Back on the Fence..Can't Decide...HELP!

Well after reviewing and taking some of the free FEMA courses (3 courses so far since last night!), I have switched course mid stream and now leaning towards finishing my degree at TESC. In a previous post, I detail my college journey. Basically I started 17 years ago at a B&M state school, partied a lot, left, attended 3 more schools since. Full circle to today I have a total of 110 credit hrs. I've been accepted into Governors State University, just outside of Chicago, into a program called BA/Interdisciplinary Studies, (I only was given credit of 101 hours). It's aimed at adult learners, allowing them to submit credits, and earn a Liberal Arts degree. The 2 requirements that I needed to fulfill with them is a 24 hour residency, of which I already have 18 and 19 more Upper level credits (I currently have 21). I then started studying for 3 DANTES exams (Civil War, Drug Use, and MIS) to fulfill 9 of the upper level hours. To fulfill the rest I planned on taking 10 hrs of weekend workshop courses offered by GSU. With all of this in mind, I was/am set to be finished on April 23rd 2007. After some research I came to the conclusion, that I could take 10-12 FEMA courses and for the same price as GSU, I could have a BA in Liberal Arts from TESC. The one thing that I really won't get with TESC is the opportunity to attend a commencement ceremony locally. I really could care less about that; however my wife wants to see it, for her and for my kids. My ultimate goals for finishing are to 1.) Finish something that I and so close to being done with, and 2.) Having my BA so that I can go to grad school. Now obviously the TESC route is the easiest, but I hope that it doesn't give the impression of laziness. In the end I am just having a hard time getting motivated to study for test and wasting time to attend classes that I have no interest in anyway. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

If TESC is more convenient, could you fly out to TESC for the grad ceremony? You could probably get some good flight deals on Jet Blue, and it would be a nice trip for the family.

Just a thought.

Abner

 

I did think of making that trip, but seeing how the ceremony is 7 months after I finish, it seems a bit melodrmatic at that point.

 

No, not really. I will be walking 6 months after completing my course requirements and 4 months into my graduate degree. By the time I'm walking for my BS I will have completed 2 semesters of grad school.......if your wife wants to see you walk, you owe her at least that much. After all, it was work and sacrifice for her too if you are like most married couples. So walking is/can be important, don't blow it off like it doesn't matter..........it does.

 

Hey berniejr!

I think getting the bachelors degree out of the way as quickly as possible is probably the best course of action...especially if you're taking 'filler' classes (I mean - what is the point exactly?). May as well jam through the FEMA series and just check the box marked : BA/BS ...and move on to the stuff that interests you (especially for adult learners who value their time).

A cure for the 'lazyness' you mentioned in your posting could very well be the Harvard ALM (which would undoubtably keep you busy). You're TESC degree would qualify you for entry into their Masters program and since it's open enrollment - all you have to do is get 3 B's (or better). And if you don't - you still get to put 'Harvard University' on your resume. Kind of takes the focus off the undergrad.

Of course, there are lots of grad schools to choose from. I just think Harvard is a great complement to the big 3 (moving from one end of the spectrum to the other).

Greg

 

Almost forgot, would Governors State University accept the FEMA credit if you paid Frederick Community College or TESC to transcript it?

Point being that there may be a way to leverage the FEMA courses and stay where you are.

Good question to ask Governors State University IMO...

Hope this helps.

Greg

 

Pugman thanks for your comments. In regards to the laziness, I have no doubt that once I'm enrilled into a Grad program, that the inspiration will kick back in with no problems. I was just wandering if it seemed lazy that I was trying to finish my BA, by the quickest and easiest means possible.

As far as GSU is concerend, they may take the FEMA course via FCC, however they would only be LD, which does me no good with them, so that's a no go.

In either case, I submitted my application last night to TESC, and unless they don't end up accepting most of my existing credit (which I find highly unlikely), I am going to do a BA in Liberal Studies from them. I am iun the process now of checking out Grad schools, trying to figure out which route I want to take (MBA, MsM, MALS, etc.)

 

TESC made my decision for me

Well I new that the FEMA credits were to good to be true, at least in my case. I knew that I was between 10-11 credits short of my Bachelors. I had figured that I would be short 2 hours in Liberal Arts, which I would fufill by taking a Intro to Computer Dantes test. The other remaining 8 credits would be filled using FEMA IS courses. Well TESC sent me my official evaluation the other day and it threw a monkey wrench in my whole setup. Of the 18 Upper level CS classes that I have from Governors State University they only applied 9 hours as Computer Science courses and the other 9 as MIS. Therefore the FEMA credits are useless, and in order to graduate from TESC, Iwould need to take 4 upper level DANTES . Even worse, I was trying to make the March 30th graduation, which means I would need to have those 4 test complete in the next 2 weeks. With these developments in place I think I'll stick with GSU, as I could take the same 4 test, along with 2 easy online, and 1 weekend workshop course and I will be done in April. On top of that my wife, kids, in-laws, and dad will get to see me walk across the stage.

 

Re: TESC made my decision for me

I think you have made the right decision for your situation. Graduating one month later than you had hoped is not the end of the world.

What are your plans after graduation? It is a mandatory question to ask on DI afterall.

 

Yeah the 1 month thing was not big deal, I was just hoping to avoid taking more exams, but oh well. I am currently in the process of evaluating Online MBA programs. I'm looking at NCU, NYIT, Amberton, St Josephs, Aspen(NA but $4200), and Andrew Jackson (I know they're NA but I really like their Entreprenural MBA focus).

 

Unfortunately, exams are a necessary evil if someone wants to complete an undergraduate degree as quickly as possible.

Unless you intend to teach at a college the nationally accredited MBA at Aspen University is a bargain all around. You can always complete an MBA at Aspen University and then a PhD at NCU which accepts NA/RA masters degree credits.