Hi there Prowled around on here a bit, hunting down info, reading, etc. Thought I might go ahead and register, say hello, and perhaps snag some answers to a couple questions I couldn't readily find the answer for. I attended college (standard brick and mortar RA college) for a semester back in 1989, and left in good standing. Life happened, I never returned. Now, I wish to finally crack out my degree, and I'm opting to do it via DL. One of the questions I had was: Are any of the credits I earned in 1989 any good now? And if so, I tested out (via AP) of several required courses and received credit for them then from the college ... would that be reflected on the transcript, and if so, still good now? Now, on to my course of study ... I am opting to do a degree in one of the natural/physical sciences (I like them all really), and am aware how far and few those are. Would it be better to find a full BS program and do it all the way through ... or find a general AS degree offered to get the basic core done, and then transfer out to the BS? I am hoping to keep things streamlined and simple ... and hopefully of reasonable cost. Thoughts? TIA
In my opinion your old credits stand a very good chance of being denied. No one will be able to tell you for certain because it's up to the school to decide and different schools have different policies. The standard policy is 10 years but I'm sure people know of schools that will accept credits older than that. As for your second question, I think that the main reason for going the AS route prior to the BS program is cost. Often you can find a CC program that is cheaper per credit than the 4 year school's rate. There is some risk that the 4 year school won't accept all the credits so you have to be careful about equivalency and relevancy. The question that you did not ask was the prospect of testing out of some courses and I'd suggest that you consider that as a viable alternative. It takes some time to understand how to earn your credits in that way but in the end it's the cheapest and fastest way to pile up credits.
Good morning! I am attending Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University via distance learning. They accepted my college credits that I earned from 1988-1990. Good luck to you in your pursuits!
The majority schools accept credits are earned within 25 years windows. I don't think you have any problems with credits in 1989.
I think most of your credits should be ok...really depends what they are in and where you apply them. Take a look at the Thomas Edison state college natural science bachelors, it would be a flexible option that would allow maximum credit by exam. Charter oak state and excelsior likely have good options too. I would pursue the as/aa option only if you can get it on the way to a bachelors without going too far out of the way.
Great, thank you The credits I had earned already were in Theatre, Philosophy and an IDS class. I do plan on taking CLEPSs and testing out of what I can .... I've already reviewed some sample tests to get a feel for what I might tackle handily enough. The plan I came up with was to go the AS route first, and then transfer into a BS, and to use my planned for BS program as a guideline when choosing courses for the AS (if possible). I just wanted to make sure that was viable and not "looked down on" or if anyone really ever knows if that's the way you did it or not. Back when I was initially looking at these sorts of things in '89, the push from advisors was not to go that route. I live in GA, and not many CC offer an actual AS that is meant to transfer ... by DL. Most are in person classes. So I need to branch outward and see what other CC are out there. I've also checked out Adams State Uni in Colorado, and they seem possible. A lot more than I want to pay per credit, but its on the list.
The only potential speedbump you might encounter is the old AP credit. As I understand it, The College Board holds your transcripts for 20 years only, so getting an official transcript might not be possible. However, you should ask. Even the schools mentioned (the big 3) will require an original transcript from each source (1 from the College Board for your AP credit, 1 from your CC for you classroom credit).
Am about to share something not exactly on topic, but is my topic, so I think ok I simply had to share this resource I stumbled over in regards to Community Colleges ... It has proven really helpful in finding them. U.S. Community Colleges, by State Using this, I've been able to find two strong candidates for the AS. Williston State College (North Dakota) and Central Community College (Nebraska)
For what it's worth, when I applied to UIS in 2011 they accepted my previous credits which were earned in 1975-1979.
My mom is back to school to finally finish up a degree. The SUNY she is attending took transfer credits from Wilkes College (now University) which she attended in 1972-1973. She and I were both a bit surprised with that.
Georgia colleges are surprisingly expensive even at the CC level. I would see what you can find elsewhere, in particular I would investigate the online options at New Mexico Junior College, they accept a fair amount of credit via CLEP, are dirt cheap (like $89/credit), and pursuing say an AA there would just about ensure that the classes you are taking will count for the vast majority of Bachelors degrees. With that said, I would investigate the likely 4 year schools you are considering and seek to minimize any spare or extra courses that wouldn't count at both. Unless you can find something around $100/credit in Georgia I would look elsewhere....again, the Georgia Schools seem really expensive even at in state rates.
Thanks for the tip NMJC looks promising, as does Williston State (North Dakota), and Central Community (Nebraska).
I think it also depends on the type of classes/credits they are. An English class has a better chance of being accepted than a biology or psychology class because the material and knowledges changes in those whereas English does not change as quickly. This has been my limited observation.
