1st Timer Here...In Information Overload! How to begin?

[onthecob]

Hello Everyone,

I've been reading over threads for the past few nights but am definitely in info. overload. Yikes!

I'm starting from 0, credit wise and unfortunately not a lot of disposable income.

Unsure of whether I'll be going for a BA or BS. With a BS it would appear there are more options later on concerning Masters degrees...I guess I'll worry about the Bachelors first. Curious how some of you decided which direction to go in?

***

I thought until I can plan out an exact plan of attack, I could at least get a few credits under my belt.

I'll take the ALEKS (basic math credits, right?)...they are inexpensive & I can acquire a few credits that way.

I'll take a few FEMA's...free credits there. How many are truly applicable to garnering a degree?



I'm just wondering what is the best way to begin to accrue credits when money is a bit of an issue...yet I want to get started.

Then the decision is which among the Big Three is my best option.


Thank you for any responses. :hurray:

D

[LaterBloomer]

Welcome to the forum. You're bound to get lots of well thought out responses - not from me, however. I'll just throw out some ideas until one of the thoughtful ones chimes in. While you're waiting to decide what to do, why not knock out some of those FEMAs? They're free and they're fast. If you're not in a time crunch, you can complete as many of them as you can without worrying about whether they'll transfer. It will help you build momentum. Some of them even earn a certificate. Also, no education is ever wasted.

Check around, some testing centers only charge the CLEP or DSST fee, and not an additional testing fee. This is a productive (and money-saving) way to use time until you start testing.

Regardless of whether you get a BS or a BA, there are certain general education credits you'll need. You can earn from CLEP. Check with the Big 3 to see which ones they accept. (My guess would be all of them, but that's just a guess.) The general education CLEPS are 6 credits for one testing fee.

Good luck.

[burbuja0512]

Hi and welcome! You are making a good choice in getting started and don't let it bother you that you're starting from 0. You won't have 0 credits for long with a little hard work!

The BS versus BA thing IMHO is secondary to what you want your major to be. This will depend on a few factors. First of all, is there a specific degree that would help you with your career goals? Secondly, do you want to test out or do self-paced work such as ALEKS with as many topics as possible and avoid a traditional classroom setting? Thirdly, what is more important to you: time or money? Obviously both are important, but let's say that you could finish your degree in one year at a school and pay $1500 OR you could finish at a different school in 6 months, but pay $3000. Both would be much cheaper than a traditional education, but would the cost savings be worth the six months to you? Also, what life experiences do you have? Are you young and need to learn a lot in a wide variety of areas or have you been working in a specific field for years? One of several reasons that I chose the business concentration is because I've worked in the business world for years... business isn't exactly thrilling to me, but I know it and it made my study a heck of a lot easier! Lastly, are there subjects that you hate and want to avoid as much as possible? If you're great at math, there are some quick and easy credits to be had. However, if you hate it, you would want to plan your degree carefully to avoid doing more than the bare minimum.

Hope these questions can get the ball rolling on a really helpful conversation. It will be a lot easier to give advice once we know more.

[Yenisei]

FEMA and ALEKS are great options. Also consider CLEP/DSST and Straighterline for your General Education requirements once you know which school you want to get your degree from and thus know exactly which GE requirements you face.

[methibosheth]

:iagree: with Burbuja, the first choice I made (and it took a little soul-searching) was what my major would be. My advice on choosing a major is to select one based on what you enjoy doing now, NOT based on what you think you will enjoy doing long-term. The reason I say this is that most people end up working in a field that's unrelated to their major. You might as well enjoy the process of getting your degree, so choose a field of study that your passionate about.
I have always enjoyed business/entrepreneurship, science/engineering, music/composition, and theology/philosophy. Science/engineering degrees are pretty intense, and I didn't want to put that much time and effort into a degree . For me, the hardest choice was between business and theology! Just goes to show how subjective this process really is. The practical value of a business degree won out in the end .
Good luck!

[Lindagerr]

If cost is a major factor then there are more questions. Do you live in NJ if so TESC is probably the cheapest option.

If you want to use FEMA credits you need to know that some schools will not take them direct from FEMA and you have to pay~$60 per credit to have it sent to another school first.

Which ever school you pick then you can finalize your major, get help here writing up a degree plan and start testing. When you are within a year of completing your degree you can apply and only pay one years tuition.

If you plan on testing out completely you are in luck since both TESC and ECE have lowered the coust of thier test to about $98 Some of them used to cost $200-300. You need to leave time to study so your home work situation will also affect how fast you can do this. I have not found anywhere that has no proctoring fee but I have 3 colleges nearby where I take exams one charges $15 one charges $25 and one is $45. So if you add that to the cost of the test it is usually less than $35 per credit or ~$100/ exam.

There are many options for classes too but not many if any are less than $100/ credit. If cost are tight you may qualify for a Pell Grant or other aid that could be used to take a couple of classes and save your money for testing.

It is complicated and overwhelming at first, but you have a large group of great people here who will help you once we know more about what you want.

Just don't let everything get to be too much and give up. Slow and stead still gets things done. I wish I would have paid attention and had found this forum when I first looked at CLEP's. I would be 5-7 years ahead of where I am now.

[ShotoJuku]

[COLOR="Navy"]Pick a test, study for the test, take the test, pass the test.

Repeat until your degree finished.

It's as easy as 123-get-your-degree![/COLOR]

[SIZE="2"]

Shoto-Advice:

:iagree:

[SIZE="3"]"[/SIZE]EC[SIZE="3"]"[/SIZE]
"CCU"
"Prayer"
"A Pass is a Pass"
"Slow and Steady - Wins the Race"
[B][I]“Sometimes The Easy Way Is Not Always The Best Way”
"Passing a Petersons = Conquering a CLEP -or- Defeating a DSST"
"The 5 R's of Study: Repetition - Re-Enforces - Recognition - Recall - Retention"[/B][/I]
"Always be Ready to Release Your Mind & Incorporate the Advice of Others into Your Plans."
"Studying is much like Boiling Water, if it is not Heated Constantly it will Once Again Become Cold Water."


Other Sources of CLEP & DSST Study Material
[SIZE="3"]REA Books, Comex Books, Pass Your Class Guides, Standard Deviants DVD's, Petersons Practice Exams, [COLOR="Gold"]Dummies Books, Idiot's Guides [/COLOR]. [/SIZE]

[/SIZE]

[COLOR="Navy"]

[SIZE="3"]Study Time: How I Did It…[/SIZE]

Pre-Study-Prep: Obtain or set up whatever materials I will need to study (IC Flashcards, REA Books, Standard Deviants Videos, Pass-Your-Class Guides, and Petersons Practice Exams.

Week One: Begin to read books, review flashcards, watch videos. Call your test center and make an appointment in advance as they sometimes require a few weeks advance notice)

Week Two: Re-read books, review flashcards, watch videos Take 1-2 practice exams

Week Three: Continue to review all materials, take additional/final practice exams. You should be passing these with room to spare. Take real exam at end of the week and PASS.

Note you should have at this point already acquired pre-study-prep materials for your next exam so as not to waste time.[/COLOR]


[SIZE="4"]

Something Else To Know

[/SIZE]

FACT: The lowest possible score is a 20. The highest possible is an 80.

FACT: Approx. 1/2 the questions on the test must be successfully answered to get a 50, or a pass.


THE HYPOTHESIS: In a 100 question test, such as Sociology and many others, there are only 60 possible points (between 20-80) for 100 questions.

60 points divided by 100 questions = .6pts

If each questions is worth .6 points, 50 correct questions = 50q X .6pts = 30pts

You must add 20 since 0 correct questions = 20pts.

30 points + 20 points = 50 points, or a pass.

Now:If each point in a 100 question test is worth .6 points, 100 questions X .6 points = 60; 60 + 20 = 80.

By this formula, answering 75 questions correctly would translate to a score of 65.

[cookderosa]

Hello Everyone,

I've been reading over threads for the past few nights but am definitely in info. overload. Yikes!

I'm starting from 0, credit wise and unfortunately not a lot of disposable income.

Unsure of whether I'll be going for a BA or BS. With a BS it would appear there are more options later on concerning Masters degrees...I guess I'll worry about the Bachelors first. Curious how some of you decided which direction to go in?

***

I thought until I can plan out an exact plan of attack, I could at least get a few credits under my belt.

I'll take the ALEKS (basic math credits, right?)...they are inexpensive & I can acquire a few credits that way.

I'll take a few FEMA's...free credits there. How many are truly applicable to garnering a degree?



I'm just wondering what is the best way to begin to accrue credits when money is a bit of an issue...yet I want to get started.

Then the decision is which among the Big Three is my best option.


Thank you for any responses. :hurray:

D

Hello! Glad to see you posing!
Step 1. Pick a CLEP that looks interesting to you. ANY one will do. Since you have zero credit, any exam will fit into whatever degree you end up with. *later when you pick, you'll have to eliminate some exams from your choices, but right now, you're WIDE OPEN!

Step 2. Set a test date (pick 1 month from today for a generically good length of time)

Step 3. Gather your testing supplies. Use the forum to gain information about the exam and the official clep website. Also use links, web sources and or your library. Several tests have better guides than others, REA is a good one, some of the Idiots Guides are great, etc. Always use the Exam Feedback Section on this forum.

Step 4. Study!

Step 5. When you are about 2 weeks in, take 1 of the Peterson's tests. These come in sets of 3 for $20 (sometimes you can get a link for a freebie). Then, look at what you are weak in.

Step 6. Study more- Peterson's tests 2, study more, Peterson's test 3

Step 7. Night before the test- write down on 1 piece of paper anything you are having a hard time remembering.

TEST DAY- get to the center early, use your cram sheet to review one last time before going in.

Begin your test. Once the clock starts, do a "brain dump" and hurry up and write down everything you think you might forget on your scratch paper. Refer back as needed.

After the test, post back about your experience in the Exam Feedback section!

Repeat

[sgngrl]

I have some serious test taking jitters and put off taking tests, literally for years. I called a test center to ask some questions and somehow the coordinator said some of the right things and I was just in a mood that day. I jumped in my car, drove to the test center and used my VISA to pay for a test. After I passed that first test, I took another that same day and passed it as well. Alltogether, I have passed 8 tests now. I used the Instant Cert flashcards, tips I get from the forums and text books I purchase at Goodwill for .50 cents to $4. I usually only read the chapter summaries. I am sure there are some more challenging exams, but none of them have been anything even close to what I can imagine when the word TEST comes into play. I haven't the nerve to keep taking tests cold though it did break the ice.

I am a more "mature" student with some life experience under my belt so admittedly that really has helped. Also, if you haven't been in school for awhile, reviewing a few multiple choice test taking strategies couldn't hurt.

Best wishes!

[rebel100]

If money is an issue (it sure is for me). I would consider the 6 credit CLEP exams.

Analyzing and Interpreting Literature,
Natural Sciences,
English Comp,
College Math, (in some ways ALEKS is a better choice...but this is a great option for some)
Biology
Humanities,

Complete those and earn 6 credits each. They cost the same to take as the three credit choices. With just the above list you would nearly have all the general education requitements complete for about $600. you could then add about 10 more CLEPS/DSST's and matriculate at COSC or EC. That would earn you an AA/AS.

Complete the above and about 30 Fema's and pretty much have an AS at TESC. Remember TESC has a higher services fee.....so choosing amoung the big three is really about how you want to pay, or what you specifically want to study, the end cost is very close among the Big three.