Since everyone here is much more familiar with the Big 3 than I am, which one would folks recommend given the following situation: I have 100 credits (maybe more, depending on the college) to transfer into a BLS. I want to take the GRE for Literature and any other tests that would help. Any remaining upper level classes would be taken at the University of Tampa then transferred. (I work there so the classes are free.) Excelsior seemed the easiest to deal with but I'm also hearing very good things about Charter and Edison. The only reason I don't want to finish my BLS at UT is that they are a traditional campus and it is getting very hard to find apporpriate classes at night. I can also only take one class a semester, so it will still be two years to finish. I'm hoping one of the Big 3 would be willing to work with the classes I can get, mostly history and com. Deb
Which of the 3? Well, I was where you are about a year and a half ago. I went with Charter Oak strictly because they had full, regular, financial aid and it just seemed more comfortable working with them. I tried to talk to an advisor at TESC at the time and they were a tad condescending and as negative as they could be when discussing portfolio evaluations. (It turned out that IO never even used that option so. . .) My admissions advisor, Kerry Ann Kowar, at Charter Oak has been an angel through several very trying times. She even tried to arrange for textbooks for me for courses. She called me and congratulated me through each and every test. However, that said, I have to say that if you expect a wonderful score on that GRE you should try Excelsior. Apparently they give MUCH more credit for the Lit in English GRE than Charter Oak's normal, 18 Credits across the board. If you expect average scores of the same GRE, why not try Charter Oak. For me, they just seemed more like (and this is going to be a really weird statement so please take it the way I mean it) a "Real College" than the other two of the trinity of distance ed. They seem to be less well known and the "stigma" that some folks may be trying to avoid, (not me) might not follow one from there. What I mean is little statements like this one from The HUX Masters Admissions at http://www.csudh.edu/hux/admreq.html . . . "Compilation-style transcripts (such as those from University of New York Regents, Thomas Edison State College, or similar programs) are not sufficient for evaluation because these schools tend to delete pertinent academic information from the student's records. Therefore, individual transcripts from ALL schools are required. " The same thing would apply, but they seem to fly more under the radar that the other two, in my limited experience. Hope that helps.
One more thing One more thing. I must say that I took two Excelsior tests and found them challenging and fun. The psychiatric and mental health nursing and research methods in psych tests. They were very accomodating and sent my transcripts out to charter oak with alacrity. Dan B
Deb wrote: > I have 100 credits (maybe more, depending on the college) > to transfer into a BLS. It helps to spell out abbreviations on first reference. For a moment, I thought you were talking about a Bachelor of Library Science; but I see that University of Tampa offers a Bachelor of Liberal Studies (http://www.ut.edu/academics/catalog/years/2003_2004/03%20Cont.pdf). > I want to take the GRE for Literature and any other tests > that would help. That's a reason not to use TESC; TESC awards no credit for GREs. As Jodokk says, Excelsior vs COSC depends how well you expect to do on the GRE. > The only reason I don't want to finish my BLS at UT is that > they are a traditional campus and it is getting very hard to find > apporpriate classes at night. University of Tampa's Website says, "At least 15 hours of the 42-hour concentration and at least eight hours of each of the interdisciplinary areas of study must be earned at the University." Any other credits, I presume you could take elsewhere, and transfer in. Have you considered that? They probably won't accept GRE credit, but they do say, "In addition to earning credit through such testing programs as CLEP and DANTES, students can earn a maximum of 10 semester hours of credit for verifiable expertise gained from current or previous work-related experiences. Such experience must parallel the content in existing University of Tampa courses."
Excelsior awards a maximum of 30 sh's for the GRE while Charter Oak awards only 18. With 100 credits (if they are distributed properly) you could take the GRE and graduate at Excelsior with credits to spare.
Last 30 credits Here is what how I've done the credits so far: Transfered 47 (They didn't take 2 Community College classes.) CLEP 30 (Actually got 32 but UT would only take 30 from testing.) Life Experiences 8 Taken classes 16 That gives me 101. The last 30 credits are residency required - you have to have your butt in the seat. The only other option would be independent study and most of the professors are busy with "real" students.
Upper level credit I'm hoping you are right, Tony. According to UT, I need two more upper level classes, so I'm hoping the GRE will count for that. After viewing the two, Charter and Excelsior, the latter seems to suit the situation best. Especially since Charter limits the GRE to 18 only.
Yep! "After viewing the two, Charter and Excelsior, the latter seems to suit the situation best. Especially since Charter limits the GRE to 18 only" I would agree.
