Talk:COSC Degree Plans

== KittenMittens : "There's no need to clog up the COSC Wiki page with messy formatting and calculations. Just keep the information to the point and under the right subcategory (i.e. not above the "Overview"). Several of the points brought up by you have already been mentioned in the wiki and there is no need to make things personal. This is a wiki page created by people who have attended COSC, and as such it reflects the opinions of those who went there, not those who went to a different school. If you want to post advantages of TESC, it should be posted on the TESC degree pages and explain that rationale there as there are already dozens of degree programs and ideas posted there by you.  ==

I've updated the page to reflect that going through TESC's enrolled options plan can be between roughly $700 - $1000. The calculations on cost were what it personally cost me and I explicitly state that as such comparing taking the same coursework between both colleges. Nothing misleading or inaccurate about that - there is no need to argue over technicialities which is why modifiers like ~ or "about" reflect an estimate not a literally exact figure.

'''For your perusal, at the bottom of this post, I show an apples to apples comparison for a complete COSC degree  compared to  using TESC's enrolled options using overlapping courses you used for TESC's: tl;dr - COSC's would be about $750 cheaper. Also, your degree plan is $6,208 not $6,083.'''  It's not around $580 because I used PF for the Finance requirement which is $137 more expensive, but at the bottom of this comment, I use DSST Principles of Finance for calculation purposes. My main assertion is that between comparing TESC's enrolled option and Charter Oak's BS in BA program, Charter Oak can be more straightforward (need 15 credits less), has less restrictive requirements, and even cheaper. It requires less business credits, uses UExcel exams (with established >90% pass rates), and is about $800 cheaper - that's a fact. It includes the use of a cornerstone and capstone, but you're wrong about not being able to do both courses in the same semester you can (not to mention that doing an entire program for 99% of people is not going to be done in 3.5 months, but probably more like 6  months to a year if we're being realistic).

I've already addressed that TECEP's plan is the cheapest by about $2,000 - $3,000 or so. Specifically, my estimate show it's about $2,588. I'll update it to state $2,600 for your liking. I simply state the facts and concede the fact that it is the cheapest and I consider options on when that may be feasible. It has already been addressed that with COSC you have to take two required courses which is already mentioned in the overview and how TESC doesn't.

Though there are some TECEP exams that can be straightforward, there are no significant review materials, and at some point, it is likely that some/several TECEP courses will entail use of a textbook. From what I've seen there are about 4 or so TECEP exams that could be straightforward for testtakers. After that, you'd probably need to utilize textbooks for the remaining ones.

It's hard to argue that TECEP exams are that great considering instantcert.com's business model is about studying quickly with only their cards, not to mention abundant posts/clear majority sentiment that they are the hardest exams out there. And as you know, a recent thread complained about TECEP exams being difficultfor the reasons I exactly described indicate that TECEP exams are not straightforward as the alternatives. This is a powerful assertion with hard data. Regardless, it is already mentioned that TECEPs are an option should a student elect to do so in the thread, so there is no need to belabor that point as the program encourages people to pursue TECEPs should it fits their needs.

I will/have correct any changes regarding TESC's UL credits to accurately reflect its condition by stating a minimum of 12 UL credits alone (similar to COSC's) since the total 27 - 33 UL credits are a little dubious/variable. Reasons for taking TESC's per credit plan have already been established in the wiki page. I have already informed you on the forum that TESC's business credits are about 63 credits if we're including business statistics, microeconomics, and macroeconomics which are business credits. If you want to do an apple to apples comparison, then compare its 54 credits to 39 credits from COSC for its business degree since the 48 credits figure comes from including microecon, macroecon, and statistics.

I'd ask to refrain from arguing technicalities and semantics, and on insisting on pushing TESC all the time, which has already been done on the forum & on the TESC wikia pages; so please leave debate on the discussion page before this turns into another flame war. There's no need to micromanage each and everything on the website as there are more than one way to skin a cat so they say. Finally, no one is forcefully insisting on one college or the other. If your goal is get people to pick the best option, from your forum posts, and activity in general, it appears that you do try to push people to do the TECEP program which I looked into. I wanted to do it but I found the lack of TECEP material a major obstacle, and I want others to be clear about  as others have found that to be a problem as well. With the UExcels, I studied for each of them with only a few hours top, and got As and Bs without any background. I am not a excellent test taker either, just average. There's an extremely strong argument to be made that with no background in TECEPs, feeling comfortable is not going to happen as likely and will entail more indepth and laborious review. The absence of test prep materials, and the lack of instantcert data as I've repeatedly stated, shows that as well. Data is an extremely powerful thing in that regard compared to either of our opinions. The crux of the matter is that TECEPs simply lack data overall except a few scarce comments hidden throughout the forum.

I have no hidden agenda in doing so, and it is not my intention to state that I am "right" without at least supporting my opinions with hard facts. Like I've said I would have preferred TESC's TECEP "per credit" plan but it is a fact that being forced to take 8 TECEP exams is a drawback. You can save about $2,600, but that comes at the expense of time and comfort.

Like yourself, I am adding balance and correcting misinformation as well so that people can make good decisions.

Charter Oak Total Costs (includes any approximate test fees for UExcel exams)

Core General Education Requirements

CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature (6 credits) - $100

CLEP Intro to Sociology - $100

DSST Business Ethics & Society - $100 (Upper Level)

CLEP College Comp (6 Credits) - $100

DSST Public Speaking - $100

DSST Civil War - $100 (Upper Level)

Saylor Intro to Western Political Thought - $25

DSST Intro to World Religions - $100

ALEKS Business Statistics - $20

Macroeconomics: CLEP - $100

Microeconomics: CLEP - $100

Saylor Chemistry - $25

Saylor Biology - $25

SUBTOTAL: $995.00 (cheaper than TESC's gen. ed requirements by like $30 or so, so not a big deal)

B.S. in BA Requirements:

Business Law: Saylor Business Law and Ethics - $25

Principles of Finance: DSST - $100

DSST MIS - $100

Intro to Marketing: Saylor - $25

Principles to Financial Accounting: CLEP - $100

Principles of Managerial Accounting: Straighterline Accounting I- $149

Principles of Management – Saylor $25

ALEKS Statistics - $0

UExcel Organization Behavior ($145) - Upper Level

UExcel Labor Relations ($145) - Upper Level

UExcel Human Resource Management ($145) - Upper Level

DSST Money & Banking ($100) - Upper Level (but this is a hard exam, but you listed it in your guide, so I included it in mine as well for comparison purposes).

Subtotal: $1,059.00

Miscellaneous UL Exams

UExcel Abnormal Psychology - $145

UExcel Social Psychology - $145

DSST Substance Abuse - $100

Subtotal: $390.00

2 COSC Courses

$1333 - Strategic Management Capstone (Upper Level)

$1333 - Cornerstone Course

Subtotal: $2,666.00

$75 Application Fee

$20 Aleks fee

$40 ACE Fee

$210 Application fee

Subtotal: $345.00

TOTAL: $5,455.00

Doing the TESC Enrolled Options program as you described would be $6,208.00. So $6,208 - $5,455.00 =  $753.00"