"I'm planning on using your guide to finish my degree. I was told by a councilor at well known university that my army education is 20 credits,"

Your army education may well be worth significant college credit. The amount and level of credit awarded will vary from one institution to another. Getting a firm figure on that *before* enrollment can be a problem. It takes a deal of time to do an assessment and many colleges are unwilling to commit their resources to the task unless you are already their student. There are exception, of course.

One school that is particularly accommodating in this respect is Charter Oak State College (COSC) - you may want to consider giving them a call - ask to speak to an academic advisor. They may offer you an off-the-books unofficial academic assessment. Call 'em or click here for their new online Friday advice feature.

". . . and I have passed 3 AP exams, including English Comp (3 credits) at Junior college."

Well, you should certainly accrue credit in respect of the AP and the junior college credits, from all of the "Big Three" assessment institutions (COSC, Excelsior, TESC), and it would do no harm to call the other assessment institutions and ask about credit for your particular army specialist education. They may already have it listed.

Not to confuse you, but one other assessment program I particularly like is the Illinois Board of Governors BA degree (known as the BOG). Catch is that you are required to take at least one real course though the system (on the Illinois Constitution) and a minimum of 20 to 30 credits through the selected university. The Constitution course can be taken at a distance, I believe. The minimum credits through the selected university, can be garnered via proficiency exams, as I recall. It's cheap. there is no enrollment fee, and federal aid is available. There is also a requirement for a minimum number of existing credit hours before acceptance onto the program (but if you do not already have enough, you could crank these out with a few CLEP tests). See:-

Governors State University BOG BA  

Another relatively unknown gem, a variation on the BOG theme, is the Western Illinois University Board of Trustees BA degree (the BOT). Definitely worth a look.

Western Illinois University BOT BA

". . . Any thoughts on how to set up my tests?"

Until your prior learning is evaluated you can concentrate in other areas where you know you will not duplicate credit. The specifics on test set-up are documented in BA in 4 Weeks. For CLEP and DANTES, if possible, I'd use your friendly local military base. Use the link provided in the mainmenu page of BA in 4 Weeks, to access the DANTES test site database.

Dip you toe in the water with one or two CLEP general exams, and later if you feel confident, take a couple of days off work and do some multiple day testing. This is the way to zap through the degree process. If you are in no great hurry, access the CLEP database to external testing sites and do two CLEPs per month, and the same number of DSSTs (DANTES exams) at any DANTES test site (not necessarily a military base).

In the case of ECE exams, call Excelsior, pay your money, get the "authorization to test" letter, go online and make a reservation at your local Prometrics/Sylvan test center at http://www.2test.com/ptc/PTCHome.jsp .

In the end, although it is natural to want to garner every bit of credit possible for previous study, I would not let that impulse get in the way of getting underway. you may find it simpler and more productive grade wise and cost wise, just to sit the relevant proficiency exams.

I am not saying you should not pursue credit you are

due, but consider institutional flexibility and largesse in respect of the award of *future credit*, may be more important.

Best wishes with your studies.

Lawrie

" I am a self-made, self-taught individual who has never stepped foot into an institution of higher learning.

I am now starting over and realize that in order to be employable I'm going to have to attain credentials beyond my previous accomplishments.

If you were an individual who was going after 2 bachelors degrees with the intent of achieving a fully accredited online MBA afterwards, which schools would you choose? 

Cost is not important&getting it done quick and being able to pass the tests is. "

First point would be to question going after two bachelor degrees rather than one. I did so because of personal interest, but if you want to fast track your way to an MBA, the best recommendation I can give would be to concentrate on one and only one undergraduate degree  - namely a BS in Business, then go for the MBA.

Most MBA program admissions require some minimum *academic* exposure to business fundamentals, in Accounting, Finance, Management, Business Law and so on. Normally, those with a bachelor degree in business are waived through (there may be additional requirements - an adequate score on the GMAT, for instance).

". . . I am not a fantastic test taker."

On the issue of testing out . . .

I don't buy the notion of "being good at tests". Either a candidate has an adequate grasp of the material or he does not. If one really knows the subject, proving that you know what you should know, will not be a problem. It is important to know it well enough that distractions (like the angst of testing) do not impede demonstration of competence. Being good at tests can assist a marginal test candidate. The purpose of doing the mock exams is to ensure you never test as a marginal candidate. That you only test when you know what the outcome will be, and that that outcome will be the one you want it to be.

". . . which schools would you choose? "

If you know the material well, a degree from Excelsior, COSC, or TESC, via testing out would be the quickest method.

If you feel you need or that you would prefer a more structured learning environment, you may want to consider doing an undergraduate degree at your local university or via distance learning. You could, of course mix and match - meet a number of requirements via testing and the remainder by way of more traditional course work.

If not testing out, you might consider Touro University international. It's a cyber University, but is regionally accredited. It may allow you to complete requirements quickly via formal course work. See also

http://www.geocities.com/liu_jonathan/dluniv.html

http://www.degrees-online.com/Business/

http://www.business-schools-colleges.com/bachelors.htm

Whatever you choose, ensure the institution is regionally accredited.

"[recommendation for]A fast track to MBA ? . . ."

1.

• Heriot Watt University (Edinburgh, UK)
• holds the foreign equivalent of regional accreditation
• MBA by examination - requires NO undergraduate degree

2.

• Excelsior College BS General Business by examination
• American Intercontinental University (AIU) MBA
• can be completed in 8 months

3.

• TESC BS in Business Administration (by examination)
• California State University, Dominguez Hills MBA
• 8 months to 15 months (they no longer tout the 8 months but they used to)

4.

• Touro University International (TUI) BS Business Administration
• followed by MBA also from TUI - can be completed in about a year

5.

• American Intercontinental University (AIU) BS Business Administration
• followed by their MBA - 8 months

Internet links to online programs - note that all institutions are regionally accredited or the foreign equivalent thereof.

Heriot Watt

http://www.ebsmba.com/index1.htm

CSUDH

http://mbaonline.csudh.edu/index.htm

AIU

http://www.aiuonline.edu/programs.asp

TUI

http://www.tourou.edu/BAM.htm

Excelsior

http://www.Excelsior.edu

TESC

http://www.tesc.edu

There are other issues of professional accreditation at MBA level such as

AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business)

and

ACBSP (Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs)

Neither is really necessary, but if you want one, AACSB is by far the most well known and "prestigious". How much utility such accreditation would add to the MBA degree in the eyes of prospective employers is a debatable point. Much more important may be the school name - Harvard Business School, Duke, Columbia, and so on.

Clearly, none of the schools listed above are anywhere in that league but there are many, quite good and reasonably priced distance MBA programs available -  see

http://www.geocities.com/liu_jonathan/dlmba.html

and

http://www.geocities.com/liu_jonathan/dlmba2.html

Below is my personal MBA list - what I like, mainly based on price and convenience with an additional weighting for degree utility at the higher prices.

 Lawrie