Dante's or Clep towards associates at tesc

Discussion in 'CLEP, DANTES, and Other Exams for Credit' started by Jlouis0333, Jan 11, 2013.

Loading...
  1. Jlouis0333

    Jlouis0333 New Member

    Hi guys I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice. I have taken all of the fema classes (I know tesc only takes 27 ) . I have 13 other credits I took at Suffolk community college years back which are eg-11 , first year English, western civilization , first year social studies , and intro to business . The other four credits are from a SUNY purchase summer Spanish 101 I just took over the summer. I think with the femas I can get an emergency management degree or liberal arts . Now the question is is it easier to open a credit bank and take Dante's and or cleps to fill the remainder 19 credits that I need ? I am very new to this process and a lot of you guys seem to know exactly how to do this . I really appreciate any help you can give me also if there is a better route to go if I want to pursue a BA also.
     
  2. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I believe TESC now takes up to 32; it's just that most of the bachelor's programs only have room for 27 credits in free electives. The FEMAs count as area of study electives for the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness degree; but, for every other bachelor's, they are only free electives. In other words, the FEMAs don't get you closer to a degree in Liberal Studies than any other degree. Opening up a credit bank is a waste of money. After you apply, TESC gives you 6 months to enroll or they'll make you apply and send transcripts again. After you enroll, your enrollment fee is good for one year before you have to pay it again. What people tend to do is accumulate all of their credits before applying or enrolling or they accumulate just enough credits so they don't have to worry about finishing the rest of the requirements before their enrollment ends.

    Once you apply, you send transcripts from all colleges attended, ACE, DSST (DANTES), and CLEP. DSST and CLEP keep your scores for at least 20 years. FEMA holds your records and so does ACE. There is really no point in paying for a credit bank if you plan to enroll at TESC. Aside from the liberal arts capstone which is required to be taken with TESC, you can completely test out of the psychology, liberal studies, and social science programs. One can completely test out of the BSBA in General Management, even the capstone. One can almost completely test out of a history degree with the exception of the liberal arts capstone. I made hypothetical plans for the natural science and mathematics and humanities degree programs that might work for completely testing out (with the exception of the liberal arts capstone of course.) Your FEMAs would be of most use in the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness program and of least use in the BSBA since it only has room for 6 free electives, but the homeland security/emergency management requirements are hard to find outside of TESC. Even if you could find alternatives, the homeland security courses would greatly increase the cost and time it would take to finish.

    For an associate's, the easiest degree to obtain with FEMAs is the AAS in Environmental, Safety, and Security Technologies because you can use them in the area of study in addition to free electives. There is no associate's in emergency management. With every other associate's degree program, FEMAs will only count as free electives. You can completely test out of a general Associate of Arts (I don't know why one would unless it was just needed to check a box) and an Associate of Science in Business Administration.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 17, 2013
  3. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    DANTES and CLEP are simply two brands that serve the same purpose. Check both for nearby testing centers, call both and ask about testing center hours/availablity/and fees. Simply put, there are no real differences between them except to say that they offer different subjects, so some subjects may be more relevant to your degree. Both are timed multiple choice exams. Some argue that DSST gives 4 answer options while CLEP gives 5, so perhaps that matters to you. CLEP offers a few 6 credit exams, while DSST does not. Also, some schools (not TESC) award letter grades for some DSST exams but not CLEP. Both hold your scores in their own database (no need to credit bank) and both hang on to them for 20 years. Both charge you a 1 time flat rate for a transcript of your entire list of test scores- I believe it's still $20. Both are running about $80 for the exam, and test centers generally charge $20, so you're looking at the same cost per exam.

    Most likely, your testing center will offer either/or, not both, so I's just start with a plan to use the cheapest/closest center and work from there. Again, you may want something offered by one brand that the other one doesn't offer,etc.
     

Share This Page