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I'm almost done... I only need 9 more Upper level credits in the arts & science area at Excelsior. I'm looking at the three dantes courses above and I am terrified. I have not taken any clep or dantes test yet, and it's come down to the end of me needing to take 3. Please provide any suggestions/material info. on how I should complete these asap. How much time should I allow with no knowledge of the courses and in being new to taking test, especially since I hear these are the hardest ones. HELP!!!
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norema Wrote:I'm almost done... I only need 9 more Upper level credits in the arts & science area at Excelsior. I'm looking at the three dantes courses above and I am terrified. I have not taken any clep or dantes test yet, and it's come down to the end of me needing to take 3. Please provide any suggestions/material info. on how I should complete these asap. How much time should I allow with no knowledge of the courses and in being new to taking test, especially since I hear these are the hardest ones. HELP!!!
I've taken and passed all three. I suggest your first step is to join IC and review the specific feedback for each of these exams. It's $20 monthly and the best $20 you'll ever invest. Once you have reviewed postings, you should have a good idea of what you'll need to focus on in terms of study resources. Unless these areas are your background, you will need to dedicate time for study and review. These are upper level credits and I would caution you not to underestimate them, especially given your statement that testing is new to you. Everyone is different and I'm sure some waltzed through these exams. For me, it took considerable effort, study and review.
For the Rise & Fall of SU, The Soviet Colossus - Michael Kort- is, in my opinion, a must read.
Best of luck to you.
-Terry
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norema Wrote:I'm almost done... I only need 9 more Upper level credits in the arts & science area at Excelsior. I'm looking at the three dantes courses above and I am terrified. I have not taken any clep or dantes test yet, and it's come down to the end of me needing to take 3. Please provide any suggestions/material info. on how I should complete these asap. How much time should I allow with no knowledge of the courses and in being new to taking test, especially since I hear these are the hardest ones. HELP!!!
Also check out the Ken Burns Video series for the Civil War. Very helpful! If your library doesn't have them, visit netflix.
-Terry
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[SIZE="1"][SIZE="3"][B][SIZE="2"]How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time![/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/B]
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I don't have the specifics for the borrowed study materials I used for the Civil War exam, but at a minimum, read a book about reconstruction and know the battles and their respective generals. I scored a 49 on it today (47 passing). The test did seem somewhat difficult but I only prepped probably two weeks total with the two books I read. This was my first exam so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. One CD course and three exams left for my bachelors with Excelsior!
Good Luck!!
Ken
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In used IC and Finish College Fast and scored a 56 on Civil War and Reconstruction. I would say if you go through the IC cards twice paying close attention to the explanations and go through the Finish College guide including the Practice Questions you will do well. I only got to go through the IC cards once because of time sonstraints, but I would recommend going through them twice and on the second time around using wikipedia or google to get a little more info about the battles if you have the time. Sorry however I didnt take Rise of the Soviet because I didnt need it. Money and Banking you are on your own there. Hope this helps
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Hi!
First of all, I know that you have been an active participant on the board, so I am surprised that you haven't taken any tests, yet.
If you have been taking lots of courses, a few multiple guess tests shouldn't be anything to worry about.
You know you can get lots of help from this wonderful group of people.
I took Civil War as my 3rd test. (I'm still waiting for my score and hope to post more after I know how I did.) For the intro level history tests, I needed to learn about 500 facts on 100 topics that covered 150 years for US History II. The upper-level Civil War was more like 500 facts on 100 topics that covered 20 years, so it isn't necessarily a lot harder or even a lot more to learn, it just has more depth to the knowledge.
If your school grades these tests, that will also be a factor in how much study material and time to use.
Also, be sure to get the Fact Sheet for each of these. DSST - GetCollegeCredit.com
Best wishes on your exams!
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norema Wrote:I'm almost done... I only need 9 more Upper level credits in the arts & science area at Excelsior. I'm looking at the three dantes courses above and I am terrified. I have not taken any clep or dantes test yet, and it's come down to the end of me needing to take 3. Please provide any suggestions/material info. on how I should complete these asap. How much time should I allow with no knowledge of the courses and in being new to taking test, especially since I hear these are the hardest ones. HELP!!!
Personally I would take Psyc of aging, gerentology, and research methods in psyc. There is overlap of all three. Research methods would be the first. Gerentology and Psyc of aging you study for at the same time, then take the tests one after the other. I did these three in less than two weeks studying 5 hrs per day or so.
Good luck
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malcs Wrote:Personally I would take Psyc of aging, gerentology, and research methods in psyc. There is overlap of all three. Research methods would be the first. Gerentology and Psyc of aging you study for at the same time, then take the tests one after the other. I did these three in less than two weeks studying 5 hrs per day or so.
Good luck
I thought of those courses at first, but due to cost I decided on the dantes exams.
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NAP Wrote:Hi!
First of all, I know that you have been an active participant on the board, so I am surprised that you haven't taken any tests, yet.
If you have been taking lots of courses, a few multiple guess tests shouldn't be anything to worry about.
You know you can get lots of help from this wonderful group of people.
I took Civil War as my 3rd test. (I'm still waiting for my score and hope to post more after I know how I did.) For the intro level history tests, I needed to learn about 500 facts on 100 topics that covered 150 years for US History II. The upper-level Civil War was more like 500 facts on 100 topics that covered 20 years, so it isn't necessarily a lot harder or even a lot more to learn, it just has more depth to the knowledge.
If your school grades these tests, that will also be a factor in how much study material and time to use.
Also, be sure to get the Fact Sheet for each of these. DSST - GetCollegeCredit.com
Best wishes on your exams!
I read the forum for months before finally joining and contributing information. I actually probably could have finished my degree last November with the GRE Psych exam. Knowing I was so much of a scaredy cat, I paid for the exam in order to force myself to take it. That didn't do me any good because I still didn't take it and lost half of the enrollment fee because of it. What freaks me out is not having a guide to study by. Which is why I am pleading to you all. You know when you take a course you get to know what the teach is looking for and you know how they grade. Even if you mess up on the first assignment or test per say you get other chances to get it right. When it comes to just an exam, you don't know where the test examiner is coming from and you only get one chance. I don't know I might be over thinking it all. After reading so many threads with people passing exams left and right it certainly seems that way...
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I can see your point. It is like taking a final exam with minimal input from the author of the test. That is why it helps to use more than one resource for broader coverage of the material. IC and the Specific Exam Feedback cover all three tests. This would be so much harder to figure out what materials to use without all of the resource recommendations from everyone who has already passed the exams!
For Civil War, I chose to use Idiot's Guide, 2 SparkNotes CW and Reconstruction, Ken Burns DVDs, and IC.
I felt pretty good about what I had learned through most of the test. (My score wasn't in the mail today.) Even when I score well, it has been hard to judge how the test is actually going.
The exams cover so many topics; it is hard to even remember what all of the questions were right after taking the test.
I know you will be fine. You couldn't have gotten this far without having what it takes to get through to the finish line!
(Maybe you'll feel better when start getting your resource materials together.)
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