COSC vs Excelsior... eventual plan for MSW

[studyingfortests]

Hi, all.

I've been reading through the forums over the past few days and absorbing a lot of awesome helpful info. I've applied and am going through the process of having my transcripts evaluated at COSC and Excelsior. Planning eventually on going for an MSW once I complete my undergrad. I'm confused about a few things, and hoping some kind folks can help clarify for me.

The intended degree is either BA/BS in liberal studies, with a human services concentration, or the BS in Social Sciences with the Human Services concentration.

I have a bunch of credits from several community colleges and two four-year schools, and a bunch of human services and psychology credits, with a bunch of  300 level human services classes.

The following is based on my understanding, either from admissions folks (or, at Excelsior, an academic advisor I managed to get in contact with), combined with stuff I've read here and on the COSC and Excelsior websites:

Excelsior has been looking very promising.
-- I'm a math phobe, and I've completed CSMLearn, which Excelsior will accept as my math credit (COSC will not)
-- Excelsior will, I'm told, apparently take any RA college course with a 300 or 400 level designation as an upper-level course (?!) I have a lot of these.
-- Excelsior's BS in Social Sciences with the Human Services concentration seems like it might be better for admission to an MSW program than a BA Liberal Studies
-- But they won't take the CLEP English Comp and as I understand it, will only take either Straighterline's English course or their $400 UExcel exam
-- They will not accept about 30 credits (which I may or may not need) from a certification I hold in massage therapy; Charter Oak will.
-- No lab science requirement, less specific core requirements. This probably fits better into the credits I've earned.

COSC has some advantages, but also some disadvantages:
-- They will accept (I think) my CLEP English Composition as my English requirement
-- They will take the 30 credits for my massage therapy credential. (Mostly as electives, and I think mostly lower level). May or may not be crucial.
-- But they will not accept CSMLearn as a math credit
-- They'd require one credit of lab science (I have credits for science without lab that they will take)
-- Their distribution requirements seem a lot pickier than Excelsior


I think that at Excelsior, I would be mostly done with requirements based on the courses I currently have.  The ones missing I could do with SDC, Saylor, Coopersmith, and perhaps a couple of DSST/CLEP exams. However, the Excelsior BS in Social Sciences with Human Services concentrations appears to have a lot of specific course requirements. I have a certificate in human services, but it osn't as broad. So I might have to take a bunch of extra Human Services courses or exams to get the concentration. It's not clear to me if that's worth it to give me a better shot applying to the MSW, or if the Liberal Studies degree (either at COSC or at Excelsior) with the Human Services concentration would be just as good. The COSC degree would basically require no additional Human Services credits to qualify for the concentration.


I'm planning on doing Research Methods via UExcel. I took a basic stats years ago but didn'\t finish it, and I use some basic stats on a daily basis so I think I can pull off the stats needed for Research Methods without taking a new stats class, which makes Excelsior a bit more appealing (if I have to take a math at COSC, I'd probably do stats.)

I'm sure there are other questions I'll have, but if anyone has insights to some/all of the above, it would be much appreciated!