VERY curious!!!!!

[cookderosa]

I was wondering the same thing! In fact, when reading how some people studied 3 days "through the flash cards" and then went and passed, ufff... I was starting to feel kind of slow:confused:

hilarious

>>


Your not slow.
The only exams I passed in "3 days" were the ones that I either had some background knowledge in, or were part of a cluster- in other words, not starting from scratch.
If you are over 40, US History 2 will be part of your life- you <cough> remember Regan...it's not such a stretch.
If you have had children, you LIVED through Human Growth and Development, if you are a woman you'll have even more background knowledge.
If you are a homeschool mom, you have probably been studying educational psychology at least a little since before you started your child's program.
If you are over 25 and ever been the manager, your introduction to supervision will be familiar.
If you have done any administrative assistant work, written reports, or authored company manuals/handouts- your ready for technical writing today.
If you are addicted to crime TV (Law and Order, etc) and follow local news, you are off to a good start for Criminal Justice. If you have ever been in the system...well....your probably also well suited


These are just a few of the examples of situations where "3 days of study" will fit the bill. It stems from being part of a group that will have more exposure to such topics. I can think of "regular" people who are well versed in politics, history, etc because they enjoy it. These people will find a 101 level introductory course exam to be very comfortable.

Now, physics or statistics? Huh? I don't know anyone who studies those for fun. LOL

[Lindagerr]

I have mnay years of counciling, and support groups for different things so I felt like I knew many of the terms and such even though I have never taken a Psychology course. So Intro to Psyc. and Psycology of women were easier for me.

Mindy I also think some of this I only studied 3-4 hours stuff is just a lot of bragging about how bright these people think they are. A really bright person would take the time to study and make sure they are ready before they waste time taking an exam.

[eyrobinson]

I study about three hours before I go take an exam for the CLEP/DANTES. This DOES NOT work for the EC exams...I repeat this DOES NOT work for the EC exams. I guess my short term memory is really good. I am also young (21) so that may work in my favor too. The only tests I've failed were some of the EC exams, CLEP Math, and the CLEP A&I Literature exam. I didn't think I needed to study math since I'm pretty fresh out of Algebra 2 and the A&I Lit test can't really be studied for. Other than that, I know the DANTES tests are WAY easier than the CLEP tests. I tried to take as many DANTES exams as possible plus EC gives grades. But I will definitely study for my upper level DANTES exams because there aren't that many to take to get upper level credit. I'm also going to take the GRE Psychology exam and try to get all the credits I need for my degree. I WILL study for that one of course. Going to the library tomorrow to get the study book. Good luck!

[ivanjak]

I think a lot of these quick studies are people who are already well versed in the subject. I took a ton of these things without study BUT I took them fresh out of high school were I was a good student and student the same info for 4 year straight. My high school was about on the same level of difficulty as CLEPs so it wasnt terribly difficult. I also took a test taking class, that was very helpful. It was all about the odd of guessing right, not pick the right answers but eliminating the wrong ones and learning vocab word and using reasoning and logic to put the vocab in the context of each question. Some of you old timers might have a harder time with this stuff and there is tons of research that says you guy (the 35 and up crowd) are at a big disadvantage because of the different styles of learning and a completely different style of reading. Most of this is because of the introduction of computers and internet introduced to us (the youngsters) at a crucial time in our development.

On a side note I am actually trying to put together a program at the local high school for kids to take cleps in lue of the class final exams. This would be like a AP program but not limited to the 12 super honor kids and hopefully have high school kids get their diploma and their bachelors around the same time. So far I have had less than the minimal support required to get the program off the ground, but there is stigma associated with my idea to the kids and i think the teachers are a little threatened but the idea of all of their 18 years being as qualified to teach as them.

Weak sauce on the ageism:confused:Where am I? Doesn't really matter how old you are........Flashcard method of study has been around for at least 40 years. Okay, I'm over 40(surprise) but was able to study for three days per exam on 13 of 14. "A" on every one. Studied two weeks for Statistics because I had not taken a college level math class in over 20 years and got an "A" on that as well. I think it just depends on the individual. More people than not seem to just use Instacert, as I did. It really does work! Give it a shot.

Now as far as retention goes, that could very well be an issue. Most people cram and brain dump anyway. If it is not subject matter that you will ever use. Like say, um I don't know...............70% of the exams, then what the..
Old Guy Pimpin' IC

[jorai]

Well, if you have previous knowledge of the subject it would not take more than refreshing concepts, I agree with that and I have done so. But as Mandy was referring to subjects one had not previous knowledge about.

For me, the least it has taken it's been 2 weeks (with Drug and Alcohol Abuse for example). I am planning on studying for a month for each EC, I have 2 pending. That's how much time I feel it will take me to go through all the info (hopefully!).

But one thing is that we all come from different backgrounds, we all have our own way to process information, and some people can be really good at certain subject areas, while not that great in others.

I think I have come to "know myself" about when I can take less time for a subject and when I will need to study until I feel comfortable about it. I have taken chances and got an A, when I did not really feel that great. So, I have to say that luck is not totally out of the equation when it comes to testing multiple choice exams...! But like someone said in this forum: never underestimate any exam!

[jkfuss]

The minimum time I have studied for an exam in which pretty much everything was new to me was a week, with one exception: A&I Lit. I took that with only a day or two of prep to review literary terms. Most new subjects have required two weeks of concentrated study before I felt comfortable taking them.

I am sure I could have passed several of the exams with less than a week of prep, but I can't bring myself to attempt that. I also want to retain some things from each subject. As I move on to related subjects, this retention has been helpful in learning and retaining the new information. When it's time to start grad school, I will not have to get back up to speed on subjects I've already covered. Anyway that's my goal as I go through exams.

The testing coordinator at the college I take my exams at has told me that many times she has seen people shocked, even in tears, when they have failed an exam on a subject in their own field. So I always respect every test I take. If it adds an extra month or two to my degree completion, so be it.

[ivanjak]

This is from the CLEP website " The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) gives you the opportunity to receive college credit for what you already know by earning qualifying scores on any of 34 examinations. Earn credit for knowledge you've acquired through independent study, prior course work, on-the-job training, professional development, cultural pursuits, or internships." That is the attraction for most people as they do have experience but not the time and/or money to sit through a semester length course. I think that some people do have a little more life experience than they let on and that helps out in these exams. Some of the younger members have little or no life experience and I can see how that might prove more difficult.
People do like to boast but a lot of this stuff is pretty simple. You really only have to score what the average college freshman would score on these exams. An awful lot of partying by said freshmen helps to lower that bar. Just think, if they do succeed in lowering the drinking age to 18:eek:, then these tests will really get easy. Party On Freshman!!

[eyrobinson]

Yes, I agree with the retaining the information. Most of the stuff I so called "studied" for I could care less about. But the subjects I actually cared about I retained information and even studied more about the subject.

I guess I've always been a great test taker. They say that is the key. Throughout my younger years and college I've never really studied for a test and 99% of the time I've at least managed a C.

It just depends on the person and knowing yourself. How you study, learn, retain information, etc. Don't beat yourself up about and don't compare yourself to anyone.

[mindytowne]

I love reading this stuff. Everyone has such different points of view and everyone is right in whatever works for them. I'm just going to keep on working my way through things. I have until April 1 2009 to get 8 more exams done so I think I should have enough time.

[cookderosa]

I love reading this stuff. Everyone has such different points of view and everyone is right in whatever works for them. I'm just going to keep on working my way through things. I have until April 1 2009 to get 8 more exams done so I think I should have enough time.

>>

Mindy,
How is your psych study going?