In 35yrs & <30 days I Can Almost See the Finish Line (Accountability/Gratitude)

[studiousimp]

Thank you. Just thank you.

Because of the wisdom and generosity of this knowledgeable community, I finally got off the fence and in such a short time am able to see the finish line: a Bachelor's Degree from a regionally accredited institution (TESU). I'm not all the way there yet, but I'm close. Close enough that I finally am ready to post something, introduce myself and hopefully make a difference to somebody reading. That would be awesome.

Here's where I am (and where I've been)...

I have been putting this off for 35 years. It wasn't until late July 2017 that I finally really actually got off the fence and started racing toward completion. Always before I'd get seduced by the idea of a more prestigious institution... that probably sounds awful but the fantasy  played in a never-ending loop and the idea was always just tasty enough to stop me and ultimately I just. kept. spinning.

Then at some point in July of 2017 (like 45 days ago) I read that some of the Study.com UL Psychology courses were being downgraded by TESU and something broke. And I got out of my own way. Finally.

On July 15th
I had 12 B&M units spread over three schools in the 1980s/90s. (Eng Comp I/US History I/Principles of Real Estate)
I had  had 9 units from 3 CLEPS I'd taken in 2014. (Principles of Maraketing
I had 1 Study.com course (American Govt) I completed in October 2016 and another (Public Speaking) I'd started but, you guessed it, never finished.

That's when I committed to making Study.com quizzes my positive obsession and here's what happened...

7/30 passed final for Intro to Computing = COS-101
7/30 passed final for Information Systems and Computer Applications = CIS-102
7/31 passed final for Ethics and the Business Professional = PHI-384
7/31 passed final for Organizational Behavior = some kind of UL Psych Course, I hope!
8/2   passed final for Educational Psychology = PSY-230
8/5   passed final for Intro to World Religions = REL-277
8/5   passed final for Intro to Psychology = PSY-101
8/5   passed final for Social Psychology = PSY-370
8/8   oops! discovered some TECEP test anxiety so took TESU Cornerstone to lock in a catalog = TES-100 (Yeah, I know, total waste of $300, but I just didn't want to let fear stop me the way I realize it always has.)
8/9   passed final for Classroom Management = EDU-319
8/12 passed final for History of Vietnam War = HIS-351
8/12 passed final for  Differentiated Instruction = EDU-299
8/12 passed final for Human Growth and Development = PSY-210
8/13 passed final for Intro to Sociology = SOC-101
8/26 passed final for Foundations of Education = EDU-102
8/26 passed final for American History II = HIS-114
8/26 passed final for Civil War & Reconstruction = HIS-252
8/27 passed final for Intro to Humanities = HUM-101
8/27 passed final for Abnormal Psychology = PSY-350
8/27 passed final for Psychology of Adulthood & Aging = PSY-212

This week I'll finish up the Study.com quizzes for Research Methods in Psychology = PSY-322
and Mon/Tues/Weds I'm scheduled to take 2 CLEPS and a DSST for 15 units (A&I Lit/English Lit/Eng Comp II)

I tried to enroll in the October Capstone with James Cody today but realized I need someone at TESU to open my ACE transcript for Study.com partner pricing...

...and with that today I realized that I had come far enough that I could post here and finish this journey with support and as a full member of this miraculous community.

I still need SL's Business Stats and Study.com's Pre-Calc.. and after an ugly run-in with ALEKS I will try to complete those in September. I think my final obstacle is the last few Psych classes needed to achieve a BA in Psychology... Hopeful that Study.com adds them soon: Physiological Psych, History of Psychological Systems and Ethics in the Social Sciences.

My goal is to finish by 12/31/2017.

And at that point I will officially never want to see another quiz again as long as I live.   But I'm so grateful that Study.com provides this incredible opportunity and that I could complete so much of what has had me stuck for over three decades, in a little more than a month... it's truly amazing!

[dfrecore]

Very impressive!  Now go finish that Public Speaking course you started at SL, and while you're at it, take a couple more courses there to get your money's worth.

Also, go take Ed4Credit's Social Psych course now, before TESU decides to do something crazy with it.  It's the other 3cr you need in that area, and they're the only ones that have it at this point in time.

[davewill]

That was freaking awesome! By my count that was 58cr in a month. The TECEP would have cost $114, so you only wasted $186. I know I wasted a lot more than that... Which doesn't matter as long as you succeed.

[studiousimp]

Very impressive!  Now go finish that Public Speaking course you started at SL, and while you're at it, take a couple more courses there to get your money's worth.

Also, go take Ed4Credit's Social Psych course now, before TESU decides to do something crazy with it.  It's the other 3cr you need in that area, and they're the only ones that have it at this point in time.

Ooh thanks for that. I forgot about that ed4credit LL SocSci Course. Starting on it tonight. I've also activated SL and am starting Business Statistics tonight.

Added 6 units in A&I Lit today!
English Lit CLEP is tomorrow.
DSST Adv English Comp later in the week.

I continue to be amazed at how a little consistent effort = a lot of consistent substantial outcomes in the form of accredited units...

Yippee!

[originalamyj]

Wow, I am super impressed with the speed that you've done all those Study classes. I guess I'm sllllloooooowwwww. I learn by reading, so I skip the videos and just read the lesson and take notes. then quiz and make sure I don't move on until I have 100. But I can't seem to devote enough time to it to knock it out so fast. LIFE - get out of my way!! I do like the study format thought. Personal Finance wasn't too bad, but then I did History of VN War. It was interesting but soooo long. I stupidly thought it would be easier since there were less quizzes. No, less quizzes just mean longer chapters to slog through.

How did you find A&I Lit CLEP? I haven't seen any current threads about it. I'm taking it after I finish my Study scholarship. How long did you study for it? Did you use the InstantCert material to study? I plan to take the American Lit CLEP after A&I. Nervous about CLEPs, never done one.

Anyways, congratulations!! What you have accomplished is very very impressive!

[studiousimp]

That was freaking awesome! By my count that was 58cr in a month. The TECEP would have cost $114, so you only wasted $186. I know I wasted a lot more than that... Which doesn't matter as long as you succeed.

58 with Study.com so far and another 6 from CLEP today... and still trying for a few more. It's a kinda silly and totally arbitrary metric to try for the maximum possible units in a month but it is SO fun and SO rewarding to play full out like this. It's also SO temporary.

I had an unusually light workload when I started this push... and now I'm just putting clients off left and right to see how much I can do before Labor Day.

It's been a big month of self-discovery too. I guess that's not surprising whenever we push ourselves but... whew!

Preferring to spend that extra $186 on the Cornerstone was a revelation. I was afraid of failing a more college-level course and I didn't realize it. Makes me wonder how many other things I've put off or avoided without recognizing that fear was a motivator... It's a whole other level of value this degree-seeking experience enables. Any time one of those fears becomes conscious, it loses power. And new choices become available... and that's the real gold in this journey.

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Wow, I am super impressed with the speed that you've done all those Study classes. I guess I'm sllllloooooowwwww. I learn by reading, so I skip the videos and just read the lesson and take notes. then quiz and make sure I don't move on until I have 100. But I can't seem to devote enough time to it to knock it out so fast. LIFE - get out of my way!! I do like the study format thought. Personal Finance wasn't too bad, but then I did History of VN War. It was interesting but soooo long. I stupidly thought it would be easier since there were less quizzes. No, less quizzes just mean longer chapters to slog through.

How did you find A&I Lit CLEP? I haven't seen any current threads about it. I'm taking it after I finish my Study scholarship. How long did you study for it? Did you use the InstantCert material to study? I plan to take the American Lit CLEP after A&I. Nervous about CLEPs, never done one.

Anyways, congratulations!! What you have accomplished is very very impressive!

Sounds like you're approaching your Study classes the way I approached my first one (American Government) last October... like a class. It took me at least 2 weeks - maybe more - to do that one class.

Then I read something on the forums that changed my approach. I do t know what it was exactly but I realized that the quizzes were a third of the grade and that you have three tries to get 100... and that they're open book. And that getting 100% on the quizzes means that you need 56% on the final to pass, which = 70%, the % required to receive credit.

I also realized that there is no benefit to getting an A... the only info that gets recorded is the 'Pass.'

This changed my approach to each course. I go in, open two browsers, take the quiz (possibly but not always read the lesson summary first) and using the open transcript tab as needed. It's a good way to see if/what I know and then look up remaining info for a second pass at the quiz. This is MUCH faster, produces reliably good quiz results, is actually EXACTLY what to study for the final and works like a charm. You may wanna give it a shot!

A&I Lit is the test that people often take cold. So I didn't study much. I used InstaCert a couple years ago when preparing but never taking the CLEP. This time I actually took the Study course, passed all the quizzes and THEN realized there were essay assignments. I did t want to do them so I took the exam without further study. I found it really doable... though while reading passages and answering questions I generally have NO idea how it's going...my sense is that none of the answers are right or two of the answers are right. Frustrating. So I decided to do what I do watching Jeopardy and go with my first instinct... then I try not to second guess myself.

So far it's working. It would be a whole different process to get an 'A' in these courses/exams but passing does not require my old study skills... and I've passed everything with a healthy margin to boot.

Couldn't hurt to give it a shot!

[originalamyj]

You know what? You're absolutely right. I'm working too hard and need to work smarter. Especially the class I'm in right now... Engl Comp I. I tutor high school English so it ought to be a no brainer, for Pete's sake.

I will give your strategy a shot! Thanks!!

[studiousimp]

Great. Can't wait to hear how this works for you, originalamyj.