Getting started question...

[DeterminedDad]

Hello,

I am determined to go to seminary and need a regionally accredited bachelor's degree. I have no prior college credits, and I would like a 100% "test out" plan.

Does the TESC BSBA in General Management meet this criteria? Also, is Sanantone's BSBA General Management plan a good place to start?

Thank you for your help!

[smf6824]

Congratulations on starting your journey. Before you just jump in to "testing out", do you have any form of higher education such as certificates, degrees, CLEP or DSST exams? By knowing this people on this forum may be able to provide you with a higher insight, and assist you accordingly. Also are you willing to pursue other sources such as correspondence courses or ACE/NCCRS approved courses such as those offered by saylor.org or straighterline.com. Besides just attaining a bachelors degree for seminary, did you want your bachelors to be in business, or would you rather have something else. Remember not to rush into anything because this is a commitment that requires time and money. It is not an easy path to take, a matter a fact it may even be more difficult than just going to a traditional college in person. So give us some information and we will see what we can do for you. In the meantime research what seminary you would like to attend, the cost associated with it, and admission requirements. Also consider what your back up plan may be if you cannot not get admitted. Good luck.

[cookderosa]

Hello,

I am determined to go to seminary and need a regionally accredited bachelor's degree. I have no prior college credits, and I would like a 100% "test out" plan.

Does the TESC BSBA in General Management meet this criteria? Also, is Sanantone's BSBA General Management plan a good place to start?

Thank you for your help!

Welcome! The degree plans at the wiki site work. I'd suggest spending some time poking around these forums, reading questions/answers, and getting a feel for how the process works. You'll be ready to go in no time!

[clep3705]

Must it be 100% testing? Would you object to writing a term paper for a capstone course? What are you interested in?

If you want to go into an administrative position at a megachurch or faith based relief agency, a BSBA would be a great choice. If you want to teach or preach, a history degree might be more interesting. It would require a capstone course. Between CLEP and DSST, a history degree from TESC would require one additional history test which could be a TECEP or maybe an Excelsior exam.

One of the exams you could take as an upper level elective at TESC is DSST Introduction to World Religions. That might be interesting to you.

Look here for TESC degree plans and notice the warning about them possibly being out of date: TESC Degree Plans - Degree Forum Wiki

[DeterminedDad]

Must it be 100% testing? Would you object to writing a term paper for a capstone course? What are you interested in?

If you want to go into an administrative position at a megachurch or faith based relief agency, a BSBA would be a great choice. If you want to teach or preach, a history degree might be more interesting. It would require a capstone course. Between CLEP and DSST, a history degree from TESC would require one additional history test which could be a TECEP or maybe an Excelsior exam.

One of the exams you could take as an upper level elective at TESC is DSST Introduction to World Religions. That might be interesting to you.

Look here for TESC degree plans and notice the warning about them possibly being out of date: TESC Degree Plans - Degree Forum Wiki

Thank you for your help! I would not object to writing a term paper for a capstone course. I'm interested in the BSBA General Management degree from TESC because I have experience as an entrepreneur and business owner. Would I need a capstone course for the BSBA degree?

Thanks again,

DeterminedDad

[DeterminedDad]

Welcome! The degree plans at the wiki site work. I'd suggest spending some time poking around these forums, reading questions/answers, and getting a feel for how the process works. You'll be ready to go in no time!

Thank you for the encouragement and welcome!

[DeterminedDad]

Congratulations on starting your journey. Before you just jump in to "testing out", do you have any form of higher education such as certificates, degrees, CLEP or DSST exams? By knowing this people on this forum may be able to provide you with a higher insight, and assist you accordingly. Also are you willing to pursue other sources such as correspondence courses or ACE/NCCRS approved courses such as those offered by saylor.org or straighterline.com. Besides just attaining a bachelors degree for seminary, did you want your bachelors to be in business, or would you rather have something else. Remember not to rush into anything because this is a commitment that requires time and money. It is not an easy path to take, a matter a fact it may even be more difficult than just going to a traditional college in person. So give us some information and we will see what we can do for you. In the meantime research what seminary you would like to attend, the cost associated with it, and admission requirements. Also consider what your back up plan may be if you cannot not get admitted. Good luck.

I have no certificates or degrees and have never taken a CLEP or DSST exam. I am starting from ground zero with a determination to succeed. When I was a teenager, I passed off four years of high school (twenty credits) in one year through self-study. So, I have some experience with "testing out" (just not at the higher education level). The reason I am inclined to pursue the BSBA is because I have seventeen years of experience owning and operating a business. The sole reason for acquiring the bachelor's degree is so that I can get my M.Div degree from seminary (at this point, I would like to attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which has a 100% online M.Div program). After speaking with a representative from Southeastern, the main obstacle to enrolling in the M.Div program is a regionally accredited bachelor's degree. Given my business experience and background, I thought the BSBA would be the best option.

Thank you for your help!

[smf6824]

I have no certificates or degrees and have never taken a CLEP or DSST exam. I am starting from ground zero with a determination to succeed. When I was a teenager, I passed off four years of high school (twenty credits) in one year through self-study. So, I have some experience with "testing out" (just not at the higher education level). The reason I am inclined to pursue the BSBA is because I have seventeen years of experience owning and operating a business. The sole reason for acquiring the bachelor's degree is so that I can get my M.Div degree from seminary (at this point, I would like to attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which has a 100% online M.Div program). After speaking with a representative from Southeastern, the main obstacle to enrolling in the M.Div program is a regionally accredited bachelor's degree. Given my business experience and background, I thought the BSBA would be the best option.

Thank you for your help!

Ok.... So you have no higher education; however, you have some experience in entrepreneurship. No matter which degree plan you choose you may want to consider a prior learning assessment to gain some college credit and reduce your workload. One way to start out would be doing the open course option through TESC to achieve your associates degree in business and then move on from there. The link is here: Open Course Option for ASBA. One note when using this option is to use ALEKS for college algebra and statistics to save on costs. This plan is fairly cheap and test friendly. If you would prefer competency based education try Western Governors University or Patten University. So to make things simple start out small and try some of the saylor courses listed on the open course option or ALEKS assessments at ALEKS -- Assessment and Learning, K-12, Higher Education, Automated Tutor, Math to save on money and get used to testing out. Saylor exams are only 25 dollars and ALEKS is 20 dollars a month. Good luck.

[cookderosa]

I have no certificates or degrees and have never taken a CLEP or DSST exam. I am starting from ground zero with a determination to succeed. When I was a teenager, I passed off four years of high school (twenty credits) in one year through self-study. So, I have some experience with "testing out" (just not at the higher education level). The reason I am inclined to pursue the BSBA is because I have seventeen years of experience owning and operating a business. The sole reason for acquiring the bachelor's degree is so that I can get my M.Div degree from seminary (at this point, I would like to attend Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which has a 100% online M.Div program). After speaking with a representative from Southeastern, the main obstacle to enrolling in the M.Div program is a regionally accredited bachelor's degree. Given my business experience and background, I thought the BSBA would be the best option.

Thank you for your help!

I started from zero. When I started, I had 4 children (1 nursing baby and 3 I was homeschooling) plus 1 night a week volunteer work and teaching part time at the community college. Of course in there I had to be a wife, mother, housekeeper, etc. My budget was essentially zero, so I sold items on ebay/yard sales to earn money for each exam. (that takes time too). Anyway, it took me 18 months from scratch. Interestingly, I needed my bachelor's degree because there was a fantastic master's program I wanted to apply to! So, like you, it was just to check the box.

BSBA probably is the best option if business is familiar to you. Remember, academics are mostly theory, so don't be surprised if the "formal stuff" is new to you. Once you get some traction, you'll probably find it all very relevant to your career. Tests are great for self-study types and type-A types . You kinda plan your degree and hit the ground running. I happened to take my major as classes, which I enjoyed and think is valuable for a number of reasons, but isn't necessary. So my plan was this: 6 months testing only, 12 months classes + testing. I picked up my AA and BA inside those 18 months! I then had some down time, and resumed my studies doing what's called a "post-bac" where you acculmulate prerequisites for a graduate degree. (hindight is 20/20, those courses could have been inside my TESC degree if I had a crystal ball) So, that was long-slow-and expensive. However, since then, I've graduated with my master's degree (the original program I wanted had closed just after I graduated so it's in something entirely different!). It sounds like a long time, but if you actually have a dedicated time period to work on studying, you'll do great.