Several Questions - And a Hello!

[barcotta]

It looks like most of your questions have been answered by some of our best people--so you're off to a great start. I'll just give you my two cents on a few things.

With regard to degree roadmaps, mine is only about a year old. If you click on the "My Excelsior Degree Journey" link in my signature below, you'll find my post which includes links to my degree plan, diploma,etc. The biggest changes to the business degree are the Business Policy class requirement and the absence of a CLEP exam for Managerial Accounting. Given that grades matter to you, I would echo Gary's advice and enroll early so you have a direct line to advisors each step of the way. Email works great and should prevent any surprises.

The advisors DO NOT put the roadmap together for you. They simply lay out the requirements and confirm YOUR proposed roadmap to fulfill them. Their evaluation + the information contained in the EC "Students Guide to Credit-by-Exam" (or something like that--available at the EC site) = Roadmap. You can get additional confirmation/advice here on this site. For speed you have GRE, then CLEPs and DSSTs--particular the 6 credit CLEPs and the foreign language exams (12 credits!). If you have knowledge not covered by any of the assessment exams, don't forget the "credit-by-examination" programs that may be availabe at your local community college.

With regard to determining your readiness to take an exam, you'll get a better feel for that after you take your first few. You were correct in observing that CLEP exams should be your first choice for those subjects you find more difficult.

These tests are very different than those you took in HS. I believe that if you know the answers to at least half of the questions on the exam, educated guessing and the multiple choice format will usually take you the rest of the way to an "A"--except for some upper-level ECE exams. . You can click on the links in my signature for each exam to see what I did to prepare for the scores I achieved.

IC is a must have. In fact, the study notes I posted are mostly in flashcard format as that eventually became the only way I could learn! The next must have is the Specific Exam Feedback section of this forum. After that--maximize the free resources others have used and get old, cheap textbooks for things like Statistics and Finance. The official CLEP guide is also VERY helpful. Once you're into upper-level, you'll want the ECE practice exams as well--particularly if you want an A.

This is gonna be fun. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. Good luck!

[Gypsy]

You guys rock.

Last question, for at least the next day or so... how did y'all pay for your tuition? The biggest stumbling block for me has been trying to plan for when I know I'll be able to pay all in one go. (That clearly hasn't happened yet.) Does EC do direct financing, or did you take out private school loans? I forsee the latter as a problem in the current economic climate, though I might get my credit union to go the distance there. What costs have to be paid immediately (testing fees, I assume) and which can be reasonably spread out to expediate the graduation process?

[alissaroot]

Let's see if this link works:https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_Coll...8_2009.pdf--Fee schedule at Excelsior

You will have to pay the $75 application fee first, then you will have to pay enrollment fees. You can enroll in a payment plan and spread that one out over a six month period. So, yes, they offer financing for that. It varies depending on what program you choose, but those fees range $510-$922.

CLEPs and DSSTs are about $80 each, you pay that the day you take the exam, plus the testing center will likely want a fee of around $15. Excelsior College Examinations are more expensive, but they are also offered an a payment plan.

Then, when you are ready to graduate, you will have to pay a $495 graduation fee, but there is a discount on your next batch of enrollment fees if you plan to immediately enroll in a Bachelor's program.

I opted for the payment plan, and I have just been paying for everything as I go along out of my regular paychecks. There's been a week or several where I ate bologna sandwiches and I cut out some other things, like no more cable television until I have a degree in hand. I only took one exam every two weeks at first, since that's how often I get paid. Now that I have amassed books for most all of the rest of my exams, and I have the graduation fee locked up in savings, so I stepped up the pace to one exam or two per week, since I am no longer socking away so much for savings and study materials. Plus I will be able to pay that graduation fee immediately when they receive my last exam. I have swapped a lot of study materials with other members, and I already mentioned it once, but I like to swap all my old used mass paperbacks on paperbackswap.com so I never have to pay more than just shipping fees for my books. Plus I get to unload all my old books collecting dust.

Go ahead and get a loan if you prefer not to scrimp and worry, but I like the idea of graduating with no debt at all. Paying for it as I go along has been working for me so far, kinda like just making payments on it without having to come up with a huge chunk of money all at once.

I was pretty broke when I started all this, but it was a priority, so I just figured I would find a way. I went ahead and enrolled with what little money I did have, then I just started planning out how to make it work. I figured if I waited until I had the money...well I never would have. I never would have gotten as far if hadn't just taken that leap and enrolled and let that put the pressure on me to make something happen. I didn't want to waste time over-analyzing it to the point that worry would have me stuck in inertia. So I just went for it, figuring I could have yard sales and sell all my junk if I had to. I don't need all this stuff anyway!

You may also want to try filling out a FAFSA and see if you can make some sort of financial aid work for you. I haven't read a lot of feedback about how well financial aid works for people at Excelsior...anyone know more about financial aid there?

[Gypsy]

Oh my god! I thought that CLEPs and DSSTs were the same pay structure as ECEs! Oh, that makes it much, much, much more do-able in the near future. I'm sending off my application today (brought a checkbook with no checks yesterday, d'oh...) and I hope to be off and running by next week. Right now, I have $500 to get started.

[gcalvin]

You mentioned that your employers want you to relocate to Illinois, and the degree is a requirement. Don't be shy about asking them for help. Talk to your boss, and your HR department (if you have one). Explain what you're trying to do, and the time frame you're trying to do it in. Many companies have a tuition reimbursement program, and even if your company doesn't, they may be able to arrange a loan on good terms.

Also, talk to friends and family. Tell everybody you know what you're up to. Get excited about it, and get them excited about it. You may be surprised at how many people want to be a part of such a project, and even if you don't get much direct help, the fact that people know about your goals and timetable will motivate you to stick to it. They may be skeptical at first, so keep everybody posted on your milestones and achievements. If your goal is "a four year degree in one year" then some people may think "yeah, right." But if you then let them know you've completed your first year's worth of credits in a month, you may get their attention. Maybe you can even get somebody to throw you a fund-raising party at your halfway point, or something like that. Don't be shy about it. If any of your friends or family were embarking on a similar effort, and you could pitch in a little to help, wouldn't you want to?

-Gary-

[alissaroot]

The above is excellent advice. No one has given me cash help, my company only reimburses tuition only, but my Human Resources lady has made it a point since I asked about it to send me memos about cheap classes in our area. My coworker's wife is a teacher, and he asked his wife to let me borrow her model of the brain so I could take it apart, but someone was already borrowing it, but still, he asked...I thought that was pretty nice.

My coworkers are much more willing to trade days with me when I have exams, and my family--especially my parents--have helped me out a ton with babysitting since I began all this. My aunt even helped me clean house a few times. She also bought me a few notebooks when she got her kids school supplies.

So being very vocal and excited about it has helped me, although i have yet to convince all my cousins to enroll! Even if you don't get direct cash money assistance, letting everyone know what you are trying to accomplish can only help. I hope when I finish I can encourage and inspire more of my family to finish degrees, and that I can help them as much as they have helped me.

[cookderosa]

You mentioned that your employers want you to relocate to Illinois, and the degree is a requirement. Don't be shy about asking them for help. Talk to your boss, and your HR department (if you have one). Explain what you're trying to do, and the time frame you're trying to do it in. Many companies have a tuition reimbursement program, and even if your company doesn't, they may be able to arrange a loan on good terms.

Also, talk to friends and family. Tell everybody you know what you're up to. Get excited about it, and get them excited about it. You may be surprised at how many people want to be a part of such a project, and even if you don't get much direct help, the fact that people know about your goals and timetable will motivate you to stick to it. They may be skeptical at first, so keep everybody posted on your milestones and achievements. If your goal is "a four year degree in one year" then some people may think "yeah, right." But if you then let them know you've completed your first year's worth of credits in a month, you may get their attention. Maybe you can even get somebody to throw you a fund-raising party at your halfway point, or something like that. Don't be shy about it. If any of your friends or family were embarking on a similar effort, and you could pitch in a little to help, wouldn't you want to?

-Gary-

>>

Gary, will you be in my family?