Any non-traditional students have questions just ask me!

[bidpitch1]

In brief-I am 40 year old Male who got his Associates degree straight out of high school but this year decided to totally shake my life up by finishing my Bachelors and starting my Masters, for a completely different career....

I earned 45 credits of Clep/dsst testing over a period of 10 days-(I am sure this is not a record but it amazed the exam proctors).... I attend a Brick and Mortar school and will graduate this semester and starts my Masters this summer (B+M school as well).....I used IC almost exclusively......did a lot of reading (hours) on where to go (BM-online-distance etcetc)...I feel almost like a expert and I am here to help anyone if I can as this board has helped me as well>>Any questions? just ask!!!!

[dcan]

I earned 45 credits of Clep/dsst testing over a period of 10 days-(I am sure this is not a record but it amazed the exam proctors)

Maybe not a record but still impressive. Congrats on your accomplishments!

[All-American]

Congratulations!!

[Slimtree]

Bidpitch1, Congratulations! I have 19 credits before I graduate and studying my first Dante. This site helpful for taking the test. Are the test multiple choice. I did poorly on my first set of flashcards. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Dancing in the dark here.

[dcan]

Bidpitch1, Congratulations! I have 19 credits before I graduate and studying my first Dante. This site helpful for taking the test. Are the test multiple choice. I did poorly on my first set of flashcards. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Dancing in the dark here.

Read the wiki. Link is below. It's designed for you.

[jmichelle79]

I earned 45 credits of Clep/dsst testing over a period of 10 days-(I am sure this is not a record but it amazed the exam proctors)

Maybe not a record but still impressive. Congrats on your accomplishments!

Yes, Very impressive!!!

[danalk88]

Where are you getting your Masters, and what are you going for?

Getting close to the end of my Bachelors. I'll want a good, long break before moving on, but I like to have a plan simmering in the back of my brain. Plus I'm not ready to wrack up more student loans just yet. (I found this site late in the game and went to a bricks and mortar school for the most part.)

Thanks!

[bidpitch1]

Where are you getting your Masters, and what are you going for?

Getting close to the end of my Bachelors. I'll want a good, long break before moving on, but I like to have a plan simmering in the back of my brain. Plus I'm not ready to wrack up more student loans just yet. (I found this site late in the game and went to a bricks and mortar school for the most part.)

Thanks!

I am going to Marshall University.......MA in History>>>

[DMiracleGuy]

Hello to all here on IC. I have a few questions for the folks in this thread. Like Bidpitch, I too am a 40(ish) male shaking things up a bit in my life! ;-) I have previously gone to B&M schools in my life and have accumulated approximately 50(ish) classroom credits. Due to a recent loss of job and being back in the job search pool, I want to finally finish my bachelors and may possibly work on my Masters program simultaneously (well at the end of the BS part anyway) I am just getting started in my CLEP and DSST testing phase of my degree plan, which if I play it correctly, will get me to the start of my senior year very soon. Not sure if I will go to B&M or online for the final year, will depend on cost and job situation.

I have a few questions about the ALEKS and Straighterline resources that I have seen mentioned in other posts in the IC degree forums. I created a user ID on ALEKS and took one of their sample tests, but can't quite get an understanding of how it works. Is ALEKS just a 'study' site, and then you go test in traditional CLEP/DSST or did I miss something? Similar question for straighterline? Also, what is the consensus for how folks are 'rounding up' all their credits? Are you requesting your CLEP/DSST credits be sent to ACE so that they show up on that transcript, and then upon applying for admission to a college or university you have the ACE transcript sent to them? Would love to hear how/what others have to say regarding these topics.

Thanks in advance for your time and good luck to all on their tests and degree journeys in the future!

DMiracleGuy
B&M - ~ 20 credits
AP Computer Science - 9 credits
Prior Learning Assessment - Intro to computers, business software and multimedia development - 9 credits
DSST - History of Vietnam (70), Many others to follow
CLEP - Many others to follow

[dcan]

I created a user ID on ALEKS and took one of their sample tests, but can't quite get an understanding of how it works. Is ALEKS just a 'study' site, and then you go test in traditional CLEP/DSST or did I miss something?

ALEKS is an adaptive learning engine. It learns what you know and what you need help with via the assessment process. You take an initial assessment and then take periodic assessments as you progress. The pie shows how far you have progressed in each learning area. When you assess at 70% you have passed the course (you can choose to continue, of course) and you can then transfer that course into one of the Big 3 for credit.

ALEKS is accepted at the Big 3 as credit, no need to test after completing a course. You just have to have the ALEKS courses added to your ACE transcript and then pay a nominal fee to have ACE send the transcript to the Big 3 school. For example I am going to TESC. I completed College Algebra, Trig, and Intro Stats through ALEKS. Once each was complete, before moving on (or canceling my account after the last one) I went through the ACE transcript website and requested it be added to my transcript. Once it was on the transcript I moved to the next course. Once all three were done I paid ACE to send the transcript in to TESC and a few weeks later it showed up on my official eval. (I am enrolled, so my process is a bit different from others -- others wait until all credits are complete then send all transcripts to TESC at once to minimize costs)

The nice thing about ALEKS is the tests are unproctored and untimed, so you can literally take many hours to go through a test at your leisure triple-checking everything to make sure you get as much right as possible.

Similar question for straighterline?

Straighterline provides at-own-pace online courses with textbooks and tests.

Also, what is the consensus for how folks are 'rounding up' all their credits? Are you requesting your CLEP/DSST credits be sent to ACE so that they show up on that transcript, and then upon applying for admission to a college or university you have the ACE transcript sent to them? Would love to hear how/what others have to say regarding these topics.

Others can discuss some of this aspect better than I can, but CLEP and DSST are directly accepted for credit, i.e. no need to transfer through ACE.

Have you looked over the wiki? Lots of good info along these lines. If something that you need to know is missing let me know and if it's generally applicable we can add it for future reference by others.