How did you learn about testing out of your degree?

[sanantone]

I figured CP mostly advertises at homeschooling events and homeschool groups spread the word. For me, it was never a question of whether or not these students would be successful. It's my belief that they would have been successful without CP, and it is a little off-putting that they direct their students to this forum. However, CP customers generally say they are happy with the motivation that comes from the coaches and being directed to study materials that have the Christian worldview. Many of CP's female students have no plans of ever working outside of the home, and at least CP students are not in danger of being felt up by some 80-something year old man like at Verity Institute.

[Hunter91]

It's a long story but basically...My professor decided to clinically fail me (unfairly in mine and others opinions) on the last day of the 2nd semester in nursing school and it was a huge ordeal. After dealing with all this bs around the incident that happened I had no idea what to do career wise, and the thought of going back to nursing school made me sick. My dad's coworker in the hospital was telling him about WGU's nursing program and how he's enrolled and loves it. My dad kept telling me to call them, check out their site, see what they're about, they're legit...yada..yada. My thoughts were, "Online education? That's a joke, come on..."

I eventually researched WGU and their nursing program, read a couple of nursing forums, and to my amazement they seemed legit. I called WGU, and the only prereq I needed before I could apply was A&P II with lab. The counselor said I could take it through a website called Straighterline. Figured I'd take the class and re-evaluate whether or not I want to apply after. Right after I enrolled in SL I decided to research the course a bit more and see if anyone else has taken it and what their reviews were. And voila! I came across a thread by Ryoder talking about the course. I kept seeing bachelor this, masters that, and the occasional PhD in progress in the signatures on this forum and I knew I needed to look deeper into this to see what it was all about and if it was also legit. I made a newbie thread and I think it was Sanantone who posted the link to the wiki and the rest is history from there. As for nursing...after taking A&P II w/ lab I decided I still hated nursing lol. So now I'm finishing a BA in liberal arts, and from there I have no idea what I'm going to do. Another BA in something that interests me, or some sort of masters I guess.

[soliloquy]

If first heard about DSST and CLEP testing when I was in the Army in the late 90's. A series of unfortunate life events...deployments, etc. caused a delay in completing my degree along other things. I found out about the Big 3 from here though and that lead to my testing out of my degree (for the most part) in addition to some previously earned college credit and credential evaluations.

I'm done testing out but I wish there was a way to do that for Grad school. LOL

[Empyrean24]

I have a question for you? How did you find college plus without finding this site first? I'm just wondering what search parameter you put into google.

I didn't look; I already knew about CP because I was homeschooled at one point.

Yeah, CP definitely caters to a Christian crowd, which is fine cuz I'm a Christian, but I even thought it was a bit much. I would rather just get the degree plan and not have the coaching.

[OfficerA]

1) Why do you want a college degree and what's the single biggest factor that kept you from doing it before?

To have an edge job hunting, as well as how enjoyable business ended up being as a subject (on all of its topics). I also need a bachelor's at least in order to commission into the Air Force. What kept me before from doing so was having to take care of my family, as well as how I don't want to get into debt.

2) Why are you testing out and how did you learn about this method?

I'm testing out because a) it's free for me (CLEP/DSST-wise) and b) it's quick. While we were briefed about CLEP/DSST during Basic Military Training the instructor largely didn't care for it and sped through the slide explaining it, but it was stuck on my head since then. After realizing that we military members get one free chance to test out, and the credits count toward your degree(s), I figured why not try it out at least (as a popular thing for military members is to apparently take a test cold to have an idea what the actual class was about). I also wanted to beat my own education advisor who couldn't pass the only CLEP he tried when he was active duty (A&I Lit).

[cookderosa]

I paid CollegePlus $4,000 to give me a degree plan and show me how to get my BSBA in Marketing from TESC. So I have a couple questions for everybody...

1) Why do you want a college degree and what's the single biggest factor that kept you from doing it before?

2) Why are you testing out and how did you learn about this method?

Looking forward to some interesting responses!

Ha ha, the irony of what I'm about to write.... Brad Voeller's book (before he decided to start College Plus) was the domino for me. I'd never heard of testing out at that point. Then, I found a page on the internet called BAin4weeks that really REALLY got me moving. Here's the thing, I hate the notion of paying College Plus to filter people through ACE classes and into TESC. Seriously, the reasons I feel so strongly are too much for this thread. I liked Brad better when his motives were altruistic, and having tested out of 1/2 my degree I completely disagree with the premise of homeschooled high school kids fully testing out of their degree (again, too many reasons to dump on this thread) BUT, he should know better. He does know better, but it's all about the money.

EDIT: Of course he markets at homeschool conventions. Of course he does. Homeschool parents are a nervous wreck about how to teach high school (he solves that) and how to get their kids into college (he solves that - sort of) how to PAY for college when the family is likely 1 income and solves alllllll their problems. And, if that's not enough, he throws in a dash of Christianity just for good measure. (sold!) I have to stop- I feel my BP rising.

[dfrecore]

I too read BAin4Weeks and that totally kicked my butt into high gear. I immediately went and got 3 ALEKS credits, 6 CLEP credits, 6 DSST credits, and 3 Kaplan PLA credits. I then looked at a bunch of courses I took back in 2000 for my job, and found out that I had 5 units of ACE credits in HR that I got sent to ACE/TESC.

What that all did was put me at 86 units, which made me think that I could actually finish my degree in a reasonable amount of time, with a reasonable amount of money. I am currently taking a TEEX course, and then I have 11 specific courses to take (8 TECEP's) to finish up my BSBA.

Seeing me do this, my husband then said that he was interested in finishing up his degree as well (he has an AA). I searched high and low for the right degree for him (he is a sales engineer with a large software company), so he's caught between the Computer Science world (tons of math, science and programming which does NOT interest him) and a Business Degree (tons of business courses which don't interest him either). I finally figured out the BSAST in Technical Studies would work for him, and now he may start taking all the Strayer CBE's and then 1 Strayer course if they don't transcript his CBE's until he takes an actual course. But the number of CBE's he can take there makes the price for the course worth it (works out to $36/unit).

Getting to a certain point in your degree when you realize that you are actually fairly close to achieving your goal is very motivating. Unfortunately, getting to the point when you realize that you only have courses you don't want to take (because of lack of interest or because they seem too hard) is NOT motivating! But I will get through that, I'm sure!

[smf6824]

I paid CollegePlus $4,000 to give me a degree plan and show me how to get my BSBA in Marketing from TESC. So I have a couple questions for everybody...

1) Why do you want a college degree and what's the single biggest factor that kept you from doing it before?

2) Why are you testing out and how did you learn about this method?

Looking forward to some interesting responses!

1. I want a higher college degree to fulfill a personal goal of mine. An associates degree was not enough for me because that is not what I was going for in the beginning. Sure I could say I am seeking my bachelors for entry to grad school, and I am; however, the main reason is for self-fulfillment.

2. I don't know if I am so much testing out as I am utilizing other nontraditional means such as ACE approved courses. I only took one DSST, the rest of my credits were from a college, straighterline, ALEKS, and my RRT credential. I learned about this method through just simple research. I searched on the internet almost daily looking for cheap accredited degree plans and several searches kept bringing me to this forum as well as free-clep-prep.com. I knew TESC was the real deal when the NC State Society of Respiratory Care suggested it for a degree completion program for its members so I shifted my research to the big 3 and naturally inquired with a few people on this forum. After hearing how people on this forum did things I verified it with TESC, double checked TESC's accreditation through the U.S. Dept of Education, and came up with a plan. The hardest part with my plan was to try to do this without taking out a student loan, and get it done quick. Having a good portion of my GI Bill left I enrolled at a local community college and saved my housing stipend to pay the tuition at TESC. Currently I am enrolled in my last course at TESC, and since I took classes at the local community college I should graduate from there as well. So hopefully in June I will be able to say I have an associates in arts in social science and a BSAST in respiratory care in addition to the associates in applied science in respiratory care from 2007. My plan was definitely not the mainstream, and seemed a bit awkward; however, it looks like it is working thanks to the help I received from here and the dedication I put in to it.

[EI2HCB]

Ha ha, the irony of what I'm about to write.... Brad Voeller's book (before he decided to start College Plus) was the domino for me. I'd never heard of testing out at that point. Then, I found a page on the internet called BAin4weeks that really REALLY got me moving. Here's the thing, I hate the notion of paying College Plus to filter people through ACE classes and into TESC. Seriously, the reasons I feel so strongly are too much for this thread. I liked Brad better when his motives were altruistic, and having tested out of 1/2 my degree I completely disagree with the premise of homeschooled high school kids fully testing out of their degree (again, too many reasons to dump on this thread) BUT, he should know better. He does know better, but it's all about the money.

EDIT: Of course he markets at homeschool conventions. Of course he does. Homeschool parents are a nervous wreck about how to teach high school (he solves that) and how to get their kids into college (he solves that - sort of) how to PAY for college when the family is likely 1 income and solves alllllll their problems. And, if that's not enough, he throws in a dash of Christianity just for good measure. (sold!) I have to stop- I feel my BP rising.

I wish there was a double like button!

[cookderosa]

https://collegeplus.org/how-it-works#program-costs

Just for fun.....