Why Charter Oak State College is better than Thomas Edison State College

[sanantone]

Sanantone, I think you make several good points, and your advice in the forums and your degree wikis personally helped me a lot



A UExcel and TECEP exam are about the same price. TECEP exams are $37/credit so $37 * 3 = $111/one exam + test admin fee let's say $25.00 = ~$140 – $150.
UExcel exam fees are $95 + $50 test admin fee for Pearson test center = $145.00. Let's say they're about the same.

Unfortunately, you made a bold wiki entry without having done enough research. TECEPs are $111, period. There is no additional cost for using ProctorU. I know because I've taken a TECEP.

The most important reason why UExcels are superior, imho, is because there is test taker data: 1) instantcert flash cards 2) degreeforum.net instantcert forums for test advice 3) pass/failure rate info for UExcel exams 4) practice exams you can take.

Many have recommended reading the textbooks for Uexcels because the Instantcert flashcards are not enough to score high. Besides, there aren't Instantcert flashcards for most of the Uexcels.

All of these allowed me to take the UExcel exams without using ANY textbooks. I didn't need a textbook for DSST Substance Abuse, DSST Business Ethics, UExcel Organizational Behavior, UExcel Human Resources Management, UExcel Labor Relations, etc and I never really had a background in any of the subject. It was the combination of the flash cards, forum advice, and practice exams that allowed me to pass and do well on all the exams.

Many people have failed CLEPs and DSSTs using the Instantcert flashcards. They worked for YOU; they worked fine for me. A lot of people are uncomfortable with using only the IC flashcards. I can study for a test for a couple of hours and pass, but most people can't do that. As I said earlier, the some of the feedback is from before exams were refreshed. A few people have stated that the feedback did not align well with the newly refreshed DSSTs. The same also applies to IC flashcards.

Yes, the other advantage with TECEPs are that they are not given a grade –*but I think that getting a B or A in the UExcels I described above is not that difficult. If a student is in a position where they can't get a B in some of these UExcel exams, then graduate level work may be too much. Of course, they could be a bad test taker, but still.

Most people don't go to graduate school, but want a high GPA for other purposes. For graduate school, you need to be better at writing than multiple choice testing.

More importantly, I think the threshold most students will need for graduate level work is a 3.00 –*after looking at most of the types of programs that one of these degrees will open doors to (we're not talking ivy league here), most have indicated a 3.00 would be acceptable (many MBA programs come to mind like West Texas A&B's).

Many people have greater aspirations than West Texas A&M. There are many colleges that aren't Ivy League, but have competitive admissions.

Yes, this is true, though I've read that the TECEP exam is pretty indepth and difficult even with instantcert. You do get to avoid having to take the pointless cornerstone course (it really is), and the capstone course, though the upsides with COSC is that you'll probably save a few hundred bucks in the end. I think that distinction needs to be made.

No, you would save over $2,000 by taking TECEPs.

I would say that from the data provided for UExcel, that they are more documented, have more student/test taker information, and accurate/relevant flash cards. From here: InstantCert: CLEP Online Study Guides it shows data for, and there is little data available about the TECEPs. Hopefully in the future there are more subjects and more student data/forum advice for these TECEP Exams. But I know that as of now the forum advice (which was extremely helpful for me), the flash cards, and UExcel practice exams were extremely helpful for passing (I received all As and Bs in my UExcels). For myself, and I think for most students, they don't want to be inconvenienced with a textbook, and that is a major advantage with the UExcels imo.

Most of the students here use multiple sources to study for their exams. Many also read whole books made for CLEP and DSST such as REA. Again, I can spend a couple of hours on flashcards and pass a test, but I know most people cannot do this. You can't make assumptions about other people based on your own experiences. Everyone is different. This also applies to assuming that most people who are comfortable with testing will be uncomfortable with TECEPs. Many members of this forum are perfectly fine with taking TECEPs.

I prefer testing, but I don't like lack of information having to rely on a textbook, because that means I have to scour through it all, and not know what may or may not be tested on it. Having official practice tests/questions is extremely important whether it's the MCAT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, UExcel, DSST, etc. – it allows you to know what the test takers focus in on –*having student feedback, and test company review is even better – that's what UExcel has and why I gravitated towards them. In some cases, I found that the practice exams were all that were needed to at least pass (and I'm not a genius, perhaps slightly above average). If TESC had a comprehensive chart that showed how UExcels would transfer in it would be good.

I've never had any use for practice exams. Again, we're all different. TESC gives you a breakdown of what's going to be on the test. Some people prefer more in depth studying for their tests because they want to obtain the equivalent knowledge of having taken the course.

Not sure why they have more students –*I think it could be because Albany is a metropolitan area where there are far more people, more colleges, and people living in New York versus Connecticut or New Jersey. I'm from the upstate NY region myself, and I know some people who have an Excelsior College degree and it always rubbed me the wrong way like it was an "inferior degree." I mean this is personal discretion in the end, and up to an employer, but name does matter, if not the most – it's not what you learn, it's who you know/where you're from (i.e. Wall Street picks people from ivy league schools only, or going to Berkeley or Stanford is better for engineering). It's the difference between Nike and Wal-Mart brand even if both could possibly have come from the same factory. I know for me, I didn't like the name "Excelsior College" and though it wasn't a primary reason for not going with them, it didn't help either. I personally like Thomas Edison State College better –*it sounds more "legit", Charter Oak State College sounds slightly "iffy" but at least it's a state college in Connecticut. Here's another example, I have a friend who went to "Bowling Green State University" in Ohio, and it comes off like a very low-tier school. The most important thing is how the name makes you feel – does it sound authentic (yes we know they're all authentic), would someone wonder/question if it's like University of Phoenix, Kaplan University, or Devry, which are all garbage?

Excelsior has more students than the other two because more of their students are NOT from the local area. Excelsior is very well-known among the military and working adults across the country looking for a more flexible way to complete their degrees. The reputations of University of Phoenix, Kaplan, Devry, and the Ivy Leagues come from how they operate and word-of-mouth, not their names. There is nothing fishy about the name "University of Phoenix." The school has a bad reputation because of people's experiences with the school. Walmart shoes are considered inferior to Nikes because they are. It has nothing to do with the name.

Eh, I wouldn't put too much stock on college supplied income/earnings especially when it's coming from the college themselves. I think a person's earnings/income is more based on how hard they work, how much work experience, hands on experience, connections, etc they have –*in other words, if it's not an ivy league caliber school, the college degree is more of a nuisance, a "piece of paper" more than anything else. It is something that allows you to get a bump in pay particularly in very bureaucratic and hierarchical institutions (i.e. state and fed jobs). I personally work for the state, and my foreign degree from India is obviously not regionally accredited, so for me, the absence of a bachelor's prevents me from getting paid at a higher grade.

It wasn't college-supplied. It was based on Payscale's survey of 1.4 million people.