Advice for a 13-Year-Old Working Toward a Finance Degree

[keepsingin]

I am sure my parents would have been thrilled to keep me a child longer, but that is not what I wanted, so they didn't hold me back. Not many kids out there are going to be asking their parents if they can do this. My advice for the OP is, if this is what you want to do, go for it.

I may have done things differently than some here. I did actually learn the material, probably much better than if I were in a classroom.

Ditto to this!

From Cookderosa:
It is my OPINION, that cheap and fast works great for adults. It is my OPINION that homeschooled students have privileges that "group school" students don't. It is my OPINION that anyone bright and resourceful enough at 13 to communicate so articulately on this forum- ask smart questions- and do this kind of research, is selling herself short pursuing the "cheapest and fastest."

It is my OPINION that aiming higher would look like using excellent high school or college level curriculum that requires TIME IN THE SUBJECT. Time spent doing a lot of reading, writing, researching, critical thinking, and enrichment. Developing your mind, your thoughts, your opinion about these subjects takes time. It is my OPINION that injecting college credit where it makes sense is good stewardship, because it saves time and money for everyone. So, after the completion of your Biology CLASS with LAB, yes, it makes sense to take the AP or CLEP. But, when college credit is the only goal, everything else gets pushed aside.

There is no college credit for traveling, music, clubs, internships, youth groups, sports teams, fitness, leadership training, part time jobs, making friends, starting a small business, and or hobbies. Any and all of these things will enrich your life greatly. *I can tell that you are exceptional, and a natural born leader- especially since you came on here day 1 and started a CLEP group for young people- you are gifted in that way, so my comments are a COMPLEMENT to you, not a criticism.

I am 100% in favor of shaving time and money off of a college degree. I am 100% opposed to skipping high school.

I agree with what you're saying here; I wouldn't condone skipping HS either; a balanced approach tailored to the individual is important.

Love this discussion; thought I'd add my two cents. I took the accelerated path through high school, picking up some CLEP credit along the way, and had my high school diploma by the time I was 16. I had planned on a bachelors by 18, but life got in the way. I think the benefit of doing this sort of thing depends on the individual. Classroom experience and lots of time in the subject just can't trump a willingness to learn. I've tutored kids on both sides of these paths, and their retention and learning had a lot more to do with their personal motivation and drive, not their method of school. The number of kids going through HS and learning nothing is legion. Even homeschooled kids are guilty of this. Personally, I loved learning, and I made an effort to learn the material beyond just passing the final, well enough to explain/tutor it. So yes, I did the book work in an accelerated way. I was very frustrated in grade school because I wasn't allowed to go faster, and I'm glad it was different in HS, or I might have grown to hate learning. So, again, it's really up to each individual case! I say all this because I see a little of myself in the OP and I want to encourage you to go after what you're going for, and learn all you can while you're at it! Just be open and flexible to changing gears along the way, because your degree preference/interests have the potential to change a lot over the next few years.

[TrailRunr]

We have HR checkbox degrees here. Are they like college degrees from traditional schools that take 16 week semesters and four years? Sort of. I have both types of BAs. I learned way more from my traditional degree at a public Ivy League because I was forced to do all those readings, attend discussion section, and attend in-person labs. Quite frankly, the material was a lot harder and more in-depth too. Grading was manual and a lot more thorough. With my checkbox degree, the most learning came from TESU's 12-week classes and the APU 8-week class that I took. I learned almost nothing from CLEP, DSST, SL, and ALEKS. CLEP A&I Lit is a perfect example. I am an IT person, not a poet. I went to IC and looked up what I needed to review in the testing center's parking lot 20 minutes before my appointment. Two hours later, I walked out with six credits even though I learned nearly nothing and am still no closer to learning how to become a poet. Most likely I passed due to the generous curve. CLEP A&I Lit is way easier to barely pass than AP English, which I had to spend a whole year on. Nobody comes to this forum talking about AP because those tests are a lot harder even though those credits are way more portable at the top colleges.

We choose the easiest and quickest options, and that's fine since the goal is the checkbox. I'm going to take a guess and say that most folks who earn 45+ credits in 3 months are not really motivated learners. We are just motivated at earning college credits, which isn't the same thing. I am not suggesting going to a traditional college and going deep into debt or go to public high school. But spend more time actually learning in depth. Some community college classes and 4-year college classes are quite good. You may want to consider mixing some of that in. If you go to ratemyprofessor and read through all of the instructors with 4.2+ ratings, you will find some real gems worth taking. For everything else, you can CLEP it away.

Maybe I'm a youngster at age 44. Nevertheless, I think I'm qualified enough to know what I regret not doing in my late teens and early 20. Here is the list:
1) Should NOT have spent all summers in summer school between freshman year high school and senior year of college except for one summer where I had a FT job with no school. I was trying to accelerate my high school and college years, and I ended up accelerating college by only six months.
2) Should have spent a summer backpacking in overseas between high school and college.
3) Should have spent summers backcountry backpacking, learning how to pitch a tent, learning how to ford a creek, etc.
4) Should have learned how to golf and ski.
5) Should have spent a semester or a year doing college abroad.
6) Should have learned a second foreign language beyond the minimum required. Tuition is the same whether you take 13 credits or 20 credits.
7) Should have avoided video games completely. I spent too much time playing Civilization on my PC. Video games are addictive. IMHO, 2 hours daily is way too much even though I know many disagree with that.
8) Should have went to a few more parties during college. Socialize more. Be less shy. Become the extrovert that I am today.
9) Choose a practical career major like business administration and take all of the fun classes as free electives rather than declaring a fun major.
10) Choose any another IT area other than infrastructure when starting my IT career.

I guess the point I'm getting at is that life is not about getting credits fast for a checkbox degree.

[zapproximator]

I agree! Thanks for you post, TrailRunr. I'm definitely a lot slower than a lot of you completing your degrees as adults (; and I guess that's probably a good thing so I actually LEARN this stuff. I'm definitely trying to follow a lot of the stuff you said, like getting a business degree and putting fun stuff in electives (I dread learning ANOTHER foreign language, though!). Strangely, I'm not as addicted to video games like I was when I was into Wii and that was cool. I do want to go backpacking with my dad sometime this spring!

[cookderosa]

*I'm calling bluff*

Anyone spending 5 minutes at that the link to your wordpress blog (started in 2016) is not the work of a 12 year old (cuz you're "13" now, right?) Sorry, this isn't my first day. Let me also *remind* you that as a 12 year old tester, you *forgot* to add the little detail about needing an age waiver to test....ooops.

DeRosa out.

https://zachsmusings.files.wordpress.com...usings.pdf

Introduction to
CLEP
Zach’s Musings
 2016 Zach’s Musings
Any form of noncommercial distribution is encouraged ​with the
following attribution​: Free PDF from Zach’s Musings. Find more resources at
zachsmusings.wordpress.com

Published by Cedar Trail Publishing

In this booklet (I just can’t justify calling a three-page article a book), we’re
going to demystify earning credits with CLEP. The first section is about
what CLEP is, and the second is how to do it.
WHAT IT IS
CLEP is formally the College Level Examination Program, which is owned
by the College Board. Lots of other information is available for your
consuming at Wikipedia, and we aren’t in too much competition with them
so here we’ll stay as practical as we can.
The basic five word summary is earning college credits through exams. At
least to some extent, 2900, or 70% of colleges accept CLEP credit. Some
accept only a few, or most of them, but some accept unlimited credits. This
way, you could earn your degree for a couple thousand.
BENEFITS
If you’ve heard of CLEP before, two major benefits are saving money and
learning on your own.
The obvious one, saving money, is possibly the biggest one. Example: You
spend $100 on the exam (the exams are $80, but the testing center charges a
fee), $20 on prep (a used textbook off Amazon plus some practice tests).
Compare the $120 for anywhere from three to twelve college credits to
public and private tuition. In-state public university would cost nearly
$800 for 3 credits. An out-of-state public university would cost nearly
$2000. A private school would cost nearly $3000.
So benefit one: way cheaper.
Next, you can learn on your own. A few hours a day is all it takes. If you
have a decent schedule, all you have to do is follow it. No teachers, no
nothing. Just study how you want, take the test, earn your credits.
HOW TO DO IT
Now that I sold you on CLEP (I just got a 15% commision!), let’s go over the
how. So our case will be the CLEP exam Principles of Marketing. That’s
because I just took that exam, and I generally remember how I studied for
it. According to free-clep-prep.com, this is one of the two easiest exams, so
I decided to try it. Let’s start with what materials.
MATERIALS
Used college textbook
If you’re interested, the textbook I used was called Basic Marketing. It’s a really long
textbook, but it covered pretty much everything on the test.
CLEP review guide with practice tests
Specifically, it’s called REA. They are basically cram guides with tests. The cram
guide for Marketing was super lacking. I would say the exams are harder than the
actual exam.
Official CLEP study guide
Invaluable. Gives you an introduction to CLEP plus practice tests for all 33 exams.
Free-clep-prep.com
Pretty useful. Check out their ranking of the exams easiest to hardest.
Flashcards
I hope I don’t have to explain these...
Quizlet.com
Basically a free online flashcard tool.
STUDY ROUTINE
Since this was my first CLEP exam, I spent a way too long time studying.
I’m glad I overstudied.
So I started by taking the REA Diagnostic Test. I got a 70% which I believe
is barely a pass. I thought that the REA book was sufficient for getting a
good grade (mistake!). When I took the final two practice test, I got more
C-’s or possibly even a D+.
Finally I realized I needed to study the Basic Marketing textbook. I spent
anywhere from 2-5 hours studying per day, and went crazy memorizing.
The whole thing is about memorizing. Memorize, memorize, memorize,
and memorize some more.
I wrote all the terms on flashcards, transferred them to Quizlet, and studied
that for two weeks. Then I retook the practice tests. I improved my REA
grades to lower 90s. I took the official practice test, got a 95%, kept
reviewing what I was weak at, and then took the test.
ACTUALLY TAKING THE TEST
So I brought a signed passport, a birth certificate, the CLEP registration
ticket, the test center receipt, and two pencils. Overkill. All they needed
was the passport and the registration ticket.
The tests are administered on a computer. You can get a feel for it by
watching this video from CLEP.
The test was really a lot easier than I thought. It was 100 questions and they
give you 90 minutes. I went through it thrice, not twice, then reviewed all
the questions I was unsure of, and by then, I had 5 minutes left.
I submitted the test and instantly was granted my score, which was 75. 80 is
perfect, 50 is pass. My understanding is a CLEP 75 is pretty much a 94% or
maybe 95%.
I overstudied, but I don’t regret it.
WHAT I WOULD DO NEXT TIME
Next time, next course, I would pretty much just study the textbook, turn
the key terms into flashcards, work through them a lot, review the REA
book, and take the first REA test. If my grade was high, I would take the
next test. Otherwise, I’d review the stuff I messed up. Then I’d do the
second test. And finally the Official CLEP Study Guide test. After some
final cramming, I’d take the test.
It’s a really simple process, but for me it works well.
AND FINALLY
I’m not paid to endorse CLEP, but I can see how useful this can be for so
many people (homeschoolers, high schoolers, college students, people
trying to finish their degree, maybe some two-year-old genius...)
Hopefully you found this useful. If you have any questions, please email
me at zachsmusings@gmail.com and maybe I’ll add more stuff on CLEP in
the future!



------------------------

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[zapproximator]

I was 13 when I made that! I turned 13 in May of 2016. I spent a long time making that! Writing is my best subject.

[cookderosa]

I was 13 when I made that! I turned 13 in May of 2016. I spent a long time making that! Writing is my best subject.

Are you sure it isn't affiliate marketing? I'll give you an A-

[jsd]

wait, does IC give you a discount/compensation if you share a discount code?

[zapproximator]

It's not affiliate marketing! I am honestly a 13-year-old trying to earn a degree with a blog that I work really hard at. I don't make any money off of it.

BY THE WAY: That code is the official Instantcert code from Instantcert.
Look at this instantcert link:
https://www.instantcert.com/instantcertd...tcode.php4

JSD: yep, they do give discounts, but I don't know much about them.
https://www.instantcert.com/idevaffiliate/

[cathgrl]

Jennifer, I downloaded and listened to one of his mp3 files, where he reviews Chapter 1 of a book by Calvin(!) He does sound young and 13 is plausible. It could be that some really smart 40-year-old (which was my thought while looking through the breadth of his "musings") is talking a young boy into making mp3 recordings about things that most boys have no interest in. This would need to be a fairly elaborate kick-back scheme.

If Zapp is 13, here is my advice: Testing out of a degree can be cheap and fast, but it doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to get a job. Or maybe you will, but will get wanderlust. Like this guy. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdshea/

[Mamasaphire]

Whether or not the OP is actually 13 in body and 40 years at heart (or 13 at heart and 40 in body), I have really enjoyed this discussion.

Thanks everyone for sharing!

I definitely lean on the side of encouraging more activities/real/hands on/somewhat traditional educational experiences as a youth, and reserving the testing out of many of the courses for adults.

I have 35 classes in traditional school (4-yr college, CCs, and two Universities), and 29-ish classes of alternative credit, so my journey [seems to me] to be a relative balance of educational experiences. In my experience the ACP-style courses are great reviews for adult students. I did best in courses I wasn't expected to learn new materials.

I love alternative credits because they were a way of utilizing all my years of prior learning/knowledge, however I am not encouraging extensive use of them for my own children. At this age, they are still learning & building knowledge.

Traditional college/CC courses with 16 weeks of boring homework assignments may not be ideal(!!!), but there is something to be said for listening to lectures, doing homework, group discussions, labs, etc. There is usually no rush to graduate, and a blend of learning opportunities can be great