Help! Affordable Bachelor in Psychology – International Student (Denmark)

Help! Affordable Bachelor in Psychology – International Student (Denmark)

Hi all,

After reading so much great advice on this forum, I decided to see if some of you could help me out with my confusion too:smile: I am a Danish girl who currently has a bachelor in business/psychology and a Masters in International Business from a Danish University.

I am looking to enroll to a US university, transfer some credits and get a complete psychology bachelor. After tons of research on tuition, fees, admission, courses, accreditation and credit transfers, I am mostly really confused☺

To summarize, I am looking for a Regional Accredited School with a complete online program in psychology. Besides for the Accreditation, my main concern is cost (there is no financial aid for foreign students which is fair but it makes cost quite important).

I am expecting to have 90 of 120 credits (maximum for most universities as far as I can tell) transferred so I will need to take 30 credits of pure psychology courses. So far I have looked at:

- Wyoming University (really good price but very confusing site, 150/credit)
- TESC (too expensive yearly cost for foreigners)
- SUNY Empire State College (Sounds good but does not have that big selection of psychology courses and the total cost not the cheapest, 207/credit)
- Peru State College (190/credit)
- Excelsior College (I can’t really seem to figure out if they have or don’t have a Bachelor in Psychology.. And what the cost per credit is.. But look good, courses start often. They have lots of the test where you can gain credits. Unfortunately Denmark will not accept that)

I would love to hear what you think about these options? And also, I am sure I have missed some really excellent and affordable universities, so other suggestions are very much appreciated. In short, a cheap flexible BA in psychology.

Thanks a lot. I am really looking forward to trying the online studying in US. In Denmark we are way behind on that! But we do have strange food and you can drive through the country in 3 hours:veryhappy:

Best, Aja

 

If I understand you correctly, you already have a bachelor's degree in business and psychology. If that is accurate, 1) why do you want another bachelor's degee in psychology and 2) why aren't you looking for a graduate program in psychology ? Pretty much any US school will not allow you to earn another bachelor's degree in psychology.

If I were you, I'd also look at the University of South Africa for a graduate degree in psychology unless you want a US psychology degree for licensing reasons.

 

Hi Muaranah

Yes, that's accurate. I know, it sounds a little strange. But to be accepted into a graduate psychology program in Denmark you need to have a full Bachelor in (only) Psychology.. You can't change from a combination bachelor to a psychology masters like in US, our system is that bachelor and masters have to match. It's really stupid actually! And if I just take a Masters in US I can't get licensing in Denmark.. Danish University wont accept UNISA (also stupid!

Thanks, Aja

Aja

 

Charter Oak State College can get you a liberal arts degree with a concentration in psychology - you have to have 36 hours in your major or "concentration." cosc.edu

California Southern Univ is only nationally accredited but they accept international students and are reasonable. calsouthern.edu

 

CRS0410 - Thanks

I really like California Southern and california coast looks good too.. Unfortunately a US bachelor needs to be from an RA school to be accepted in Denmark. And Charter Oak is 275/credit for out of state so a little bit too expensive..

Aja

 

My suggestion:

Have your transcripts evaluated by WESC and ECE to determine the number of transfer credits. Use the evaluation that is most favorable to you. Transfer all those credits to Excelsior and finish your bacherlos degree in Psychology there. Yes they do offer a Bacherlos degree in Psychology, it is under the liberal arts category. You can probably use Morningside college for some of the classes you need. Some are hard to find and you might have to take with with Excelsior directly, however you can always join POAG for $20 and benefit from the partnership program.

 

Hi jra

Thanks for your advice. I have just sent an email to excelsior about the final title (It needs to be BSc or BA in psychology) and the price/credit as it seems a little confusing.. But I think they might be a good option I am currently having my transcripts evaluated by ECE. Do you think it's a benefit to have it evaluated by WESC also?

And maybe a stupid question but what is POAG?

Aja

 

Maybe someone should explain the testing options (especially ECE) to Aja that could be used once an evaluation is completed. I also think TESC might suit her purposes better than Excelsior, since no capstone course is required.

 

Hej Aja,

With that educational background, have you considered a US distant learning doctoral program in Psychology? Then of course, it may not lead to license in Danmark?


Delta

 

Delta might be on the right track. We don't talk a lot about the Open University (UK) on this board because US residents are not eligible but you should look at their Psychology offerings and see if a doctoral degree is possible.

Psychology | Postgraduate Courses, Masters, Diplomas and Certificates - Open University

 

Thanks for all the advice. However, the rules in Denmark about having degrees transferred are quite strict. I really need to have a bachelor in Psychology to get further in the system (by applying to Danish masters). A doctoral degree sounds a lot more interesting but unfortunately it wont work for my purpose..

I heard back from Excelsior and besides the yearly fee the cost per credit is quite high (335). Open university has a maximum credit transfer of 75 out of 380 so I would need to take almost a complete bachelor with them. And Denmark is not eligible for the UK course fee either.. I looked at TESC again and their fee for International students is really high (3784 a year + the course fee per credit). So in the end it sounds like a really expensive solution.. Or, what do you think?

Any experiences with Peru State or Wyoming? They both sound quite cheap to me..

Again, thanks a lot for your help.

Best, Aja

 

Thanks for all your advice. I posted something on the 14th and it said I had to wait for moderator approval.. Well, I waited.. So now I will try again

First, the Doctoral program is a great idea, I would love to do that. However, it still wont do in Denmark. Basically, even though it might be a little repetitive work, I have no option but to take a BA in psychology if I want to use it in Denmark (at least if I wont licensing in the end, I just checked with the University). So, I am back to looking at BAs..

I have looked at Open University in UK but 1) Danish people are not eligible for UK fee either and 2) they only accept 74 out of 380 in transfer credits so I would have to take an almost complete bachelor..

I heard back from Excelsior and their price/credit is 335 so it's too expensive.. Maybe in theory I could transfer more credits there (or use examinations) but without courses on the diploma I will have a harder time with the acceptance here. And I would like to take about 30 credits of psychology.. TESC is a good option too, however, they have an (outrageous?) yearly fee for International Students of 3784 USD + the cost per credit..

It's so complicated! So, status is that I am kind of pro University of Wyoming online/outreach. The price is really good and the courses seem comprehensive. Do you have any opinions on that? Or maybe Peru State? Or any other school I have not found in my research?

Thanks again..

Aja

 

Aja,

Read the front-page article on Roger Habeck. If you do your degree by examination, instead of taking classes, the cost drops to about $35/credit. (This based on about $70 for the typical CLEP exam, and about $35 for Charter Oak's fee to apply the credit from the exam, with the typical exam yielding 3 credits.) This would give you a regionally accredited degree from Charter Oak with a psychology concentration for about $5500 or less, all in. A deal that's hard to beat. Excelsior and Thomas Edison have similar deals, though in recent years Edison seems to have gotten more pricey.

 

This might fit your needs
AMU Degree Program: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

One thing to remember that 30 units generally must be earned from the school granting the degree (exceptions are Excelsior, COSC, and TESC). But you also have to satisfy all other requirements (both gen ed and major) for the degree which could result in you needing to earn many more than 30 units.

Also with the big three (EC, TESC and COSC) you do not need to take any of their courses (except one may be required) - you can take them at any acceptable RA college or university then transfer them to your program. This could cut down your costs.

As suggested look into the UK Open University degrees.

It has been a while since I earned my BS from Excelsior but all the diploma says is "Bachelor of Science"; nothing re my concentrations.

 

Chip,

Aja needs a bachelors degree with a major in psychology, not a concentration. I thought she was pretty clear about this in her earlier post. As such, Charter Oak will not meet her needs. Excelsior should work for her, as they offer a major in psychology. Not sure about Thomas Edison.

 

I just happened to see this program
https://carina.baker.edu/MSTSTPO?DLV=U&LOCNO=&DIV=GE&DEG=BSP&CON=PSYO&CVER=2010A&VER=2010A&DIVTTL=Bachelor%20of%20Science%20in%20Psychology&PGMTTL=Psychology&PGMTTL1=&OFRTTL=THIS%20PROGRAM%20IS%20OFFERED%20AT%20THE%20FOLLOWING%20BAKER%20COLLEGE%20CAMPUS%3A&CMPOFR=Online&DEPT=ONL
The major is 64 quarter units (= to 43 semester units)
Tuition is $205 per quarter unit: so major costs around 13,000 USD but maybe less if you can transfer in some courses.
An advantage of Baker is that it is a campus based college that offers degree via distance learning.
Otherwise I know little else about Baker.

 

Major = a course of study in one subject (e.g. psychology, english, history, etc.) which is listed on your transcript.
Concentration = also a course of study in one subject which is listed on your transcript.

The main difference between the two is that with a major, your degree would read as "Bachelor of Science (or Arts) in Psychology", whereas with a concentration, your degree is actually in liberal arts (or similar) and would read as "Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts with a Concentration in Psychology".

 

I don't know if this would suit your needs (or if the cost is too much), but I'm majoring in Psychology at Columbia College (Missouri, not the University in NY, haha).

I started this semester, and have nothing but great things to say about it. They have the typical residency requirement of 30 credits you'd have to take w/them (courses, not staying there), I believe. Their online system is remarkable - I came fr taking classes at a local community college here in Massachusetts and I was fed up with administration problems. Everything seems to be streamlined - once more, I check with Rate My Professors for ideas on what instructors to choose (not always accurate, but a good way to start, IMO). I had some serious issues that cropped up this semester (deaths in family, and more), and both professors really, really worked with me.

They work on an eight week quarter system, which was really hard for me to get used to (I am very slow, just my nature uppy_dog_eyes, but I'm taking just one class this quarter (and a subject I love), so I think I can keep up w/the super fast schedule now.

Since you have such a background in Psych, that might not even be an issue w/you.

They mention scholarships for International students - don't know if they apply for those in the Distance Learning programs:

Columbia College Financial Aid Office: Scholarships for International Students

I would definitely contact them - they've been so helpful for me, I can't even begin to explain how happy I am with the school. I've been considering other colleges only because I'm not sure if I want to continue with this major (I have way too many interests, lol).