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Hello One and All,
Like so many here, I am completely new to the whole concept of getting a degree by testing out, and have done quite a bit of research up to this point.
Unfortunately... with too much information there is a tendency for confusion (at least for me) and at this point I was hoping that some kind person would lend some advice and knowledge to help me get started on the right foot...
I understand that I can take the tests and bank the credits until I am ready to enroll and complete the degree, but I'm not sure which college would be to my advantage. TESC, or Excelsior SC...
Also, I am 53 years old, and when I was in high school I was an average student. I'm not so confident in my abilities in some areas of study, (namely mathematics and science) and would like to start off with an Associate in Liberal Arts degree, and keep the degree as simple as possible. I have been to both college sites to look for the required courses to complete the degree and that is where I hit the wall!
At Excelsior I never was able to find a list of classes for that degree or anything closely resembling it, and at TESC, I was able to find information listed below.
Associate in Arts Credit Distribution
Subject/Category Credits
I. General Education 48
A. English Composition 6
B. Humanities (must include two subject areas) 12
C. Social Sciences (must include two subject areas) 12
D. Natural Sciences 9
One college-level mathematics course (required) (3)
One computer science course (strongly recommended) (3)
Other natural sciences/mathematics (3)
Must include at least two subject areas
E. General Education Electives 9
II. Free Electives 12
Total: 60 credit
With the above information... would some kind soul be able to help me determine which CLEP tests and/or other tests I will need to study for and receive an AA degree?
I will thank an and all replies in advance...
Sincerely,
Kevin
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Hey Kevin,
Your off to a good start.
I suggest/submit that you not get to worked up about a degree plan right now. Why don't you pick 3-4 tests that will work well with almost any degree (general education type stuff). If you need all 60 credits then it's hard to go wrong with the first 12. Don't spend days you could have spent studying and passing an exam trying to figure out all the tests you'll need.
How about a couple of these....
CLEP Humanities (6 credits)
CLEP A&I Lit (6 credits) (my favorite easy exam!)
CLEP US History I or II
CLEP American Government
CLEP Sociology,
CLEP Psychology
In the meantime, keep reading the forums, and by then you'll have found several degree plans that should suit you.
Joe
Excelsior BSB Aug 21, 2009
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Epiphany Wrote:Hey Kevin,
Your off to a good start.
I suggest/submit that you not get to worked up about a degree plan right now. Why don't you pick 3-4 tests that will work well with almost any degree (general education type stuff). If you need all 60 credits then it's hard to go wrong with the first 12. Don't spend days you could have spent studying and passing an exam trying to figure out all the tests you'll need.
How about a couple of these....
CLEP Humanities (6 credits)
CLEP A&I Lit (6 credits) (my favorite easy exam!)
CLEP US History I or II
CLEP American Government
CLEP Sociology,
CLEP Psychology
In the meantime, keep reading the forums, and by then you'll have found several degree plans that should suit you.
Joe gives good advice. You only really need to know about 2 types of credits when you are looking at the AA degree. First, there are liberal arts credits, and then there are not liberal arts credits. Simply, liberal arts credits come from only these areas:
math
science (some computer, not all)
humanities
social science
and any other area will fall outside of liberal arts. Examples include business courses, the popular FEMA courses, trade classes, education classes, nursing, and many others.
As long as you pick your first few tests from the liberal arts selection, you will be sure that they will work. If you have not yet done so, go into the TESC website Thomas Edison State College and find the "publications" link then open the "college catalog" document. Around page 109 you will find 2 pages of exam equivalencies. CLEP and DANTES (AKA DSST). These pages are the authority on which tests fall into which slots.
Like Joe said, simply pick one of the exams and jump in. WORST case, your out $100  and best case you are off to a GREAT start!
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Going for any degree you will need some basic courses in Social Sciences and humanities. I would suggest you start out with Intro to Sociology. This is a good first test and I was just talking to my son and his friend who had their first day at CC today. Both are taking this class as a required Social Science and say it is recommended as one of the 1st semester cources.
If you do a search on this site several people have posted their degree plans and you can get a good idea of what you will need for your AA.
Good Luck and Welcome to the site. It is good to see another of us 50+ students. 
Linda
Start by doing what is necessary: then do the possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible St Francis of Assisi
Now a retired substitute Teacher in NY, & SC
AA Liberal Studies TESC '08
BA in Natural Science/Mathematics TESC Sept '10
AAS Environmental safety and Security Technology TESC Dec '12
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The above advice is all excellent. In addition, I would suggest that for your first exam you select a subject that you have at least some genuine interest in. If you have a subject you're completely excited about, even better.
Doing this exam first will take some of the drudgery out of studying. Getting a passing grade will give you confidence.
Also, many of us felt panicked on our first few exams and thought we surely had failed them, only to find out we passed with flying colors. So if you feel that way during your first few exams, that's normal. Finish the exam and enjoy your success!
Master of Management, Cambridge College, 2011. 4.00 GPA.
BS in Business Administration, Charter Oak State College, 2009. 75 semester credits earned by exam, 45 in the classroom. 3.91 GPA.
AS in General Studies, City University of Seattle, 1999. 50 quarter hours earned by exam, 40 in the classroom. 3.95 GPA.
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jkfuss Wrote:The above advice is all excellent. In addition, I would suggest that for your first exam you select a subject that you have at least some genuine interest in. If you have a subject you're completely excited about, even better.
Doing this exam first will take some of the drudgery out of studying. Getting a passing grade will give you confidence.
Also, many of us felt panicked on our first few exams and thought we surely had failed them, only to find out we passed with flying colors. So if you feel that way during your first few exams, that's normal. Finish the exam and enjoy your success! >>
Joe,
Can I go off topic for just a quick second and commend you on EXCELLENT scores!! Wow!
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Epiphany Wrote:Hey Kevin,
Your off to a good start.
I suggest/submit that you not get to worked up about a degree plan right now. Why don't you pick 3-4 tests that will work well with almost any degree (general education type stuff). If you need all 60 credits then it's hard to go wrong with the first 12. Don't spend days you could have spent studying and passing an exam trying to figure out all the tests you'll need.
How about a couple of these....
CLEP Humanities (6 credits)
CLEP A&I Lit (6 credits) (my favorite easy exam!)
CLEP US History I or II
CLEP American Government
CLEP Sociology,
CLEP Psychology
In the meantime, keep reading the forums, and by then you'll have found several degree plans that should suit you.
can you take us history 1 AND 2? They don't duplicate or repeat each other (whatever term they use)?
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tharkins4@cfl.rr.com Wrote:can you take us history 1 AND 2? They don't duplicate or repeat each other (whatever term they use)?
No they don't duplicate. I haven't taken II yet, as I'm considering a 2nd BA in Liberal Arts/History when I finish the business program at Excelsior.
There is some excellent feedback in the (aptly named) Specific Exam Feedback section. I highly recommend the videos from Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by Annenberg Media Watch those for US history I and you are half way there.
Joe
Excelsior BSB Aug 21, 2009
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jkfuss Wrote:The above advice is all excellent. In addition, I would suggest that for your first exam you select a subject that you have at least some genuine interest in. If you have a subject you're completely excited about, even better.
Doing this exam first will take some of the drudgery out of studying. Getting a passing grade will give you confidence.
Also, many of us felt panicked on our first few exams and thought we surely had failed them, only to find out we passed with flying colors. So if you feel that way during your first few exams, that's normal. Finish the exam and enjoy your success!
The advice above sounds very good. I am in a situation similar to Kevin and would like to jump in and take my first CELP. To that end, can someone tell me (us):
- What is the best way to study/prepare for a CLEP? Buy some textbooks? Research online? etc.
- In general, how long should a "CLEP newbie" need to study/prepare to take a CLEP test? 1 week? 2 weeks? 1 month? I realize it depends on lots of different factors but again, *in general* how long?
Thank you.
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drandalray Wrote:The advice above sounds very good. I am in a situation similar to Kevin and would like to jump in and take my first CELP. To that end, can someone tell me (us):
- What is the best way to study/prepare for a CLEP? Buy some textbooks? Research online? etc.
- In general, how long should a "CLEP newbie" need to study/prepare to take a CLEP test? 1 week? 2 weeks? 1 month? I realize it depends on lots of different factors but again, *in general* how long?
Thank you. >>
I don't know if you know this, but this forum has a $20 monthly study program that you can join, but it is not required and may or may not be the best prep tool for you. I tried the flash card system (this one) and found I did better using a second hand text book or streaming videos. There are any number of methods- additionally, there are specific "CLEP Preparation" books you can buy. I tried a few, but liked the ones put out by REA the best. There are Sparksnotes (like Cliff notes) as well as all the free web resources you could ever want. Unlike taking a class, you get to maximize your learning style and develop your own personal study program.
As for length of time- I almost always started studying before I set a test date. For me, I needed to know what I was up against. If you have an hour or two per day, that is nearly 10-15 hours of study time per week- thats REALLY a lot and you should probably be able to study for any of the more simple exams in about one-two weeks. That said, I always gave myself two or three weeks, and a more on the ones where I was learning everything for the first time.
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