Completed Associate Degree from Thomas Edison - A Few Tips

[jumpstart]

I have completed the requirements for my Associate Degree in Business Administration from Thomas Edison! It took me 17 months and under $4,000. Please see my attached degree plan for course specs and costs.

The course I took at a community college took three months and $500. Most of the CLEP’s were free via Modern States, and I took about two together every month.

This is very doable. I used: CLEP, DSST, Study.com, Saylor Academy, TCEP, and a community college.

Here are a few pointers that might be helpful.


(1. For me, CLEP was my preference by far. Get familiar with the InstantCert flashcards, & use Modern States to get a free CLEP voucher. Free-Clep-Prep.com has free practice tests. 


(2. I recommend taking that first test as soon as possible. None of the tests are super difficult. Just pick a testing option and start studying.

(3. Saylor Academy was not my preferred option. The study content is free, but you really have to know the material before you score a passing grade.

(4. Study.com was pretty easy, but more study time than the CLEP’s. Definitely better than the Saylor Academy, though. Just skim through each lesson & take the short quizzes at the end of each until you score 100%. Then you can take the proctored final exam.

(5. Saylor Academy and Thomas Edison TCEP exams are taken using ProctorU, an online proctor company. Just create an account & schedule your exam.

(6. Make an appt. with an advisor at the college you’re planning to go with. Make sure your planned courses satisfy the degree requirements. Email the advisor a pdf of your degree plan & have them confirm it in writing.

(7. If you go with Thomas Edison State: Once you take your first course through Thomas Edison (incl. TCEP’s), the course requirements for your degree will be locked in, & they won’t be able to change them. You technically become a student at this time, not when you pay $75 to register.

Congratulations being on track to get your accelerated degree!

[davewill]

...(7. If you go with Thomas Edison State: Once you take your first course through Thomas Edison (incl. TCEP’s), the course requirements for your degree will be locked in, & they won’t be able to change them. You technically become a student at this time, not when you pay $75 to register.
...

Actually, once you've applied and been accepted, the catalog is locked in. You can wait up to a year before you have to take something to become enrolled and continue to be locked in.

[bjcheung77]

That's awesome, congrats. Are you planning to go for a Bachelors at TESU since you paid the residency waiver.
If you can finish the BALS or the BSBA within a year, that'll be worth it not to pay a second residency waiver!

[dfrecore]

(1. For me, CLEP was my preference by far. Get familiar with the InstantCert flashcards, & use Modern States to get a free CLEP voucher. Free-Clep-Prep.com has free practice tests. 


(2. I recommend taking that first test as soon as possible. None of the tests are super difficult. Just pick a testing option and start studying.

(3. Saylor Academy was not my preferred option. The study content is free, but you really have to know the material before you score a passing grade.

(4. Study.com was pretty easy, but more study time than the CLEP’s. Definitely better than the Saylor Academy, though. Just skim through each lesson & take the short quizzes at the end of each until you score 100%. Then you can take the proctored final exam.

(5. Saylor Academy and Thomas Edison TCEP exams are taken using ProctorU, an online proctor company. Just create an account & schedule your exam.

(6. Make an appt. with an advisor at the college you’re planning to go with. Make sure your planned courses satisfy the degree requirements. Email the advisor a pdf of your degree plan & have them confirm it in writing.

(7. If you go with Thomas Edison State: Once you take your first course through Thomas Edison (incl. TCEP’s), the course requirements for your degree will be locked in, & they won’t be able to change them. You technically become a student at this time, not when you pay $75 to register.

Congratulations being on track to get your accelerated degree!

Some additional points of clarification:

1) It's TECEP exams, not TCEP - and you don't just create an account and schedule an exam.  You have to register through TESU for the course for a term, then you can't schedule your exam through ProctorU until AFTER the term start date - and it must be taken before the end of the term.

2) You pay $75 to apply, not to register.

3) All UL and some LL Study.com courses have additional requirements in addition to the quizzes and final exam.  Also, you MAY get 100% on your quizzes, but you may not, in which case the % you need to pass the final changes.

4) Some CLEP exams are easy for some people, and hard for others.  Some Study.com courses are easy for some and hard for others.  Never tell someone that something is easy, just because it was for you.  I try to say "XYZ course is considered one of the easier ones" or "ABC exam has a good passing rate."  Everything is relative.

[armstrongsubero]

@jumpstart oh just skim SDC lessons and take the short quiz at the end is TERRIBLE advice. Since as dfrecore mentioned it may not be easy for everyone.

Its relative to your experience and still then not all courses may be easy or one can just 'skim the lesson'.

It also depends on the subject at hand. I can speak for Computer Architecture, C Programming, Discrete math and System Analysis and Design, someone completely new to the subject matter cant just skim and take the exam or else they will not be able to do the final assignment and halfway through the course they would be lost.

Please dont make that statenent as blanket advice.