Interested in Big 3 & CBE from abroad. Need help, alternatives

[Smai]

Hello everybody! I'm 23 years old and trying to figure out how to further my education. I moved to Germany from the US a year ago, and have no plans to return to the US any time soon. I've avoided post-secondary schooling because I didn't want to be crushed under debt and although my parents wouldn't finance my education/living expenses/etc, their incomes made applying for financial aid useless. Now that I'm approaching the age where fafsa finally doesn't care about my parents' finances, I've been trying to figure out how I can best go about getting a bachelor's degree in my current predicament.

I was so excited to discover the possibility of mostly testing out of a degree, until I looked up my nearest testing centers. It seems that there are some CLEP/DSST/ECE testing centers 'near' me, but my understanding is that they are only accessible to people with a US military ID, which, not being in/married to/working for the military, I don't have. Does that really mean my only CBE options are to take time off work to travel to a different country for these? And if saving time and money are the most important factors, are the Big 3 even a good deal without CBE anymore? Should I apply to stock shelves at the PX so I can access a testing center on base? Is there some alternative I'm overlooking that would make DL less time consuming and expensive for me, or do I just need to bite the bullet and start making travel plans, accept getting into debt and paying too much? I'm glad for anyone's advice or suggestions, but I really hope someone else in a situation like mine can share their experiences

[Yanji]

Seeing as you're in Germany, why even bother taking the hit from high US education costs when you have a bunch of German universities near you which offer quality education for almost free? That's not to mention distance education programs in Sweden which are free and often taught in English.

[Smai]

Seeing as you're in Germany, why even bother taking the hit from high US education costs when you have a bunch of German universities near you which offer quality education for almost free? That's not to mention distance education programs in Sweden which are free and often taught in English.

Because I wasn't an amazing student in high school and Germany is obsessed with people's papers. Even if my transcript looked better, I would still need AT LEAST an associate's to have any shot at Uni, and if I were to work my way up to uni from the bottom of their rigid system it would eat up at least 6 years of my life and leave me with less to show for it.

[Beate]

Hi,

Not sure if my answer will help you in any way, but I'd just like to chime in with my experiences.
I am a German citizen, now living in the UK, and have taken most of the exams you can see in my signature while traveling to the US on vacation, as I've found test centers in Europe quite non-responsive to e-mails and/or charging high proctoring fees.

In the end the only test center I did use in Europe was BSS Seminary near Manchester, England. They were extremely easy to deal with and very very nice - but charged £40 (~EUR 46, ~$61) fee per CLEP exam (in addition to the Collegeboard fee). This was back in 2007, so not sure if this may have changed.
A different testing center in London quoted me £50 proctoring fee per exam a couple of years ago.

All other exams I took in the States, taking between 2 and 9 tests on 5 separate trips spanning 9-10 years. My problem was lack of money and spare time, but also I am completing the degree more for my own satisfaction, so there was no rush. It can be done a lot quicker!

If you're a US citizen it might be worth calling the testing centers in Germany to see if you can access the base with a temporary pass or something. I remember we (as Germans) used to be able to enter some US military installations in Berlin to go to basketball games, when someone would "sign us in" - but this was before 9/11.

In addition to CLEPs and DSSTs there's always ALEKS mainly for math credits, Straighterline and other online courses to consider. Of course, most options are more expensive than CBEs, but some won't require proctored exams or will let you use a local as a proctor.

If you know the type of degree you want, and start planning out the credits and courses you need, I'm sure you will get lots of advice here on how to fulfill the degree requirements.

One more thought, another thing to consider - if you plan to stay in Germany - is whether any US degree you go for is then recognized in Germany, as they are notoriously restrictive in recognizing foreign credentials. This will also depend on your location, as this is a state issue and each state has their own rules (unless this has changed recently?). Just something to watch out for.

Good luck with whatever you decide!