Hi All-- First off, I would like to thank everyone here for their great advice. I am a new immigrant to America, having gotten here a little more than a year ago. I am in my mid-40s and had been working overseas for the US Government before I came here. I didn't go to college due to financial problems in my early years. Now, I am trying to earn a BA in International Relations, International Studies, Political Science, and such like from the top three assessment colleges that you have mentioned. I had to admit I almost signed up with Breyer State University and the American University of London. Believe it or not, for a non-American, it is real hard to tell the good ones from the bad ones. Both universities claim to be accredited by some organizations. The accrediting agency for Breyer sounds quite similar to one of the regional accrediting agencies. Suffice it to say I was saved by you guys. Anyway, I am thinking of enrolling in one of the top three. I have read somewhere here that preparing portfolio assessments is much more difficult and time-consuming than taking tests. If that is the case, I would like take as many tests as possible; however, I don't know what tests I should take so that I have the right mix. The American curriculum is quite different from where I came from. Any advice? Again, my thanks to you all. I have read bad things about some of the folks here in some other newsgroups. That doesn't affect a bit my opinion of the value of the advice given in this forum. Mirror
Good luck with your selection. Alway remember, as a rule of thumb in DL be sure to check on accreditation status. John
Welcome, both to this board and the United States. By the "top three", I assume you meant the "big three", which is Excelsior, Thomas Edison, and Charter Oak. Any of those are a good choice, but one may be better than the others, depending on you field of study. What field interests you? An excellent starting point for a newcomer to DL is the articles section of this board. I also highly recommend Bears' Guide, which is available at Amazon and at Degree.net.
I am interested in International Relations, International Studies, or Political Science. I have contacted Thomas Edison and Charter Oak and have yet to request information from Excelsior. My situation is quite unusual; I was born and raised abroad, but I went to an English-speaking Catholic school and also sat a GCE examination administered by the University of London. I have been working as a professional translator for the US Government for more than 18 years. And yet, Charter Oak is treating me like just another international student whose English proficiency has yet to be proven. I would have thought that these kind of colleges, which cater to adult learners like me, would be more flexible. I could always take English profiency tests--compositions etc.,--but I really don't want to waste my time on unnecessary courses. My problem is I really don't have a clue as to what tests I should take and how to prepare for those tests. Is the Cliffnotes series of books useful? Before I enroll in any of the colleges, I wanted to make sure that I sign up for the right school. Also, can someone give me a ballpark estimate of costs--enrollment and exam fees--for earning a BA by examination? Is preparing a portfolio assessment really harder than taking an examination? Thanks again for your advice. Mirror
Every student must take college level English composition, grammar, etc. regardless of where they are from. Is this what you are talking about? My BS earned entirely by examinations will cost just under $5,000 total (tuition, exam fees, proctor fees, books, etc).
My recommendation is to check out the site BA in 4 weeks (sorry don't know how to do a link but I'm sure someone else will follow with it). I found that site from reading here and read every page several times over. It's of great value to understanding how to test out of a degree and it's the path I will follow. I chose COSC because of the cost. The admissions cousellor I've been working with is Shannon Anderson, she is wonderful. Call and ask for her Monday and explain your situation. I tried to talk to a live person at the other two and could get NO information without enrolling and paying the fees. Shannon spend several hours on the phone with me over the last 4 weeks and I have a very good understanding of what they will require. I"m waiting on transcripts evaluation and then will matriculate. Please do call her. She will spend the time with you. My experience is that all institutes of higher education are going to have some hoops you won't like at some point. You just have to find the one with the least objectionable hoops for your tastes. Don't give up and read here as often as you can. I've learned so much here. Most people here are very very helpful. Ignore the ones who aren't.
You may want to check out COSC's Independent Study Concentration (it is their most popular). They will allow you to design your own degree within their parameters. This will allow you to have a concentration in "International Relations." However, if you are unable to find exams to fill all of your needs, you may have to take an independent study course, online course, or whatever to complete the degree since "International Relations" is an atypical degree to complete 100% by examination. More options are to use the Ohio State and the LSU exams/courses if you cannot find all the exams you need.
A small correction to cmt's helpful post. The one link is to Ohio University (Athens), not (as labeled) to Ohio State University (Columbus). OU has a good track record in DL. Best wishes to all.
From your pharsing (not grammatical construction) I would infer that you are a foreign national from a non-english speaking country. If this is so, almost every US school will require the english proficiency tests, even most junior colleges. I doubt that you will find a way around this. My suggestion is to just take and be done with it. I have a friend who was born and raised in an english speaking enclave in Argentina. HIs family and all his basic education was in english. When he applied to college in the US (graduate level) he had to take the profecciency test. Rational was he was from Argentina and the national language was spanish so he had to prove english proficiency. Not fair, but true.
Yes, you must be a foreign national because if you were a U.S. national, you would have to abide by the following rules of spelling and proper usage: - pharsing (not "phrasing") - english/spanish (not "English/Spanish") - english speaking... (not "english-speaking...") - HIs family...was in english (not "spoke English") - Rational was he was... (use anywhere to confuse) I think your English phrasing is fine and certainly at a native level.
The TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) is required if you are not a citizen of an English-speaking country, regardless of your schooling or proficiency level. I'm afraid, the TOEFL test (www.toefl.org) which I've dubbed the "Teufel" (German for devil) test is a necessary evil. I would guess that you will score well into the 600-point range which is the threshold for most PhD programs.
