TESU vs WGU - Any Advice? And Also, Opinions on Ashworth?

[rowan555]

My 17 year old is working towards a business degree - he has about 45 credits and is working on more via Study.com and SL right now. His plan has been to attend WGU, but I keep seeing folks mention TESU on this forum, while there's not too much talk about WGU. Should I do some research into TESU for him? WGU seemed like a no-brainer as he can most likely complete his bachelors degree in one six-month term since he'll have only about 30 credits left to do and he'll be devoting himself full time to school. When I originally looked at TESU it appeared to be a lot pricier than WGU, but it seems that many of you are using workarounds to bring the price down. I'm completely clueless, so if there's a post or specific link that might get me up to speed so he and I can discuss that option, I'd really appreciate it. Or if you think WGU makes more sense, I'd love your thoughts on that as well.

On a related note, my younger child is just not academically inclined at all - I worry about him being able to succeed with college because he detests school and just doesn't have the drive to work terribly hard. I would like him to get a degree just because I think it's still important to have one, but I don't see him graduating from a brick and mortar school, or from a rigorous program such as WGU. I've been looking at Ashworth and while it doesn't seem like the best school by a long shot, it looks like something he could handle. Would we be wasting time and money on a degree there, or would it be better than just giving up on the whole college thing altogether? He'd probably go for a general business degree since he's not sure what he wants to do for a living yet.

[mednat]

I'm not sure how the WGU undergrad program is but I completed my MBA at WGU. What do you like about the Ashworth program? I don't think it would be wasting your money or time if the alternative is no degree. Can you find a better deal financially? Sure, but it doesn't matter if they drop out of the cheaper program. Fit to program is completely dependent on the person involved. The path I choose was 100% perfect for me, but I would never recommend it to my brother who has different needs.

First off, I don't think it's worth giving up on college all together. I hate the way the higher education system is setup to expect kids to know what they want to do at such a young age, but the fact of the matter is their is a strong correlation with lifetime earnings and college degrees. WGU and TESU are probably unlike any college experience he's seen. Not necessarily easier or better, but definitely different. both require some motivation to stay on task. Definitely check with each to see what will transfer and how it will fit. That will change your cost model alot.

WGU provides student mentors who call you every week. This will probably help those who don't have self-motivation. They have course mentors to help with the material, but you must reach out to get help. With that said neither will make you move at any particular pace. There are a mix of papers to write and tests to complete to advance. No one cares if you read the material; There are no hoops to jump through ; No homework assignments. As long as you complete the papers and tests successfully you move on. I loved this approach, because I'm accustomed to work environments where results are the measure of success and I detest busy work. Others may find that the lack of structure challenging. In comparison to a traditional environment, I found that WGU tends to focus on application and practical topics as opposed to theory. Typically they are going to focus on areas that will help in the business world. I enjoyed, because I am very hands on.

TESU is different. Testing out of a degree is basically the epitome of self-learning. You really have no set structure (this forum can help you set one). No deadlines, no constraints, nothing to move you forward but yourself. I enjoyed this, but I must say the overhead in planning my degree with TESU was much more than with WGU. I enjoyed the degree planning process and the awesome amount of freedom I had on choosing my credit sources, but it definitely takes time to keep on top of all of the policies and transfer evaluations. With that said, if he engages in this forum, everyone here will take much of this tremendous load off of him, and basically create an entire degree plan for him. It will be up to him ultimately to complete it and make sure that the timing of taking classes works out (basically to make sure policies haven't changed since his plan was created). TESU can be completed faster than 6 months if you want, but that's 100% dependent on the student. TESU can be cheaper, but it depends on the degree. If you want the ultimate amount of flexibility, i'd choose TESU.

TLDR: WGU provides more structure than TESU, but TESU provides more freedom in selecting classes , speed, and cost. Both are great options, but based on the description you gave of your youngest son, I tend to lean towards WGU. If you think he would be more engaged if he can more closely select his classes and will have the focus to push himself forward with literally no one asking him how he's doing, choose TESU. Your oldest will likely do well at either based on the fact that he's completed so many credits already, although TESU may provide better evaluation of his existing credits.

[yb1]

Rowan TESU is very cheap I have been paying completely out of pocket and it is absolutely doable. it looks like you can use Study.com for the majority of the credits. Also have you utilized any of the free credits?
There is a free ethic course you can take to fulfill that requirement. You can do teex Cybersecurity courses to fulfill the 6 free electives in the TESU general management degree.


WGU is very popular among the IT crowd because part of the tuition is industry recognized IT certs such as Comptia and CCNA. I would say WGU if you were doing IT but I would go for business at TESU



If you are going business degree vs business degree I believe that TESU would be easier for a 17 year old especially since they accept up to 90 credits from study.com alone. WGU has a lot of annoying requirements such as having a mentor who you need to schedule weekly phone calls with.



The other thing is that WGU goes by the pass/fail system and has no GPA. I have known people to complain about that saying companies they applied to wanted a GPA to evaluate the transcripts.

TESU it is easier to get a GPA.

Study.com can be really annoying at times but once you get use to the format it is pretty straight forward.


oh and make sure you knock out the Aleks courses before it is too late.

[videogamesrock]

My 17 year old is working towards a business degree - he has about 45 credits and is working on more via Study.com and SL right now. His plan has been to attend WGU, but I keep seeing folks mention TESU on this forum, while there's not too much talk about WGU. Should I do some research into TESU for him? WGU seemed like a no-brainer as he can most likely complete his bachelors degree in one six-month term since he'll have only about 30 credits left to do and he'll be devoting himself full time to school. When I originally looked at TESU it appeared to be a lot pricier than WGU, but it seems that many of you are using workarounds to bring the price down. I'm completely clueless, so if there's a post or specific link that might get me up to speed so he and I can discuss that option, I'd really appreciate it. Or if you think WGU makes more sense, I'd love your thoughts on that as well.

On a related note, my younger child is just not academically inclined at all - I worry about him being able to succeed with college because he detests school and just doesn't have the drive to work terribly hard. I would like him to get a degree just because I think it's still important to have one, but I don't see him graduating from a brick and mortar school, or from a rigorous program such as WGU. I've been looking at Ashworth and while it doesn't seem like the best school by a long shot, it looks like something he could handle. Would we be wasting time and money on a degree there, or would it be better than just giving up on the whole college thing altogether? He'd probably go for a general business degree since he's not sure what he wants to do for a living yet.

I think it may be best for your younger child to go out into the work force and then make a decision based on the school of hard knocks. Forcing them to do something they have no motivation will not do much. At the same time don't bail them out when things get tough. Whenever parents bail their children out it teaches them they don't have to be responsible adults. I see this mistake with a lot of young Bernie supporters who have their parents pay for a lot of their stuff in theirlate 20's (cell phones, car insurance, health insurance, education etc.). Peter Pan syndrome.

You dont have to have a college degree to make it in this country. After all most entrepreneurs are college drop outs and many welders maker more than philosophy majors. Maybe teaching your youngest about investing saving and eventually risk taking might be their calling in life. My parents tried to shove education down my throat and thank god I dropped out of college after a year, went to work, and then started a business.

[videogamesrock]

My opinion on Ashworth College. I love the school, the courses are self paced and about $83 a credit. There aren't any weekly discussions and each chapter has a quiz with two 4-page papers to write. You can challenge 30 credits for $20 a 3 credit course. So the first semester is around $1,400 and will equal 45 credits. Each quiz you have 23 hours to complete and they are open book.


the challenge exams are proctored .

[rowan555]

I understand where you're coming from, definitely. My thinking was to perhaps have him get an associates degree instead of doing the regular 11th/12th grade years - that way he at least has the AS and he can decide from there what to do. I certainly won't force him to do anything once he's over 18 - it would need to be his decision. He doesn't care for school, but since he needs to be in school at his age anyway, I figure earning a degree, even an associates degree from a school like Ashworth, might be a better use of his time than doing traditional high school.

I think it may be best for your younger child to go out into the work force and then make a decision based on the school of hard knocks. Forcing them to do something they have no motivation will not do much. At the same time don't bail them out when things get tough. Whenever parents bail their children out it teaches them they don't have to be responsible adults. I see this mistake with a lot of young Bernie supporters who have their parents pay for a lot of their stuff in theirlate 20's (cell phones, car insurance, health insurance, education etc.). Peter Pan syndrome.

You dont have to have a college degree to make it in this country. After all most entrepreneurs are college drop outs and many welders maker more than philosophy majors. Maybe teaching your youngest about investing saving and eventually risk taking might be their calling in life. My parents tried to shove education down my throat and thank god I dropped out of college after a year, went to work, and then started a business.

[rowan555]

You can challenge 30 credits for $20 a 3 credit course.

What do you mean by this part of your post?

[rowan555]

Videogamesrock - I see you're working on your Bachelors degree at Ashworth now - can you tell me why you chose it rather than TESU or the other more popular options? Also, can you tell me if there is a minimum amount of time you can complete each semester in?

[videogamesrock]

Videogamesrock - I see you're working on your Bachelors degree at Ashworth now - can you tell me why you chose it rather than TESU or the other more popular options? Also, can you tell me if there is a minimum amount of time you can complete each semester in?

So Asworth has a challenge/test out option for up to 15 credits (5 courses for an AA/AS/AAS) and an additional 15 towards a BS. Each exam is $20 and can be taken only once.

Each semester can be 12 months and an extension is $75.

I signed up at 3am when I couldn't find anything on TV, cancelled my cable and started my courses. I slept like a baby after my first course. So far each course takes me about a week to complete. I chose Ashworth because it gives me something to do as my rentals require about 4 hours a month of maintenance and one month out of the year for bookkeeping and taxes that I spread out over 12 months. So I have a lot of time on my hands. Since its a DEAC degree the Big 3 don't recognize it and I can simultaneously graduate at one of those schools too. Ashworth also allows you to complete unlimited degrees with them so it'll give me something to do as I cover up my hideous paint above my desk with diplomas over the next few years.

[rowan555]

So Asworth has a challenge/test out option for up to 15 credits (5 courses for an AA/AS/AAS) and an additional 15 towards a BS. Each exam is $20 and can be taken only once.

Interesting! Is this available only for certain courses or for any courses in the program? Also, is there a minimum amount of time for completing a semester and moving on to the next semester? My older son moves pretty quickly - he's thinking about doing his AS at Ashworth then transferring to WGU in the spring - but he'd most likely not want to spend more than 2 months or so on that endeavor...