Getting ACE transcripts is maddening!

The Comprehensive Tuition Plan allows students to take up to 36 credits per year for $5,508 (New Jersey residents). If you qualify, a maximum Pell Grant award of $5550 would cover the whole thing.

 

It looks like my only options are CIE-WC but who know if I get credit for anything there too, or just do TESC and have to do the 21 credits in the heart of the program. Not the worst thing in the world I guess.

 

How do you get a Pell Grant? Is it something you might end up getting just by applying for financial aid or you have to specifically apply for it? Thanks for the help.

 

I'm just so pissed right now, I'm gonna call PF tomorrow to see just what I can do with my 18 credits, or if I have credits. I wonder if CIE-WC will accept my transcripts in the form they are in?

 

Yeah I'm totally screwed. I literally just received an email that confirmed it. The career diploma programs hold NO CREDIT HOUR VALUE, except that they can be applied to our programs. That is their "policy" as I was told. So after reading roughly 80 books, taking 52 exams and graduating from a technical program I have 0 credits after thinking I had 18 coming my way.
I either have to enroll in the TESC program, and forget I ever took the PF program, or take the PF program which I am so mad at them now is the LAST option, or do that prior learning program that transfer to TESC. Do you think I should send my transcripts to CIE-WC or its just a complete waste of 10 dollars at this point?

 

Sorry so let me try to understand this... I know Penn Foster is NA even though the career programs are RA? But they aren't courses they are modules and TESC won't accept that unless it is an actual course and or ACE approved credits. Very hard and confusing, but TESC just won't accept NA transcripts. Some one on the other forums completed an A.A through PF and made sure it was properly ACE approved before he enrolled into the program and all the courses went on a ACE transcript out to TESC completely fine. But in your dilemma, it seems the courses are not ACE approved due to the fact it's in the career diploma section which happens to be RA? Ahhhh! I'm confusing even more, I hope it works out for you man, taking more courses is not fun. Keep us updated !

Edit: Sorry didn't read the page 2 on this thread. Nevermind..

 

Rubyman, apparently I have credits, but I don't have credits at the same time. I have no credits to send to any other institution in the entire country except PF. Its all VERY confusing. I have been dealing with this all day, and I am tired. Talk about having your bubble burst in one big bang!

 

Give me your honest opinion, would I be completely out of my mind if I did the A.S. degree at PF? I mean I do NOT want to give these people any more money, but I could then easily then apply those to TESC easily because they are ACE evaluated.

 

PFTech - do you have any work experience pertaining to electronics technology? The answer to this question may help guide our answers to you.

 

BobbyJim, no I don't. I was doing all this to get a job in this industry. I have made a decision actually. I am not going to do the A.S. at PF even though it makes some sense. I am going to talk to TESC tomorrow and do the AAS for Electrical/mechanical systems and maintenance. The "Gen Ed" requirements are much less than the engineering degree which means I can get through them with straighterline quicker, and get on with the heart of the program, the career 21 credits faster. That is the plan, and i think its pretty solid. You can get a pretty good job with that AAS, and I talked to TESC today and they said you can easily go into the BSAST in Electronics engineering technology with the credits from the AAS. What do you think?

 

My thoughts? Education in any form is useful – focused and accredited is usually better. You learned a bit about basic electronics through PF, and that is a good thing. I did a complete 2 1/2 year butt-in-seat vocational ET program at a state technical school that amounted to zero transferable credit hours, but it got me a job!

Have you looked into local community colleges for an ET program? Some community colleges will allow you to test out a portion of the electronics basic courses and almost all accept some amount of CLEP.

Should you do the PF or CIE/WC AAS/BEET thing? Probably not is my opinion. Would the TESC AAS route be better? Yes, but it could get costly if you can’t get some credit out of the PF program indirectly through the PLA option. All 3 of these programs work better for someone already working in a related field, but maybe not quite as well for entry level folks.

Just my thoughts....

 

The problem is that lets say you do this, once you apply to ACE, ACE is only going to accept the credits in the program that are ACE approved. Not the ones that were transferred in from your career diploma, since originally they weren't ACE approved to begin with. So you'll be wasting more money on this method.

Edit once again: Ah I forgot, they emailed you saying the career diploma modules weren't transferable.

 

BobbyJim, I'm not following something. Are we saying that TESC/Excelsior is useless or not a good option for someone not working in the field already? If that's the case I give up completely here. I'm just not following why TESC would be a bad choice to learn these skills if you are not working in the field already?

 

RubyMan, I am not going the PF route. Think I am going for my AAS at TESC.

 

No, I did not say these programs were useless for entry level jobs. I said they work BETTER for folks already working in a related field.

Of the choices you presented, I would pick TESC because it is regionally accredited.

I don’t know details your personal situation, but a local community college with residential labs and in-person/online theory courses, plus some testing out options (based on your PF learning, etc.) might be a way to pick up some of the tech credits you would need. You should then be able to transfer these community college courses into TESC’s program along with any other credits you gather through SL, FEMA, etc. This is just another possibility for you to consider.

-Have you considered talking to TESC and asking their opinion of your next steps should you decide to go with them?
-Have you looked at local community colleges?
-Have you considered asking about PELL grants to cover your costs?

 

Thanks for the help, i wasn't sure exactly what you were saying. I am open to everything right now. I am going to call TESC tomorrow to have a nice long chat over my options, their suggestions and more. Also today was the first day i called TESC since putting my application in and they are MUCH more helpful once you put your app. in, and have been accepted. I talked to many different people today from TESC and they were fantastic. Thanks for the help, BobbyJim. If I came off as a jerk I apologize to the fullest, its been a bad, stressful day.

 

pfet, especially in your field of interest you should really take a look at Excelsior College.

Excelsior College works in very similar ways to TESC, but has a possible edge in electrical and electronics engineering technology. In addition to regional accreditation, there's a recognized specialized accreditation in engineering technology from the Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET-TAC).

At TESC, only the BS in Nuclear Energy Engineering Technology currently holds ABET-TAC accreditation. This was gained in 2010.

At Excelsior, a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology and a BS in Nuclear Engineering Technology hold ABET-TAC accreditation. The BSEET has held ABET-TAC accreditation since 1996, the BSNET since 1998.

You'll see a listing at the ABET-TAC site for a separate program in Electronics Engineering Technology, but Excelsior has now rolled that in to the degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. The BS in Electrical Engineering Technology has a choice of concentrations in Electronics, Nanotechnology, or Power Systems.

Outside of their ABET-TAC programs, Excelsior also has a BS in Technology with areas of focus or concentration in Electromechanical Technologies or Electronic Instrumentation Technologies that you might also consider. (And others, but those are the really electronicsy ones.)

At the associate's level, also outside of the ABET-TAC accreditation but possibly a stepping stone to any of the bachelor's, Excelsior has AAS and AS in Technology degrees that might work for you.

More!: Excelsior College: Programs: Technology.

Note that ABET-TAC accreditation, for engineering technology programs, is not the same as ABET-EAC accreditation for engineering programs. ABET: Engineering vs. Engineering Technology. Hi Kizmet!

 

I think I'm gonna stick with TESC because I already paid 75 bucks for my application, wheels are in motion already with them, and from what I understand while ABET is great to have as a specialized accreditation, its only necessary if you plan on going to an actual engineering degree. At least that's how I understand it, and I am not going near an engineering degree. I do like Excelsior though, I chatted a few times with them[something I wish TESC had]. They are more expensive though. Thanks for the help.