Hello all I have finally decided to get an under graduate degree here in United States. I already have a B.Sc in Mathematics from University of Madras, India (Three Years degree, 93.5 Credit hours / 3.90 GPA). I 'have' to get a BS degree here from USA because most of the universities here wont admit me on to their MS program because they need four yrs bachelors. After much thought I have decided to get a BS (information systems) from Excelsior college. (1) Normally, how long would it take to complete the course considering that I already have a bachelors with 93.5 credit hours ? (2) Is Excelsior the cheapest or is there any other college with better rates ? (3) After this course, I want to do MS in one of the Good / reputed universities here in USA. Would the degree from Excelsior be accepted ? (4)What role does my University of madras degree play on the final Excelsior degree transcripts. Would the Good / reputed university (to which I would ultimately apply for MS) able to see that the 93.5 credits were from University of madras rather than Excelsior ? Sorry for too many questions. Thanks in advance PS : I am also looking at UMass Lowell, But I am not sure how many credits would I be able to transfer there. I am looking for BS Information Systems / Computer Science only
(1) Normally, how long would it take to complete the course considering that I already have a bachelors with 93.5 credit hours ? You might be required to have your existing degree evaluated by an independent evaluation service. When I had my British courses evaluated I compiled them into a report and included course decriptions for British and comparable US couses, I explained British grading systems (fail, pass, credit, distinction), and other relevent items that I do not remember). Goal is to do evaluators work for them. That said Excelsior requires 120 semester units. I took all my remaining classes by CLEP, community college classes, and good old CSUDH upper division classes (my nearest University). I would download the Excelsior catalog and compare what you have with their requirements. (2) Is Excelsior the cheapest or is there any other college with better rates ? The way I did it yes it was low cost. (3) After this course, I want to do MS in one of the Good / reputed universities here in USA. Would the degree from Excelsior be accepted ? You should not have a problem in this regard but make sure you cover any MS prerecquisites in your BS program. (4)What role does my University of madras degree play on the final Excelsior degree transcripts. Would the Good / reputed university (to which I would ultimately apply for MS) able to see that the 93.5 credits were from University of madras rather than Excelsior ? Yes - accepted credits from U of Madras will be listed but again it is should not be a problem. Good luck with your studies. Ian Anderson BSLS USNY(Excelsior) MS CSUDH MAS ERAU (in progress)
Evaluated using WES Thanks for the reply Ian. I already evaluated my three yrs B.Sc Mathematics degree using World Education Services and thats how I got to know I have completed 93.5 credit hours with 3.90 GPA. Thanks again
A Bsc. with a 3.9 GPA but your degree only has 93.5 credits. Probably all the degree lacks is the fluff that is supposed to make you a well rounded individual. I would question why any admissions officer would be turning down a 3.9 GPA instead of working out some conditional admission. Perhaps the rigidity of accreditation requirements doesn't permit this. Maybe 120 credits is 120 credits, case closed.
