I finally received my transcript from an accredited state university. I no longer consider drinking beer and chasing women my primary college purpose, so these grades are not indicative of what I can do now. I intended to be a chemist or pharmacist but ended up in the security / private investigation business. I would like to get a degree in Criminal Justice / Business / Psychology. COSC would probably grant a BS with these concentrations. Any Ideas of where to proceed? Course Name Grade Hours Chem 212 General Chem I C 3 Chem 212L General Chem 1 Lab B 2 English 110 Freshman English D 3 Math 110 Fund of Math I B 5 Math 220 Calc I D 4 Pol SC 110B Constitution B 1.5 Chem 222 General Chem II C 3 Chem 222L General Chem Lab II C 2 Hist 437 Nazi Germany C 3 Phy ED 101 Archery A 1 Total Hours 27.5 Grade Point 2.018
This is from the COSC catalog. The school will look at your credits and fit them in where they can. You then find classes or exams that fill in the blanks. Since you only have 27.5 (not sure about the PE)You might look over the needs for ANY AA degree and fill in those blanks before contacting COSC (or TESC/Excelsior), don't get the meter running until you are near the finish line. Dan COSC Class of real soon (I transfered in 87 credits from 1969-74 and working on 30 more by special assessment) General Education This requirement is intended to assure that students gain the knowledge to develop their potential and acquire the capability to engage in a lifelong process of learning. By fulfilling this requirement, students acquire knowledge of Western cultural history; an understanding of a global society and their relation to it; a sense of social, ethical and cultural values; and an appreciation of the application of these values in society. They also develop communication and quantitative skills and an understanding of the scientific method. (See p _.) Research (R) 3 credits* Examples: Composition and Literature/Introduction to Literature; upper division Literature courses, seminars, honors courses, Independent Study courses, or any course that requires term papers. Written Communication (E) 6 credits* Subject area: English composition Analytic and Quantitative Reasoning and Data Interpretation (Q) 3 credits* Example: College-level Math Aesthetic Dimensions (A) 3 credits* Examples: Art, Creative Writing, Dance, Design, Film, Music, Poetry, and Theatre. Historical Development (H) 3 credits* Examples: Art History, History, Introduction to/History of Philosophy, Music History or Appreciation, Political Science. Relationship to Groups and Communities (I) 3 credits* Examples: Anthropology, Human/Cultural Geography, Introduction to Communication, Introduction to Macroeconomics, Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Sociology Global Society (G) 3 credits* Examples: Global Economics; International Business; History, Literature, Politics or Religion of cultures outside the United States. Scientific Process (S) 4-6 credits* Either one (1) 4-credit lab option or two (2) 3-credit options from the following examples of natural science subjects: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Ecology, Environmental Science, Geology, and Physics. Ethical Dimensions and Citizenship (C) 3 credits* Examples: American Government, Community Organization, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Moral or Ethical Issues. Western Civilization and Culture (W) 3 credits* Examples: History of Art, History, Literature or Politics of the United States or other Western cultures. *If credits apply to more than one category, credits will be counted only once toward the total needed for the degree.
For Criminal Justice, if you do decent on exams, I'd recommend taking the following exams, since all will be either core or required courses in any CJ program, and none are especially difficult; CLEP:English Comp or Freshman College Comp (check with your school to see if they require the essay) 6 credits DANTES:Intro to Criminal Justice 3 credits DANTES: Intro to Law Enforcement 3 credits Some others you can use as electives that aren't heavy lifting; CLEP:Analyzing & Interpreting Literature 6 credits CLEP:Humanities 6 credits DANTES:Here's To Your Health 3 credits Right there you have 27 credits, or almost the equivalent of a year of college. Depending on your school's policies, you can fill in a lot more blanks via exam. My field is CJ, so let me know if I can help at all. Bruce
Thanks Bruce and everyone for the help you have given me. I talked an admissions counselor at Excelsior today and they advised me they will be creating a Criminal Justice concentration soon.
There are any number of bachelors degree programs that allow a student to transfer in if his or her existing GPA is above 2.0. So that wouldn't be too much of a problem. A bigger problem is what your GPA is like when you finally graduate. If you ever contemplate getting a graduate degree, most graduate schools consider GPA in admissions. Luckily many of them only look at your last 60 units or something, so if you do well from now on, you'll be OK. Besides, you only have 27 units, and not all of them will be applicable to your new program. But the bottom line is that if you ever contemplate going to graduate school, you will want to get your GPA up. To do that you will have to take a lot of courses for letter grades so that you can average them in with your existing units. For that reason I'd suggest not taking too many of your future courses by credit/no-credit. Keep a close eye on what your cumulative GPA is and take courses for letter grades until it starts to look respectable.
whats it like I was just wondering what its like to be an investigator, environment, excitement, pay etc...
Many B&M programs do not transfer grades but only credits. Many will also only transfer a C or better. Many will also not transfer a PE activity course. Based on that English 110 grade, I'd suggest you check out a local community college and take that second semester freshman English in real time. You might also want to take the sophomore level lit. course there. A low first semester English grade often indicates a need for improved writing skills -- try taking a non-credit business writing or creative writing course at the local CC as a way to refine your technique. A strong foundation in writing skills can make the difference in your college career between A/B grades and C/D grades. It's also very valuable in the "real world". Since you got a C in that upper level history -- you might do OK testing out of the freshman history. Can't hurt to prep a little and give that Western Civ. II clep exam a shot. If you do OK there - prep for the Western Civ. I -- most programs will expect a two semester sequence of either American or Western History. A pharmacy program is going to require a better grade on Calc. than a D. A CJ program probably won't require math through calc. You might do OK with the CLEP Calculus exam but some schools won't allow the CLEP to count as a grade raising attempt. You may just have to retake that one too. The disparity between your fundamentals of math and calculus grades indicate that you may have moved up in math levels too fast (unless that D is due to not going to class and preparing) -- consider taking the lower math sequences first. If you think your math skills are good -- find out by taking the CLEP general exam in Math (6 hours). Your Chem grades are pretty good by comparison. If you understand Biology as well then the CLEP Biology could be worth another 8 hours. Adding in the Natural Science would give another 4-8 but would include some duplicative credit. Careful here though -- most liberal arts core requirements only expect 8 hours of lab science. Take those CJ/Law Enforcement DANTES exams -- I know nothing of Law Enforcement (other than having run afoul a couple times) and did very well on that one. Also, cost effectiveness probably would suggest that you finish out an AA/AS at the local community/tech college before enrolling in one of the big three. Having 27 hours already just means that you have 93 hours to go. And an AA/AS makes for a great intermediate goal. Since you are interested in the sciences and law enforcement -- have you considered a program in forensics? If your goal is a BA/BS or a grad degree -- don't waste time in schools whose credit will not transfer out. just chase the women with really high GPAs -- they can help you stay focused and raise yours....
