Thomas Ed vs. Excelsior

[soldierboy]

While browsing through the forum, I notice a few people seem to have problems with TE...On the other hand, I have not noticed many rants about Excelsior...

I have 3 tests to go before I get my BA through Excelsior (Although I have not registered yet...I am waiting for orders to Iraq to publish before I plink the cash)...I pretty much have my mind set on Excelsior and think it fits my plan best...

I was just wondering-how do you guys feel about both institutions-pro and con...

Let's get ready to rumble!

[dhlvrsn]

I picked Excelsior due to the GPA. The MBA program that I'm looking at has a GPA requirement... When I called, the person that I talked to was familiar with Excelsior but not Thomas Edison. That pretty much helped me make up my mind.

[beckysharp]

I chose Excelsior because they took all my old credits; more than 20 years old. Also, I really liked the pricing structure of paying $995.00 (approx) to enroll and $500 per year to stay enrolled.

There is a previous thread on this topic.

[tampalizard]

I chose Excelsior because I had gotten an Associates degree from them in 1990. They considered me an enrolled student and I did not have to re-enroll or resubmit my transcripts. Other than that, in 1990 they really helped me by just telling me what to do one step at a time. That is the easiest way for me to do it. Just one goal at a time...

Question for dhlvrsn...
If you don't mind my asking...What MBA program are you looking at that will accept the Bachelors from Excelsior? Thanks.

[snazzlefrag]

I chose Excelsior because of the GPA; the overall price; and the 'named' BA or BS in XYZ (not just "Liberal Arts with a Concentration in XYZ").

I am not thrilled with the name "Excelsior College", but it is growing on me!

I HATE their monstrous web site too. But that is not a good enough reason to choose a different school.

[anar579]

I too chose Excelsior because of the GPA factor. I'm hoping to continue on to law school, and GPA is important. I had no prior credits to transfer, so I have no input on that aspect. It's very convenient being able to pay the enrollment fee in monthly installments; I chose the 6-month option, and I have only two payments of $170.15 left! Overall, I've had a relatively seamless experience up to now, and I'm quite pleased.

A few days ago I checked out the website of a local law school, Florida International University (http://law.fiu.edu/admissions/facts.htm), a relatively new law program, where they have a list of schools they have accepted students from. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Excelsior College there, along with many well-known institutions.

[Sammy]

I chose TESC because they gave a lot of credits for my Airframe and Powerplant license. So far they have been great but I can see some of their lackings.

[sirjake]

Well, I'm a TESC student who may end up going through Excelsior too so that I can get a GPA. I didn't realize that Excelsior applied a GPA, so I went with Thomas Edison because the name sounds more "real" to me (Excelsior sounds corny). Now I'm considering law school and could use a GPA, but don't have one other than community college credits.

Otherwise, I think TESC is OK, but not great. Whether or not they are helpful on the phone largely seems to matter which person you speak with. Some are helpful and offer advice, others seem to make you pry information out of them (these are advisors, no less). Their email response is anemic. And my biggest gripe is that it takes them forever to update my degree audit. It took almost a month one time from the day that I knew they had received the scores (because I called to see if they had) to the day that they actually entered them. The lady I spoke to the third or fourth time I called said that they had a ton that needed to be entered. Keeping your students' information up to date seems rather important to me. But then they send out the audit in the mail every time it gets updated (which seems rather stupid to me since I check it online).

Anyway, it's not terrible, but it's not perfect either.

[anar579]

Sirjake commented on time it takes to update degree audit (Excelsior calls it a Status Report Update). Excelsior is usually pretty fast about doing this. For example, I took two CLEP exams on 4/25, Excelsior sent me an e-mail that they'd received a new transcript of these exams on 5/1, and on 5/2 @ 10pm they updated my Status Report. I was really impressed. In the past they've taken a few days longer, but this time it was really quick.

[Sammy]

Well, I'm a TESC student who may end up going through Excelsior too so that I can get a GPA. I didn't realize that Excelsior applied a GPA, so I went with Thomas Edison because the name sounds more "real" to me (Excelsior sounds corny). Now I'm considering law school and could use a GPA, but don't have one other than community college credits.

Otherwise, I think TESC is OK, but not great. Whether or not they are helpful on the phone largely seems to matter which person you speak with. Some are helpful and offer advice, others seem to make you pry information out of them (these are advisors, no less). Their email response is anemic. And my biggest gripe is that it takes them forever to update my degree audit. It took almost a month one time from the day that I knew they had received the scores (because I called to see if they had) to the day that they actually entered them. The lady I spoke to the third or fourth time I called said that they had a ton that needed to be entered. Keeping your students' information up to date seems rather important to me. But then they send out the audit in the mail every time it gets updated (which seems rather stupid to me since I check it online).

Anyway, it's not terrible, but it's not perfect either.

Sirjake,
Does this mean that you would get a degree from TESC and then go for another from ECE? I'm curious about the GPA requirement. I am getting a 3.0 GPA at TESC based upon previous college credits so I believe that would be sufficient for a Masters program somewhere though I wouldn't mind shooting for another Bachelor's degree from maybe ECE if it means my GPA would go up from the CLEP/Dantes that I've taken. I do wish that TESC would give a grade for these.
I have experienced some odd balls at TESC. The guy that sets up the advisor phone calls is really strange and while one advisor seemed to require some prying for info, another right up front encouraged me to test out of the rest of my degree and was super friendly. I think they are shorted-handed at TESC.