[cinderly]

Hi, Jon!

Welcome to IC and the testing-out bug. All three of the schools allow you to transfer in 100% of required credits for a degree, but what those requirements look like vary by school. I think I'd look at the catalog requirements for the General Business major at each school and choose the one that either most closely aligns with future plans or can be completed in the shortest amount of time, depending on your goals and plans for the immediate future.

I'd also start planning on not having much of a social life for the next little while. If you can get the important people in your life on board, early, it helps tremendously in staying the course when the waters get rough. And they will, unless you're uncannily lucky.

You can continue to test without enrolling at any school. The upside is that you potentially only have to pay an application, enrollment, and graduation fee. The downside is that program requirements can and do change. Some students have chosen to apply after a certain number of credits but not enroll until they are very near program completion. This strategy allows you theoretical access to an advisor without the cost of enrollment and possible annual continuation fees. The downside is that you aren't protected from program change (although, anecdotally, enrollment appears not to offer that protection at EC as reported here.)

A quick comparison of the Big Three, as I understand their differences. Which school is the best for you depends on which program meets your needs and how you plan to earn your degree. Someone who plans to take a lot of in-house credits is probably better served by one of the Comprehensive plans. Someone who plans to test out of everything likely is not.

Customer Service
COSC - good reputation here
EC - great advisor response; transcript updates can take 1 to 8 weeks
TESC - slow service is a common complaint

Degree Requirements
COSC - individually defined (w/advisor)
EC - Information Literacy + 12 UL Business electives + 107 other credits
TESC - no UL credits required (?)

Alternative Forms of Credit
COSC - GRE Subject test (up to 18 credits); FEMA if transcribed elsewhere
EC - GRE Subject test (up to 30 credits); FEMA if transcribed elsewhere
TEST - FEMA (no additional charge); great portfolio program

Graduation
COSC - ceremony each June; conferrals: January, March, May, July, September, November
EC - ceremony each July; conferrals monthly
TESC - ceremony each October; conferrals: March, June, September, December

Cost
Application fee:
COSC - 75
EC - 75
TESC - 75

Enrollment fee:
COSC - 1300 non-resident / 985 CT resident
EC - 895
TESC - 2300 non-resident / 1275 NJ resident

Tuition (per semester hour):
COSC - 235 non-resident / 165 CT resident
EC - 290
TESC - 165 non-resident / 125 NJ resident / 315 unenrolled

Comprehensive plan:
COSC - 3760 non-resident / 2720 CT resident (includes courses up to 12 credits + enrollment fee)
EC - N/A
TESC - 6150 non-resident / 4300 NJ resident (includes courses up to 36 credits + enrollment fee)

Annual fee:
COSC - 660 non-resident / 450 CT resident (discount if renewing within 3 months of graduation)
EC - 440
TESC - 200 within 3 months of graduation, otherwise, discounted enrollment or comprehensive plan

Graduation fee:
COSC - 185
EC - 495
TESC - 225