Straighterline Freshmen year bundle

[michaelfrye1970]

Don't know if anyone else has seen this. Not bad if you are getting started and plan on taking alot with Straighterline. This includes courses with labs.

Freshman Year (10 Courses)

Create your own custom Freshman Year bundle for only $1299! Select up to 10 courses.

Enroll in Freshman Year and get access to 10 courses for an entire year (12 months). Take your courses all at once, or stagger out your learning over the course of the year, on whatever time schedule suits your life style. StraighterLine understands the financial pressure students face when paying for college and we want to make it as easy as possible to complete your required course work.

[Daithi]

Compare this to their normal $100 a month plus $50 a course fee (most courses). If you spent a year doing 10 courses then it would be $1200 + $500 = $1700.

However, if you are able to work your way through a course in 3 weeks then 10 courses would take you 30 weeks or about 7 months. This works out to $700 + $500 = $1200. I believe most people should be able to do a course in 3 weeks. I've been able to get several courses done in as little as a week each (and I'm no genius). I believe I could get through 10 courses in as little as 3 or 4 months without too much trouble, and that would only be $800 to $900 total.

BTW, I actually bought their Freshman Year back in December when it was only $1,000. However, I didn't start doing them until around June, and I now have 3 courses left. I really like SL for its convenience, whereas my CLEP testing center is inconvenient as it is only open on Saturdays once a month.

[anonymouse]

That price is still a major win compared with other options. I have never taken a SL course, though I am considering them for Macro- and Micro Economics and Statistics. I have no need to enroll in the bundle, though I think it is a good deal for people who aren't able to commit ahead of time to finishing each class in 3 weeks or less.
Thanks for posting the link and idea.

[Lindagerr]

I never saw the end of the discussion. Does Straighterline require you to use their proctoring ( ProctorU I think)where you have to let them have complete access to you computer? I am trying to get my son and nephew to at least start something this may be the way to go. I just refuse to allow access to my computer.

[Daithi]

Yes, they do require you to use ProctorU. Basically, it is like using "GotoMeeting" or a similar service where they briefly have control of your mouse and can see what is on your computer screen. They use your PC's camera to watch you take the test. When your done with the test you close the program that allows them access. It really isn't bad at all (and wicked convenient). However, if you still feel uncomfortable with this process then you could probably buy something like a Chromebook for $200 just to use for taking tests.

[JBtesc]

However, if you still feel uncomfortable with this process then you could probably buy something like a Chromebook for $200 just to use for taking tests.

Google should give you a commission, lol, I had never heard of chromebooks but have been very anxious about my computer being so slow and freezing up, and didn't want that to happen during the test. I read your comment and said "Yep!, I'm getting one of those!" lol. Amazon says it will be here tomorrow. Mid-term anxiety is a powerful drug! LOL

[Daithi]

I had one more thing I wanted to add that I just learned a few minutes ago.

I have done seven StraighterLine courses; I have two more courses in my bundle of 10 courses that I haven't started yet; I also have one open course left that I still need to purchase. I called StraighterLine to see if I could swap out the two courses I hadn't started with different courses. I was told no. However, I was also told that I could still purchase additional courses that I could complete within my one year period. In other words, your Freshman Bundle is good for one year to complete 10 courses, but you are not limited to just 10 courses. You can take as many courses as you can pass in that year; you just have to pay for the additional courses but not any additional monthly fees. This could be a pretty big savings if you can complete a lot of courses.

I could easily see someone using StraighterLine to take 20 courses in a year. That's $1300 for the Freshman Bundle with its 10 courses, plus $500 for 10 more courses. This is a total of $1800 for 20 courses if you can complete them within a year. That's only $30 a credit. If you can knock out 30 courses in a year it is a total cost of $2300 or $25.56 a credit.

With all that said, I'd still send them an email telling them you are thinking of purchasing the Freshman Bundle, but want to make sure you can still purchase additional classes before your year is up and that you won't be limiting yourself to just 10 classes. In other words, get it in writing.

[cookderosa]

Worth noting, not every course is allowed in the bundle, they have a few that you can't take. Sorry no time to look that up now, but there are a few.

[JBtesc]

Yes, they do require you to use ProctorU. Basically, it is like using "GotoMeeting" or a similar service where they briefly have control of your mouse and can see what is on your computer screen. They use your PC's camera to watch you take the test. When your done with the test you close the program that allows them access. It really isn't bad at all (and wicked convenient). However, if you still feel uncomfortable with this process then you could probably buy something like a Chromebook for $200 just to use for taking tests.

So just wanted to return to this thread and let everyone know - when I did the test run with ProctorU on my shiny new chromebook, it would not work. OS not compatible. Did a live chat with a tech and he said there is no way to make chromebooks compatible with ProctorU. So, didn't want my comments to lead anyone to buy a chromebook to use for ProctorU cause apparently that can't be done.