TESC: Officially Amazing

[Deliberatelyliz]

So I was one of those homeschooled kids that heard about TESC a few years back. Since then I got a ton of CLEPs outta the way and now I'm finally starting my classes! I just wanted to let you all know how awesome TESC has been to me during my whole application/financial aid process. About 6 weeks ago, I spoke to two different people in the admissions department at TESC regarding the deadline for submitting my FASA, the TESC application for financial aid, and the other forms required to be considered for financial aid from the college for the June 2011 term. Apparently, I was given the wrong information and so soon after I submitted the FAFSA and the application I received an e-mail stating that I had actually MISSED the deadline for applying for financial aid for the 2010-2011 year.

I went into semi-panic mode and called the college. The admissions department was very helpful the third time around and redirected me to the Office of Financial Aid, which was better equipped to help me with my dilemna. The woman I spoke to told me that the deadlines I had been told were in incorrect, and said that she would get the message of my situation to the Director of Financial Aid, who would e-mail me later that day.

Imagine my surprise when the DFA actually called me a mere hour later saying that although I had missed the deadline my two days, she was willing to make an exception in my case because I had received the wrong information and hadn't received a notice from the FAFSA people regarding being selected for verification! She was very kind and helpful to me, repeatedly checking her fax machine and answering my questions throughout the day. That evening, she e-mailed me an award letter which contained both a grant and a direct subsidized loan. What a blessing - threefold! I had been granted a late deadline for my paperwork, helpful college staff that were willing to expedite the paperwork process so I could receive aid, and a just the right amount of FA I needed for TESC!

I just wanted to let you all know that sometimes the people on staff at colleges can make mistakes - they're not knowledgeable about everything, so I recommend that if you have a question that would be better suited to a specific department, ask them to redirect your call. I also wanted to say just how amazing TESC's service is - I'm so glad I chose to go with them, and I'm looking forward to completing my degree with the college! :mrgreen:

If you've had a similiar good experience, post up! Otherwise, talk about how cool TESC sounds or how you wish you had my experience! :wink:

[FinancialWorld]

OK, "I wish I had your experience".

So far, I've had pretty a good experience with TESC. Customer service still needs some improvements.

My biggest negative would've been receiving wrong information about a class. I ended up taking the class and was then informed that is wouldn't apply to my specialization. :mad:

I'm very happy that TESC accepts so many credits from so many places. That is their biggest positive IMHO. Oh that and my mentor has been really great.

[ryoder]

The advising department seems to have the most complaints so take what they say with a grain of salt and check with the registrars office to confirm course applicability.

[jmed]

Todd Siben has been helpful at TESC. I told him my plan and he added everything to the Academic Evaluation with approvals, so I don't have to worry about something not counting.

[sanantone]

TESC IS amazing! I applied at all of the Big 3 schools. Excelsior gives a very vague, pre-enrollment evaluation. They said I would be awarded 20-something credits for sure with the possibility of 30-something, but I would have to enroll for them to do a further evaluation.

Charter Oak gave me about 51 credits with none of them being upper level. The evaluation was kind of vague, but not as vague and complicated as Excelsior's.

Thomas Edison gave me a full evaluation....twice. One of my transcripts came in really late. I can even sign into student services and see how my credits apply to different degree programs. They took the longest to complete the evaluation, but it was worth it. They accepted 56 transfer credits (on the first evaluation and I got more when my other transcript was finally sent). If you took a lower level course at another school with a description that matches an upper level course at TESC, they will give you upper level credit. TESC only requires 18 upper level credits while COSC requires 30 (15 in the concentration) and Excelsior requires 30 (18 of 30 in major, 21 have to be arts and sciences courses, and 9 as applied professional courses)....I think???? Excelsior's degree programs are unnecessarily complicated.

TESC also has the most flexible degree programs; COSC would be second in that category. TESC also has a "learner designed area of study" option where you can combine subjects. I'm combining psychology and criminal justice. COSC has a similar option with their "individualized studies" concentration. If you pay for the tuition out of pocket (financial aid only covers guided study and online courses), their flat rate is amazing! The Comprehensive Tuition Plan covers 36 credits a year completed through online, guided study, and ePack courses; TECEPs; and PLAs. You get all of this for $4,883/$7,190 (in-state/out-of-state) the first year and $4,066/$6,254 in subsequent years. You can still choose the Comprehensive Tuition Plan if you're receiving financial aid, but it will only cover online and guided study courses.

[emichele20]

I love them too. Im getting DH's butt in gear to apply there. They are the most flexible to credits to me. The tuition is a bit high but not super expensive when compared to some of the other schools out there. I know that some may love excelsior and COSC but from experience I have just found TESC to be more upfront and honest. They may screw up a class placement or give out wrong information here and there but heck what school doesn't. I would not recommend TESC to a new student who has no experience in picking and selecting courses for themselves.

When I received my first degree eval I only had about 65 credits or so. Once I got done presenting my case to one of the advisors on how they had not reviewed the courses properly I received my 74 credits. A person who might have experience may just accept their word as gold. When ever I look into taking a course I tend to choose ACE approved courses because at the end of the day they have to award credit in one of the areas that ace recommends. To me that is easier than taking a course at a college and not knowing if TESC will accept it where you want them to.

[Levi]

I applied to TESC bracing myself for what I had heard was very poor customer service. However, I don't really have too many complaints about their service.

When I had a question, I would email the college, and they would set up a ticket for me. The ticket system was pretty efficient; it ensured that each inquiry was handled within about 24 hours. Obviously, enrolled students get faster service than non-enrolled students.

[sanantone]

I haven't had too many issues with the customer service either, so far. I had a special admissions advisor at COSC who was really quick to answer questions, but he couldn't really go in depth until I enrolled. Excelsior gives out even less information to non-enrolled students. The vagueness is not there with TESC. They are quick to answer easy questions, but take a few days to respond when you ask a more specific question i.e. challenging the evaluation of a course. I don't mind.

Charter Oak was going to be my choice until the Psychology GRE was canceled in my city. I was depending on that to take care of half of the UL requirements. My only other option would have been to take ECEs which would have been much more expensive. So I went with TESC knowing that they require less upper level credits and the fact that they gave me UL credits for LL courses.

[FinancialWorld]

I applied to TESC bracing myself for what I had heard was very poor customer service. However, I don't really have too many complaints about their service.

Its not that bad :o

They have supposedly improved a lot. Sometimes, most likely when you need something done quickly, they area very slow processing stuff and sending out exams. I had to fax my transcript request to them THREE times before they finally "received" it. My mentor and course mentor are very quick about answering questions and helping me out.

[bricabrac]

Luckily my only issues have been with advisers not completely up to speed and at this point I have to wonder if it was their fault or internal miscommunication.

When I've scheduled a phone appt the results have been much, much better. I can't say enough good things about the registrar’s office (especially the grad folks), bursars’ office, financial aid, and the evaluators. I prefer the phone over email simply because it seems some of the newer folks man the email system and give generalized answers. You would never know just how specialized the programs can be unless you get someone on the phone. They can be very accommodating.

I only wanted to add a few of my personal experiences with TESC over the past year or so. My overall positive experience is what makes me lean towards TESC for grad studies.