Big 3 students: Why did you choose the school you chose?

At first I didn't care for the name Excelsior College, I thought it sounded a little odd and I thought it may not be very well known. However, I've been speaking with folks around my workplace, and am very surprised to learn that quite a few people identify the name "Excelsior College" as a school they've heard of (whether or not they know the school's history or their market focus is another matter).

I've become convinced that Excelsior College is a very good name. And their logo is cool. And it looks good on shirts and other merch I'll be buying and wearing if I settle on EC as my school of choice...

 

I chose TESC because their BA program was the best fit for my accumulated credits.

 

Perhaps, unless you're looking for a degree in wastewater management.

 

I chose Excelsior because I needed a fast BA to obtain teacher certification (took me 4 months). It gave me the best options for planning and testing. It was also not as expensive, I chose the as many CLEPS with more than 3 credits as I could (for example, I took Spanish and French both with scores to get me four semesters credit each) I prefer self studying and being able to test out of all the credits was very appealing. BTW It took me a lot longer to get my teacher certification in Texas because they will not allow you to self study and test, I had to sign up to a 10 month program to be able to become a certified teacher.

 

Hey! The perfect name for a South Carolina degree mill -- South Carolina A&M.

 

Excelsior

I was never crazy about Excelsior's name either. But it's kind of grown on me and now that I've finally finished that last course and have may name coming on that little piece of paper, I guess I'll get used to seeing it because I'm going to frame that baby and stick it on my wall to see from now on. 108 credit hours of testing and 1 class and it's gone from 'dumb name' to 'look what I did!'. Excelsior is cool because I did finally excel and I'm proud to have finally finished, 20 years after I first started wasting my youth at a B&M. I'm not sure I would have ever done it if it weren't for lurking around boards like this and being pumped up by the stories of all of you.

But back to the question, I chose Excelsior because it was definitely the best fit. I could fly through the testing, could actually major in a real Business field, had a GPA attached to it, and they were super easy to work with. I've been VERY impressed with their customer service and study guides and web services. The evaluations for each and every test I did (in a 5 week blur one summer) were very prompt. I couldn't ask for speedier service. The final class I had to take I just finished online with them a few weeks ago (with a great professor) and they're going to have all the paperwork done to award my degree in time for the June 16th degree conferral.

I did complain loudly about the asinine Information Literacy requirement, which I completed overnight and spent as long on the evaluation moaning and groaning as I did taking the class. They actually called me a few days later to discuss it and get even more feedback from me. I was shocked. But I notice it's still there as a requirement so I guess no place is perfect.

Good luck in your choice of college.