Advice - College Credits

[bjcheung77]

I am searching for the link you supplied for the 6 free college credits, I can't find it. Would you please help me.

I am so sorry to be a pain but my desperation is mounting. The cyber security free credits. Are they FEMA or would they be like a Dsst or Clep exam credit that I obtain from ACE?

My job will not accept FEMA Credits. I need 9 super fast college level credits and I am a severe test anxiety person.

Any and all help would be amazing. Thank you a million times over.

Please review the info on the degreeforum.wikia.com webpage for info. I have an online education guide.
Here's the link to the Basic Approach - The Basic Approach - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia
I have a Beginners Guide in the forum as well, the info is more updated on the wikia page though.

The NFA and TEEX courses are from schools affiliated with FEMA but have ACE recommendation for credit.
FEMA by itself doesn't have ACE recommendation for the majority of their courses (All independent study).
FEMA only has a select few that are ACE recommended but those are "onsite/on campus modules".

NFA has 3 courses and 1 credit each = 3 credits total (easy, quick to finish)
TEEX has 3 courses and 2 credits each = 6 credits (lengthy, time consuming to finish)
Do the NFA first, then TEEX, with the course material open in one screen/window, and test open in another.

My suggestion is not only to finish these easy courses for 9 credits. But if you have time and require Math courses.
You should subscribe to ALEKS and get 5 courses done for $20 dollars/month, you can finish all 5 in 1 month!!
The steps are in the guide, I did 5 courses in that one month for 15 easy credits and it cost me just $20 only.

My other suggestion is, if you would like 9 credits cheap. Another option is to take 3 History courses at Shmoop.com
Here's the thread: Low cost ACE reviewed history courses from Shmoop.com
One month subscription for $25, 3 courses can be completed in that time frame or faster. 9 easy non proctored credits.

If you have more questions, please reply back. I highly suggestion spending just $20 on ALEKS and $25 on Shmoop!
They are well worth that monthly subscription, if you aren't working, you can probably finish all of them in 1 month.
If you are working, I would split it into two months, 1 for Shmoop first as their pricing may rise, and 1 month after for ALEKS.
As they are non proctored, you can have "online calculators" for ALEKS, and you can have "other resources for Shmoop!".

Last word: I know you are in a rush and also may be strapped for cash, but there are other cheap courses offered as well.
These are the most recommended, and I also would recommend Saylor Academy for ACE credit.
Each course is free, but there's a proctor fee $25 for final exam at ProctorU.
Essentially, it's $25/3 credits, it's unbeatable in value and they have 22 courses!

[bjcheung77]

On a side note: I also have an issue with test anxiety (I'm very much an introvert as well, yet no one knows).
In addition to my previous response to you, I would like to get more info on what you want to accomplish.
If you are wanting to use the free and cheap credits to ladder to an Associates Degree, it's very possible.
I have two in mind for you already, an AAS at WVUP or AS at COSC , they take ACE/NCCRS, COSC takes FEMA too.

For myself, I am taking Saylor/Straighterline courses as well. This is after the free and cheap courses at ALEKS/Shmoop.
Because my major is in Business, I had to take several courses at Penn Foster for upper level credit (online/no proctor).
My suggestion to you is, after you take the free and cheap courses, to start taking Straighterline Intro To Communications .
There's a $99 monthly membership, and courses range from $49 to $99. This course is the BEST starting course for SL.

It will prepare you for any other course they have, two I've taken don't have proctored finals (English Comp I and II).
They have numerous courses that have a proctored final, but it's all open book for everything including the proctored final.
For example, I have a 99% grade in Medical Terminology, for 3 easy credits. I finished the course and proctored final in 3 days.
I am on track to completing 7 courses for the month, if I finish faster, I can take 1 or 2 more at $49/course for 3 credits each.

Note: Straighterline has both open book & closed book proctored finals, do the courses with open book finals first.
Do not take any developmental courses at any institution, I think it's a waste of membership/money to take those.
They are designed to "help you get started", there's no need to spend on that when you can get credits for cheap and easy.

When you finish taking some Straighterline courses, you'll be familiar with how online proctoring works, it won't cause you any more test anxiety as you have gone through it several times. You should then start with the cheap Saylor courses as it all counts on that one final exam. Easiest way to get through them is practice the unit quizzes and practice final with a second or third account.. this is all in the guide, but it's the cheapest/easiest/fastest way to get enough credits for your AAS or AS degree..

If you want, reply back and I can send you a spreadsheet on cost of each course and a degree plan for you! FREE.
This can help you keep your job and even apply to be in a more senior position or go elsewhere without fear of not getting up the corp ladder, you'll have more on your resume to succeed in that jump to another organization or if you're changing careers.

[bjcheung77]

You have to be the nicest person I have ever met. Thank you for being so kind.
I basically have until Monday to come up with 9 College level Credits (such as the Dsst and Clep). When I was employed, I needed 6 credits, I took 2 DSST Exams and passed submitted my paper work, I believe to Ace and had my transcript sent over.

Now, I need 9 credits immediately, I have been having some health issues and I am down the very end. If I don't find a miracle I will lose my job. I can not afford to have this happen. Yes, I am very desperate right now. I have my daughter to support and a roof to keep over our head.

Trying to make sense of everything you have sent and all I keep doing is having panic attacks. I am trying so hard to make sense of your emails but the panic takes over.

If I take a straighterline course, where do I get a college transcript from? I know I may not be making sense, but I am trying. This is a horrible feeling. What is your suggestion to obtain 9 Superfast college credits, request a transcript and submit that transcript.

I am not sure I can ever thank you for you help and advice.
You are a true blessing.
I really look forward to hearing back from you.

Here's two links I'm sending you. First link is to the Beginners Guide where I have already placed the info you're looking for.
Beginners Guide To Getting Cheap/Fast College Credit - Page 5
Second link: The Basic Approach - Degree Forum Wiki - Wikia - choose page 3) Several Sources Of Cheap Credit - Reference

You should do the Institute Ethics 312 course, NFA courses and the TEEX courses as these are free and easiest 11 credits.
For the Ethics 312 and NFA courses, have a window open for exam, and another open for course material, just do the exams.
There are no course work for any of these, it's all exams, for the TEEX, do the same thing as well...you have 5 attempts.
You should be able to finish this all in 1 week or less if you just go straight at it... I finished them all in 3 days (long weekend).

Note: For the Ethics course, choose the FREE option and don't choose the wrong course 311 as it's just a preview/overview of 312.
It's a waste of time taking the course 311, as some people including myself, accidentally took that for nothing! When you are done with each and every one of these, send them to ACE Credit Registry as a storage of all your credits.

In regards for storing your other credits such as CLEP, DSST, or courses taken elsewhere, they should be held by their respective organizations as if it's not ACE recommended, you can't "store" with them. I don't want to overwhelm you too much, but it's easiest to have them in one place, but if they don't "store" it for you, then there's not much you can do but leave it as is...

To recap, take the free courses above. If you need more cheap/fast credits, ALEKS and Shmoop for monthly subscription.
They don't have any proctored exams and you can use "other resources" to get a passing grade.

Straighterline should come afterwards, if you are at the level of taking SL courses, please make sure to use a coupon ASH100 to save $100 on your first month membership (free!) and a cheap course such as MicroBiology for $25. Your second purchase should be Intro to Communications, for $74 but immediately use coupon code EZSAVE for $20 off (you can't use two coupons at a time, and the EZSAVE won't work for anything less than $49).

Thanks for your comment, I try to help and there are many nice people out there you haven't met yet.

[bjcheung77]

Aren't Clep and Dsst exams Ace credits?

Unfortunately No. For example: CLEP is a VISA, DSST is a MasterCard, ACE is an AMEX.
Think of CLEP, DSST and ACE or other courses as Credit Cards - They're different brands.
They're all "credit", but they're not going to be sending you one card to use for all three. It's one card each.
The balance can't be paid by another credit card, you have to pay off the balance with the card provider.

Your credits that you finish from CLEP will only be held by CLEP, DSST will be held by DSST. I get scared if my course is only pass/fail with one test. I like to have my eggs in more than one basket, cheapest/easiest/fastest... ACE will be able to help you store all your ACE credits from different educational providers, another reason I like ACE Credits is that their courses are all online based and can be completed faster and easier than any type of CLEP/DSST or another Credit By Exam.

Note: CLEP is recognized by 2900+ schools, DSST recognized by 1900+, ACE is also recognized by 1900+, and then there's NCCRS that's recognized by 1500+ institutions. You should attend a Regionally Accredited school that accepts all types of credits, including all 4, and other school CBE (Credit By Exams) such as TECEPS/UEXCELS or CSU Global CBE's. For that reason, I recommend choosing the Big 3 (COSC , Excelsior College, Thomas Edison), the Competency Based Degree providers, Patten/Hodges /WGU and WVUP.

One more question. Are the ACE credit equivalent to the DSST and CLEP CREDITS. Do they hold the same college level credits. I'm so sorry to be a pain. Truly I am.

No worries, I am a work at home dad...
I have plenty of time to help others, including yourself.

The answer to ACE being equivalent to CLEP and DSST is a big YES, it holds the same college credits.
However, it all depends on your receiving institution... Each one will review the course equivalency differently.

As I mentioned in the previous post, many schools accept all types of credits.
~~See the Note: Above~~

[jsd]

Aren't Clep and Dsst exams Ace credits?

Unfortunately No. For example: CLEP is a VISA, DSST is a MasterCard, ACE is an AMEX.
Think of CLEP, DSST and ACE or other courses as Credit Cards - They're different brands.

CLEP and DSST are both ACE-approved. I'm not sure what distinction you're making. They're more widely accepted than other forms of ACE-approved credit sources, but they're still ACE-approved.

[dfrecore]

If you're making a credit card analogy, CLEP would be Visa, DSST would be Mastercard, and Saylor/SL/ALEKS/etc might be considered Discover Cards. ACE would be considered CREDIT, since all of the above fall under ACE. You can have your CLEP and DSST scores sent to your ACE transcript.

That being said, more schools will accept CLEP than anything else, then DSST, then other ACE-recommended courses. It is entirely dependent upon the school that you're wanting to get the credit at though. Always check to see what your school will accept before taking any exams/courses from this forum.

Another thing to consider: providers like SL may have partner schools, who will accept SL course credit directly from SL. So, you may want to have your SL courses sent to ACE, but also sent directly to a school on their list. They will also provide you with a list of the courses that school will accept (not all schools will accept all courses). These schools will probably also be more open to receiving different types of credit.

[TrailRunr]

I somewhat disagree.

A few stores are cash only.
RA credits are visa
AP credits are mastercard
CLEP is amex.
DSST is discover
Other ACE credits are store brand credit cards

ACE is all forms of credit cards.

[jsd]

I somewhat disagree.

A few stores are cash only.
RA credits are visa
AP credits are mastercard
CLEP is amex.
DSST is discover
Other ACE credits are store brand credit cards

ACE is all forms of credit cards.

Your analogy isn't bad, but it doesn't clarify why someone would say clep or dsst aren't ace approved. A 5 second ACE search proves otherwise.

( I understand you weren't arguing otherwise, TrailRunr)