Roadmap Refinement Help? TESU BALS

[MSK9]

Hi, all.

When I first became a member of this forum, member dfrecore provided me with a road map / template for a TESU BALS with an emphasis in Psychology. I decided that I no longer want psychology as it won't make a difference for the graduate program I'm interested in. I think an emphasis in Humanities would better serve me.

I've modified the template dfrecore sent me and filled it with Humanities courses. I'm still trying to get this "design your own degree" stuff down and have been largely ignorant to the way degree programs work. I'm posting my template in hopes of getting some feedback and modification / correction to it. Please feel free to move anything around.

Per TESU's concentration policy:

Students complete 30 credits in the area of study that include at least 15 credits at the 300/400 level and no more than 6 credits at the 100 level.  This will include 18 credits of Humanities courses and an additional 12 credits of Liberal Studies courses

In the free electives section, I just filled in random 100 level courses. Anything that's highlighted in orange is a completed course. The template is missing eight credits needed for the 120 total.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated! God bless.

M

[dfrecore]

You didn't include your template.

First, look at TESU's listing of courses in the Humanities area, to see what they consider Humanities. It will consist of Art, Communications, Ethics, English, Film, Journalism, Humanities, Literature, Philosophy, Photo, Religion, and Foreign Languages. That will help you determine which courses will fulfill this requirement.

Second, Psych is a Social Science, rather than a HUM, so your change is a little strange. How did you determine that Humanities would be a better choice than SocSci?

------------------------------------
Your best bet for UL Humanities courses:

Shmoop - Lit courses (they have 5 UL classes)

UExcel - Business Ethics, Bioethics

TECEP - Managerial Comm, Marketing Comm

Davar - Managerial Comm, Business Ethics

Study.com - Managerial Comm, Leadership Comm, Advanced Business Ethics

Coopersmith - Medieval Hispano-Jewish Poetry, Jewish Art of Antiquity, The Music of the Orthodox Jew from Antiquity through the 20th Century

CSU-Global has a bunch of UL Comm courses

[MSK9]

Apologies.

I uploaded the template but then removed it when I saw some personal information was attached to it. I fixed it and must not have uploaded it the second time around.

As far as my change of subject - many of the graduate programs I've been looking into encourage students with Humanities undergraduate degrees to apply. I mistakenly assumed psychology coursework would be preferable for my goals as it had applications in medicine. As I've done more research, I realized this simply wasn't true.

Thank you for that list, dfrecore.

[dfrecore]

Ah, makes more sense then.

You should save the far left column for actual TESU course numbers, rather than the course numbers at the school you took them at.  Just makes it easier to figure out later.

Things I can see right off the bat:
1) You went to Palomar, so you must live in North County?  I live in Escondido!  Howdy neighbor.
2) Beginning Algebra probably will not count, you will need to take something else.  Applied Liberal Arts Math via DSST or TECEP, or Study.com's MATH97: Intro to Mathematical Reasoning.
3) Davar Academy courses are $70, but you need to add the cost of the proctoring (either $15 or $25 depending on which one you use).
4) Move the free Ethics course to the Ethics requirement, since all of the courses you're going to use in the AOS are 3/6cr, so this will throw everything off (you'd have to take a full 3cr course anyway to make up for the missing credits).  
5) The following UExcel courses are not Humanities: Foundations of Gerontology, World Populations, Juvenile Delinquency - they're SocSci courses
6) I moved courses around to where they make more sense: A&I Lit to Info Lit requirement, Insurance Ethics to Ethics requirement, Small Singing Groups to Knowledge of Human Cultures, Cybersecurity for Business Professionals to Gen Ed Electives
7) I'm questioning your use of an expensive UExcel exams (Ethics) when you could take much cheaper courses elsewhere?
8) I'm questioning why you're not using Study.com?  It will save you a ton of money ($1000) if you take a course there.  Otherwise you'll have to take the $300 Cornerstone, your Capstone will cost $1497, and the Residency Waiver will be $2500.

I've revamped your spreadsheet with the above changes.

[MSK9]

1.) I did and I used to! I worked for the City of San Diego. I lived in Carlsbad for many years and Poway for while.. loved both. My family still lives out there.

2.) I figured Beginning Algebra would be worthless but I thought I'd throw it up on the list anyway. Taking a new math isn't a problem.

3.) I did notice that about Davar.

4.) No problem about the ethics course.

5.) Thanks for the heads-up about the Humanities courses, I'm still learning about all this stuff (not an idiot, I swear!).

6.) Excellent.

7.) I have no specific reason for choosing UExcel, just found it and plugged in the data.

8.) The only problem I have with Study.com is the monthly cost. $199 is a lot of money for me and I'm not in a position to drop that much a month.. yet. I was looking at some others sources like Shmoop which are definitely viable right now.

I saw the A&I Literature CLEP was listed both for Information Literacy and the Humanities concentration, will the school allow this?

Thanks again, dfrecore.. I definitely appreciate your expertise!

[bjcheung77]

MSK9, do you use Modern States? Which graduate program are you looking to get into?
You may not want to take a Study.com course now, but you should try to apply and pay for graduation before the discounted pricing goes away in June. How much time do you have to study daily?

[MSK9]

MSK9, do you use Modern States?  Which graduate program are you looking to get into?
You may not want to take a Study.com course now, but you should try to apply and pay for graduation before the discounted pricing goes away in June.  How much time do you have to study daily?

BJ,

I do. Modern States has been an excellent tool and as soon as I take the Social Sciences and History CLEP on Thursday, I'll be moving on to the next CLEP with them. Not only do they pay for my CLEP cost, they also provide reimbursement for the testing center fee. I received my first reimbursement check yesterday which also had a letter from the Founder / CEO with a hand-written message of encouragement for me.

As to the grad program, I'm preparing myself for the MCAT and medical school. Once I complete my undergrad, I'll be taking science pre-reqs through the University of New England Online, a school who's coursework is accepted at many medical schools. I've got math and chemistry tutors and physician and veterinarian mentors to help me along.

My study time everyday depends. I have a fairly specialized position and am subject to call-outs 24/7 but I also have access to a computer and internet all day. Most evenings, I have about four to six hours of study time and almost all of my weekends are devoted to study / coursework. As far as my studying for CLEPS, I tend to study for about a week, listening to the lectures. I have a bad habit of not reading much from the provided e-books but I'm starting this weekend. Thankfully, I've passed two CLEPS this way.

[davewill]

8.) The only problem I have with Study.com is the monthly cost. $199 is a lot of money for me and I'm not in a position to drop that much a month.. yet. I was looking at some others sources like Shmoop which are definitely viable right now.

Then apply for the study.com Guardian scholarship. 3 free months and 6 free classes, and it counts towards the discount.

[MSK9]

Done and done.

Also:

[dfrecore]

Yes, apply for the Study.com membership, although wait until you're ready to start.  It's timed, meaning you have to start right away because it's 2 courses a month for 3 months.  If you're not ready to start right away, you have to rearrange your plans.  But don't wait too long either, you need to know if you get it and need to start taking courses fairly quickly.

Continue with Modern States since it's working for you.  Take every CLEP you possibly can.  I revised your spreadsheet showing what you can do with MS (I added Psych, Educational psych, & Info Systems since it's fairly easy), and highlighted everything in yellow.

For Shmoop, I just added it all in purple below - UL Humanities, LL Humanities, and LL SocSci courses.  I would suggest going with as many UL courses there as you can do.

If you get the Study.com scholarship, let us know, and we can tell you what courses to take through them.

And if money is fairly tight, I think UExcel is the more expensive choice.  Not only are the exams $110, but there is a testing center fee of $50-$60.  If you want study materials, theres added expense too.  You have too many inexpensive options to go with UExcel.