What an Ivy League Phd thinks of us

[Namivie]

I don't think it's just people looking down at EC, I think a lot of people tend to look down at alternative credit of any kind.

Unlike many of you, I'm at a brick & mortar school. When people find out I've really taken advantage of transferring hours from the junior college and almost maxed out the # hours of clep available to me by my college, they react in one of two ways. The first basically boils down to "oh really. It's a shame that you've missed out on all the wonderful classroom experiences." The second reaction is "I wish I had done that, or I wish I had known that was an option."

I've taken advantage of almost every kind of class format available - mini sessions, online sessions, blended sessions, television sessions, and regular sessions. Clep tests are harder than many of the comprehensive finals I've had, plus you have to learn the information yourself.

Frankly, I'm proud of all of us on these boards. We have a vision of what we want (a degree) and we're working hard to get it. We're earning it faster and more cost efficiently than many other students. I'm glad that people like your PhD friend are giving us credit where credit is due. I wish more people did - we've earned it!

(stepping off my soapbox, looking sheepishly around)

[bat21]

Honestly, I could care less what other people may think. My degree is R/A same as all these other college degrees. It really is about what you learned and how you apply it, not about who has the purdiest pedigree.

Which school you go to, really does not matter, only if you have inadequacies or issues with it.

My degree is worth about as much as the next guys in my field.

[blueberry]

I was thinking this issue over last night, and as much as I hate to admit it, before I started working on my degree, I also looked down on people who tested out of classes. But now that I've done it, (and almost finished!!!) I know that when you study for a CLEP or DSST, YOU REALLY KNOW THE MATERIAL. You don't get the credits for nothing. Friends who are taking that class in school will call me to ask questions, and I almost always know the answer. I always feel like saying, "SO THERE!" when that happens!

[P00057870]

Admissions fee, enrollment fee, graduation fee, literacy course, and 6 EC exams and practice exams all add up to a pile of cash. Maybe it was closer to 3k, but still a lot.

Interesting....but you signature shows you accomplished about 34 credits in six weeks?? and finished a degree that B&M college could have taken a few more years, if you were working full time also. I guess, overall, it still was reasonable when factoring in alternative costs and time saved in accomplishing your goals.

Thanks for sharing.

[malcs]

Interesting....but you signature shows you accomplished about 34 credits in six weeks?? and finished a degree that B&M college could have taken a few more years, if you were working full time also. I guess, overall, it still was reasonable when factoring in alternative costs and time saved in accomplishing your goals.

Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, no complaints about the money. I was just saying that a b&m school could have taken my money as well, if they accepted large numbers of transfer credits. Too bad they enjoy such great pleasure making you retake things.

You are right, this would have taken me a full year and a half at a local school to complete the 42 credits that I have earned in the past 2 months. I can't do this pace anymore, so I am slowing it down to a course every three weeks or so. My priority has shifted to finding work again now that I have my BS.

[P00057870]

You should be proud of all you have accomplished and at the same time making use of the time you had available. I'm amazed at how many people I know at this point in time who have lost jobs and yet are not really applying themselves to either get retrained or use this time to complete degrees in progress. Looks like you made the best use of your time and now are adjusting your plan to meet your needs.

Great job! ...and encouraging to the rest of us.

[mongoose65]

I find it to be mostly jealousy. When I tell them I got 24 legit credits in 4 weeks (4 6cr CLEPS) for $400, they are so mad they have nothing to do but try to poo poo what I'm doing. I just laugh. They all thought I had a degree anyway. For the record I work with many educators with advanced B&M degrees who can't use email or work a cell phone (true story, I swear, I have to train them, LOL). I think B&M's are mostly about raking in the dough and are in collusion with credit agencies to keep people in debt for the 1st half of their lives!! It's all a scam. In 10 years, this type of degree program will be the hottest thing. There will be a revolution. We are the pioneers! We're the founding fathers (and mothers)!!

Vive le revolucion! (hmm, I don't know French but maybe I should work on it. 12 potential credits for the foreign language CLEPs) LOL!!

[Ruddigore]

In 10 years, this type of degree program will be the hottest thing. There will be a revolution. We are the pioneers! We're the founding fathers (and mothers)!!

A most curious thought. I wonder if this will indeed be the case. Many refer to this sort of learning as the way of the future, but will B&M colleges really let it happen? Or are they powerless before the onslaught of test-based learning? (Okay, that sounded pretty cheesy... Oh, well.)

[Levi]

A most curious thought. I wonder if this will indeed be the case. Many refer to this sort of learning as the way of the future, but will B&M colleges really let it happen? Or are they powerless before the onslaught of test-based learning? (Okay, that sounded pretty cheesy... Oh, well.)

This is just my opinion, but, I think B&M colleges really will be obsolete sometime in the future (maybe not too far away). People like to do things faster and cheaper. It seems as if the only thing standing in the way is tradition...

But as Mark Twain once said, "An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven't been done before."

[barcotta]

Yes it does feel good to finish! I don't know what I plan to do with it...but I'll just be happy to have it!

Here's some more wise words from the PHD....

non frog to me
show details 9:03 AM (4 hours ago) Reply

I can tell you're an academic at heart. it's obvious from talking to
you that you are smart, and that you soak up information and like it.
Not having a college degree doesn't make you any less smart or
academic, but I can understand it really feeling like you just SHOULD
have it. That makes sense to me.

You deserve it.

Funny thing is I have had friends from the local community college or the HR manager who received her degree from the state university tell me my degree will not be legit despite Excelsior's accreditation.

It's the PHD who has given me the most encouragement and thinks this is just another path to a degree! Of course he was also homeschooled during his elementary years so he knows that learning doesn't just take place in the classroom.

There have been threads on this issue in the past but this exchange reveals yet another wrinkle. I find it interesting that your PhD friend is so understanding and supportive, as are people like Anne Mulchahy--CEO of Xerox, but friends slugging through community college and your obviously uninformed HR manager are not. Here's an exchange I posted previously with regard to this issue:

Setting:

My daughter's friend was visiting our home and her father arrived to pick her up. Let's call him "Bob."

Bob: Hey, what's going on?
Me: Oh, I'm just studying. I'm trying to finish up my degree.
Bob: That's great! (stepping forward--clearly interested) What school are you going to?
Me: Excelsior College. It's a program mostly for adults based in NY.
Bob: Nice. (all of a sudden, it looks like someone's calling him for dinner). OK Sally, we gotta go. (as he starts backing out the door).

Bob, of course, was a graduate of very noteworthy California universities and has a graduate degree. Without saying anything, he made it clear how much HE values anything less than attending a noteworthy CA university.

Now, what I DIDN'T post previously is what Bob is doing today. Bob worked for a large health care provider in their marketing dept until he decided to go into business for himself. That business failed. Then he got a job selling inventory software. That business ultimately failed. He now has a job auditing light fixtures in large warehouses for a company that proposes to replace them and share in the electricity savings. While this may end up being a fine job, it doesn't sound like one you would be aiming for with an impressive, expensive graduate degree--and certainly doesn't make me wish I had followed his path.

So, without any undue disrespect to people like Bob, I think it's important to consider the source. Most people only have a handful of jobs in their career--so the only opinions you really need to worry about are those of the people that stand between you and a job you want. You're still young, but the older you get, the less your education will impact your future employment and the more your presence and experience will count anyway.

P.S. BTW...I think maybe that PhD friend of yours likes you