Not sure where to start...

[pmm]

My goal is to obtain a bachelors degree online from an accredited college in a short amount of time. I'm considering Excelsior, Thomas Edison, or Charter Oak. My plan is to test out using CLEPs and Dantes exams for credit.

I was thinking of humanities or education. I'm trying to find an easy major.

I'm not sure where to start with all of this. Which is the best college, which classes to take/test on, or how soon it will take. Any suggestions?

[OakLakeNC]

What, if any, credits do you have so far?

[pmm]

Actual credits, None. I have been a real estate broker for 15 years. I heard I could get credit by putting together a portfolio of my past work.

[OakLakeNC]

There are so many options these days, it is hard to say where the best place to start is. (CLEP and DANTES aren't even the most economical for LL credit.) I think the consensus on this forum is the Thomas Edison General Management degree is the fastest/cheapest. Fastest because there are so many options for earning business credits. Cheapest because you can test out of the capstone.

If I were you, I would probably start knocking out credits that all degrees need- English, Humanities, Science, Math, etc... I would personally look into other sources of ACE credit, like Study.com or Straighterline. These can actually be cheaper than exams for credit. People on this forum can help you out with coupon codes for these sites. They are essentially a hybrid between an actual online class and an exam for credit. They have other assignments, which helps take the pressure off the final exam.

Some people here have had success applying a Study.com scholarship. You do have to be enrolled in a college before you can apply though. Study.com Academic Awards

Straigherline has a partnership with all three schools that can help with the cost as well.

Start with those sites- that is just my opinion. But there are reasons to take the CLEP and DSST. Some people don't wish to do the extra work that goes with other sites. And Study.com and Straighterline aren't good for upper level. But that is long way off for you. When you get ready for upper level credits, that is when I would start with the exams for credit. Between DSST, UExcel, and Thomas Edison tests there plenty if upper level credits by exam available.

[dfrecore]

I think this is the best place to start doing the research: http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...llege.html

The BSBA at TESU is the fastest/cheapest, because you can test out of the capstone. But I wouldn't necessarily let that be the only determining factor. A BA in Liberal Studies is also fast and cheap, especially if you want some flexibility in which courses you can take. It's about $1500 more than the BSBA because of the capstone.

There is also a newer degree at TESU called the BSPS (BS in Professional Studies). That one in particular has the ability to have a concentration in Real Estate (I don't know how real estate courses transfer into the BSBA degree - if they do or not).

Anyway, the best thing to do is start reading the beginner's guide, and then spend some time (weeks) reading through the forums here to get educated on your education. It takes a bit of time, but it's worth it. The time you spend up front getting the info you need to create a great plan for yourself, is won back by not wasting a dime or any time on unnecessary courses/exams.

Good luck!

[pmm]

Thank you very much for the information.

[cookderosa]

Actual credits, None. I have been a real estate broker for 15 years. I heard I could get credit by putting together a portfolio of my past work.

If you attempt a portfolio for a class, it has to match the class. For instance, you could demonstrate marketing 101 competence and earn marketing 101 credit. There are no bulk portfolios that award bulk credit- it's much more tedious and specific. I'm not a fan of portfolio credit, though a handful of people here have done it (it's called PLA credit for prior learning). After you've paid $$$$ and done tons of work for that marketing credit, you may not get it. On the other hand, you can earn the same credit for $80 passing a multiple choice CLEP exam. Sometimes the faster and more efficient path is less obvious.

I wasted a good deal of time trying to get my early credit to "count" in some way- on and off for a few years I applied to different schools, but my arguments were from a place of ignorance. I didn't understand the process or why a credit is included/excluded. I learned HERE how to make better use of my time. Starting from scratch, I earned an AA and BA in 18 months (once I let go of "but I have all this experience" crap) and started checking the right boxes.

Of the 2 degrees you mentioned, education would involve the most red tape. Humanities less so. Why wouldn't you consider business? You're going to have a lot more intuition in that area, making it exceptionally easier to study/test out of those subjects.

[davewill]

Cookderosa is correct that if there is a testing option, that is usually much easier than using PLA. I used PLA to knock out a bunch of computer science courses that had no testing options, so it was very worthwhile for me. It's possible that the same would be true of your real estate courses, but probably only if you try for some sort of real estate degree. See the PLA tips thread at the bottom of my signature for details of the process.

[TrailRunr]

For the past year or more on this forum, I think there has been an excessive amount of aversion to 100% proctored credit-by-exam (CLEP, DSST, CSU-Global, TECEP) when the exam itself can be passed cold by many folks. I like SL just like most folks and can complete SL courses VERY FAST, but it is more work vs a test than can be taken cold.
Each person will have a different list of tests they can pass without studying, but there are a bunch of easy ones for most like CLEP A&I Lit, TECEP Applied Liberal Arts Math, and many more. I'm not claiming testing is cheaper (especially after factoring in transportation) except in oddball situations like CLEP A&I Lit (6 credits at TESU) and UL credits, but it is way faster and less effort when you don't have to study. In addition, CSU-Global and TECEPs can be taken at home. When you can't pass the test cold, then I can see it being worthwhile to take SL and other options instead of the exam.

[dfrecore]

For the past year or more on this forum, I think there has been an excessive amount of aversion to 100% proctored credit-by-exam (CLEP, DSST, CSU-Global, TECEP) when the exam itself can be passed cold by many folks. I like SL just like most folks and can complete SL courses VERY FAST, but it is more work vs a test than can be taken cold.
Each person will have a different list of tests they can pass without studying, but there are a bunch of easy ones for most like CLEP A&I Lit, TECEP Applied Liberal Arts Math, and many more. I'm not claiming testing is cheaper (especially after factoring in transportation) except in oddball situations like CLEP A&I Lit (6 credits at TESU) and UL credits, but it is way faster and less effort when you don't have to study. In addition, CSU-Global and TECEPs can be taken at home. When you can't pass the test cold, then I can see it being worthwhile to take SL and other options instead of the exam.

I agree that testing is a good option, as well as online courses.

One thing to keep in mind is that testing can be a hassle for many people (distance, limited times to take exams, cost if you have to pay more than $20 for testing center fees, etc.). Not only was my testing center fairly far away and inconvenient to get to (including paying for parking and walking quite a distance across campus), they had very inconvenient hours and limited availability to administer tests (I couldn't sign up for a DSST AND CLEP exam on the same day, I couldn't sign up for more than 1 exam per day even if I had the time to take one in my time slot, and they only had 1 computer they allowed for CLEP/DSST testing in a very large, empty computer lab with 100% computers in it). It was not really worth it for me to test out of much with the barriers they threw up. I was very glad when I got the opportunity to take TECEP exams though, because I'm a pretty decent tester, and a night owl, which was great since I had homeschooled kids at home when I was testing and could schedule them after everyone went to bed.

Then, there are plenty of people who are not good testers - so when you say that a test is very easy and can easily taken cold, that really applies to YOU, but not to everyone. If you have a testing anxiety, then this is definitely easier said than done.

I have also found that people that contact me privately are pretty test-averse. They are really busy at work during the day, and can't get away to test. But they all manage to fit in some courses at night via SL, Study.com, Saylor, etc. That's just been my personal experience though, I'm sure others have people who just want to test out completely.

I like the fact that we have MANY options open to people, and you are not stuck with just 1 way to take most courses. If you want to test, great. If you want to take SL courses, go for it. Saylor - have at it. Each person gets to choose the option that works best for THEM. It's a pretty great system.