable path to a degree...but that affordability is lost if you plan to take very many actual classes at TESC. TESC, Excelsior, and Charter Oak are unique in that they offer nearly 100% of the credits to come from other sources. Other colleges attended, CLEP/DSST exams, FEMA. Straighterline are all potential sources to earn credits and keep costs down.....unfortunately only other collleges are possible for you to use the PELL grant for...no CLEP/SL/etc...

So, no...I don't think TESC is the best place for you to maximize the return for your PELL grant. From a financial standpoint you would be much better off at your local Community College or even State University...if yours is expensive you can still go online at an inexpensive school like New Mexico Junior College or Clovis in New Mexico (the tuition even for out of state students is ridiculously low like around $89/credit). With a Pell Grant of around $2700/semester you would cover all books and tuition and still get a check for the balance of around $1000. You could then use the extra to take cleps or other classes/tests to expedite your degree.

With all that said, I ultimately chose Charter Oak because they dealt with the aid issue so much better than the other two...and they are cheaper...but really this depends on what your looking for and what you bring to the table. You might enroll in a CC and max out the grant and start taking the exams you will need to complete the bachelors...you can stay in cheap CC till you have 90 credits and transfer to any 4 year institution including one of the Big 3 then.

[sanantone]

If you plan to take more than 24 credits a year at TESC, you should choose the Comprehensive Tuition Plan which does not have an enrollment fee. You're going to have to take at least 24 credits a year in order to receive the full Pell Grant award.

Thomas Edison State College: Comprehensive Tuition Plan

[cooperalex2004]

The quick answer is TESC is great, but you will not get the full grant.

Here are some things to look at:

-TESC's academic year is four 3 month semesters from July 2012 - June 2013 so you've already missed out on 1/4 of the money, plus since they take weeks to get the paperwork through you have probably lost out on the second semester too (so half of the money is gone)
-Grant money is based on traditional schooling and normally is for two semesters of 12 credits, TESC splits it up to make it work out but if you aren't starting until February you won't be seeing more than 1/4 or 1/2 of the grant money. You can of course get another grant next year (subject to financial aid limits and income limits)
-The enrollment fee is not covered by the Pell Grant, you can pay for that and then use your PELL money to help pay tuition
-You would at this point expect one-half of the pell grant and likely take two courses (6 credits) beginning in January and April and that would let you use $2775 of your grant money, if you start in February you might only see 1/4 of the money

You might want to consider a local community college to begin with. I completed a bunch of credits at that level and brought them over. Since I did it that way I was able to pay the full tuition and books fee with just the pell grant, TESC is not the place to start if you only have the pell grant money to use. I'm not sure they will even approve the money at TESC until you enroll (and pay the almost $3000 fee). TESC is great for completion and for accepting a lot of credits from different places, but as far as the costs go you cannot attend TESC on just a Pell Grant.

[kenya2009]

TESC can be a very affordable path to a degree...but that affordability is lost if you plan to take very many actual classes at TESC. TESC, Excelsior, and Charter Oak are unique in that they offer nearly 100% of the credits to come from other sources. Other colleges attended, CLEP/DSST exams, FEMA. Straighterline are all potential sources to earn credits and keep costs down.....unfortunately only other collleges are possible for you to use the PELL grant for...no CLEP/SL/etc...

So, no...I don't think TESC is the best place for you to maximize the return for your PELL grant. From a financial standpoint you would be much better off at your local Community College or even State University...if yours is expensive you can still go online at an inexpensive school like New Mexico Junior College or Clovis in New Mexico (the tuition even for out of state students is ridiculously low like around $89/credit). With a Pell Grant of around $2700/semester you would cover all books and tuition and still get a check for the balance of around $1000. You could then use the extra to take cleps or other classes/tests to expedite your degree.

With all that said, I ultimately chose Charter Oak because they dealt with the aid issue so much better than the other two...and they are cheaper...but really this depends on what your looking for and what you bring to the table. You might enroll in a CC and max out the grant and start taking the exams you will need to complete the bachelors...you can stay in cheap CC till you have 90 credits and transfer to any 4 year institution including one of the Big 3 then.

Thank you all so much for you ideas/suggestions. I have decided not to go through TESC as I do understand it is probably a better idea to go with them after I get some credits accomplished first. I really appreciate your suggestions of New Mexico Junior College and Clovis, I am currently looking into these schools as well as looking into a community college in my state that offers complete online associate degrees. I wish there was a way I could get back my $75.00 app fee from TESC but I think I am outta luck. Thanks again everyone

[sanantone]

While TESC is not cheaper than a community college (and it's not supposed to be since it's a 4-year college), its out-of-state tuition rate is competitive with in-state tuition rates at public universities. There are those few public universities that charge $4k-6k a year in-state, but the average is more than $8k and that's just for the usual 30 credits. TESC let's you take up to 36 credits for $8k and less than $7500 after the first year. The same number of credits would cost you $12,472 at Charter Oak and $14,435 at Excelsior (actually $45 more expensive after the first year).

The financial aid year has already started for most colleges, so you've missed out on the first quarter of the grant no matter which traditional college you choose. Not too many schools have rolling financial aid years and monthly start dates. Many colleges have 8-week courses now and the OP has already missed the beginning of the first 8-week session. That means the OP will only get half of the Pell Grant award for this semester ($1387.50). I don't know if you can still use leftover grant money for the summer; that's what I did in 2011 when I missed the first half of the fall semester in 2010. It's already too late to sign up for any 16-week courses. It really doesn't make a difference, however, because the grant award will still be proportionate the number of sessions the OP will be attending within the financial aid year. And yes, the OP can always get another award when the next financial aid year starts. The community colleges I attended took 4-6 weeks to process financial aid, so you'll have to move fast because the next 8-week session starts in October.

Again, there is no enrollment fee under the Comprehensive Tuition Plan. Central Texas College has monthly start dates, but it's much more expensive for out-of-state students than the New Mexico community colleges. The second half-term at Clovis and NMJC starts Oct. 15, so apply as soon as possible or you won't be able to start until next year. Although, I suggest looking into your in-state community colleges first. I paid $54 per credit hour in-district and $76 per credit hour in-state/out-of-district at Texas community colleges.