Newbie with MANY Questions...

[Lydia]

Hello everyone....I initially posted about a month ago but have yet to take an exam. I just got my unofficial evaluation from Excelsior. In a nutshell, I was told that I need the following:

* 12 Lower-Level Credits (Must include 1 Quatitative Course)
Applied Professional Credit OR Additional Arts & Science

* 12 Upper-level Credits
General Education: Arts & Science Requirement

* Information Literacy


The following are the exams I think I should take: Which are my easiest (less time consuming) bet?

ECE
*L -Eng. Composition (it's 6 credits, right?)
*U -American Dream 6
*U -Ethics:Theory & Practice
*U -Cultural Diversity
*U -Religions of the World
*U -Organizational Behavior (Or is it easier to take it in Dantes?)
*U -Literary Instruction in the Elementary School 6? (not sure about this one, but the 6 Credits appealed to me)

CLEP
*L -Spanish
*L -College Mathematics
*L -Social Sciences & History 6
*L -Analyzing and Interpreting Literature 6
*L -Humanities (general) 6
Any other suggestions?

DSST/Dantes
*U -Drug & Alcohol Abuse
*U -Business Law II
*L -Organizational Behavior
*L -Here's to Your Health
*L -Principles of Supervision
*L -Ethics in America (Or is the ECE a better choice?)
Any other suggestions?


I wanted to be complete by mid-April. I'm somewhat overwhelmed. Whats are some of the best study materials to use? I.e. which textbooks, websites, study guides...etc Please share your opinions as the what exams would be "easiest" and what study materials are best. There seems to be so many different study resources that I'm a bit confused as to what to use.

**On a side note: :confused:
What is the REA?
What is the Peterson's Website?
What is Speedy Prep?
Which exams require essays? And if Excelsior doesn't require them, then why do I have to do it?


I'm still researching this forum, so I may find the answer to some of my more basic questions myself. Nonetheless, please share any knowledge with me...

Thanks a bunch....

LOREDIA

[Lydia]

Well, I've updated my post to reflect that I need 12 "Credits" each, not 12 courses.

* 12 Lower-Level Credits (Must include 1 Quatitative Course)
Applied Professional Credit OR Additional Arts & Science

* 12 Upper-level Credits (General Education: Arts & Science Requirement)

* Information Literacy

To Cinderly: What did you use to study for the A&I Lit Exam? Also, how difficult are the 6-credit Exams (CLEP Social Sciences & History, CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, CLEP Humanities (general), or ECE American Dream)?

[StealingDreams]

Well it looks like you have to take the College Math CLEP to fulfill the quantitative requirement and I would suggest the A&I Lit as 6 credits that don't take a whole lot of preparation as long as you feel comfortable answering those kinds of questions. For the other 3 LL credits, I think the DSST Principles of Supervision is probably the easiest and didn't take me but a week to get ready for. I just reviewed the information on the exam specific thread here for it.

The Info Lit can be taken either through EC or Penn and Fosters with the only difference is cost with P&F being quite a bit cheaper. I'm doing it in March but have heard it is quick and fairly painless.

I don't have anything helpful as far as the UL goes as I haven't done any but good luck on finishing up your last credits.

[studyhard]

What did you use to study for the A&I Lit Exam? Also, how difficult are the 6-credit Exams (CLEP Social Sciences & History, CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, CLEP Humanities (general), or ECE American Dream)?

Saw this question and thought I'd jump in too........

I used the REA guide for the A&I Lit exam. It's very good--covers all the material and has three full-length practice exams. That was all I used and I got a 77. Of course, I've always liked reading older works and stuff like Shakespeare, so that boosted my grade quite a bit, I think.

All of the CLEPs you mentioned are very doable. InstantCert does a great job prepping you and I think there are REA or COMEX guides for all of them.

[Southpaw]

What did you use to study for the A&I Lit Exam?

I just got back from taking A&I Lit and scored a 72. The only studying I did was to take one of the petersons practice tests yesterday so I could get a feel for the format and questions. Others have suggested googling "literary devices" also but I had a pretty good grasp of that already so I didn't bother.

[Lydia]

Thanks you everyone who has already given me great advice...

One aspect I'm a little unclear on is which exams count towards "Arts & Sciences" Requirements and which ones count toward "Applied Professional Credit"?

I just read the DSST: Here's to your Health is an elective credit. Is this correct? What about DSST: Drug and Alcohol Abuse? Is that also an elective?

Thanks

[Lydia]

Thanks for the advice. What study guide did you use for the DSST Drug & Alcohol Abuse?

[StealingDreams]

Thanks you everyone who has already given me great advice...

One aspect I'm a little unclear on is which exams count towards "Arts & Sciences" Requirements and which ones count toward "Applied Professional Credit"?

I just read the DSST: Here's to your Health is an elective credit. Is this correct? What about DSST: Drug and Alcohol Abuse? Is that also an elective?

Thanks

Both the DSSTs you have listed as UL are Applied Professional Credit exams.

[StealingDreams]

Isn't Here's to Your Health lower level? If so, you can use it to round out your lower-level requirements (assuming you take A&I Lit and College Math.) I've read that it's one of the easier tests. IC should steer you well.

DSST Upper Level Exams:

Civil War & Reconstruction
Money & Banking
Rise & Fall of the Soviet Union
Business Law II
Drug & Alcohol Abuse
Principles of Finance
Management Information Systems

Sorry, the way I wrote that was poorly worded looking at how I quoted the text. What I meant was in the original post Drug and Alcohol Abuse and Business Law II were listed as potential Upper Level exams to be taken and I meant both of those were Applied Professional. Here's to Your Health is indeed lower level.