Why are you earning credit this way?

[blaczkowitz]

I found this community a long time ago, and it blew my mind.  I remember taking my first CLEP exam and thinking that I'd found the best loophole in the whole wide world, and I'd better hurry up and finish my degree before the colleges got smart and quit letting people use CLEP.  It really changed my life.   So, I'm curious, why are you here? What attracted you to the forum and the way people here DIY a degree?

Save time.  Save money.  Prove initiative. (I got to brag 'I completed 25 credit-hours in one semester' which impressed my college appeals board - years ago I had problems/bad grades, and I showed them a hell of a turnaround this fall)  Knock some boring 'liberal arts and sciences' classes out of the way so that my money is being spent on classes I want instead of ones i'm forced to take.

I don't really think it's a loophole at all - you DO have to know the material.  Some material is easier to learn than others is all.

Lots of college already limit CLEP credit - those in my state of Minnesota seem to only let you get 30 credits max (one year), places like Harvard only allow 16 credits (half a year), although there are places allowing far more credit they may or may not "be as good" as degrees from elsewhere... just like do you recognize an engineering degree from MIT or Caltech as being no better than one from Rural City, Arkansas?  Places that allow CLEP already seem to semi-limit based on criteria relevant to their individual standing already.

[burbuja0512]

Great question! It was a combination of factors:

1) My younger brother had finished his degree QUICKLY using the old BAin4weeks site. However, when he really tried to sell me on the concept, I was terrified. Was it valid and could I do it?
2) I tried to go back to school the old-fashioned way. I did a couple of expensive online classes before realizing that at my pace, it would take me 5-6 years to finish, not to mention the money. I just didn't think I had it in me to finish
3) I got serious about the testing concept and found the forum after using the flashcards. I had encouragement from real people who had real degrees... and who even had continued postgrad work at "real" schools!

It took me 9 months from the time I got serious to the end. I made a schedule and I stuck to it. I can only remember rescheduling a CLEP that was too near Christmas. I was so motivated when I finished that I had no problem carrying the momentum into a Master's degree. Yes, I got some debt from my MBA, but it was THE perfect degree for my career and I have seen a major ROI in both monetary and personal satisfaction terms.

[quigongene]

I got a new job in May of 2017. Digging through the onboarding paperwork, I found that they did tuition reimbursement after one year of employment.

Did some Googling and found this and the sister forum, as well as the Wiki. I figured getting a degree (or 4) would help advance my career, even though I'm in my mid 40s.

I also thought getting a degree would set a good example for my toddler son in the future, as well as save me a small fortune knowing how to do this.

[keepsingin]

When I first began earning credit, I wasn't very invested in the idea, mainly started because I was too sick to hold a job, and it was nicer on my ego to say I'm a student instead of unable to work! I began with CLEPs because I heard that a lot of colleges accept that credit. I had absolutely no knowledge past "take as many CLEPs as you can!"; thankfully, I found this forum which helped piece together the rest for me. The more credits I earned, the more I remembered how much I love learning and started to really enjoy the process and get excited at the opportunities this degree is opening. I haven't exactly been on the fast track (those people are my inspiration, though!) but I feel pretty good about where steady plodding has got me so far!

[homeschoolmom1]

I am a former Assistant Professor at a State University turned homeschool Mom of 3. When I was giving lectures to undergrad students, they were recorded and students could watch them anywhere and at any time. Of course, my lecture halls were rather empty. I thought to myself "I am at best an average lecturer. If those students are smart, they find the best lecture on this topic online and watch that instead. But then again, why do they spend all this money then. Wouldn't it be nice if they could just self study and then take an exam to prove mastery?" 10 years later, I stumbled upon this forum and it is one of the 3 or 4 websites I go to every day. I have mapped out a plan for our gifted inventor/engineering/computer science/minecraft/pokemon son and we both enjoy that we can choose the method and provider that works for him, can jump through the societal hoop of a degree while minimizing useless busywork and still have plenty of time to "homeschool" which is pretty much do what interests you in our house. Oh, and the fact that we hope to have all 3 kids graduate without debt on a single income and still retire early and travel the world as backpacking 60 year olds (my dream in 15 years from now) - priceless.

[2L8]

- Cost (I basically earned credit for FREE! So that was a very big deal.)
- Time ( I'm loving the whole college thing but , I feel that if I have knowledge of a subject why sit through it)
- Flexibility ( I was homeschooled so studying for CLEP came much easier than sitting in a classroom)

As selfish as it sounds my motives for college are to : go to school primarily for my major , get in little to no student debt and master the subjects/major.

I have pretty much the same answer as you 2L8.  

When I was 18 I really didn't want to follow the crowd straight into college.  I also didn't feel that I was college material.  Unfortunately, the career I wanted requires a degree (and I wanted one for redundancy).    Anyways, after high-school I decided to work for a bit and start saving up money that I could potentially use in college later (I also checked out a community college but moved before starting any classes).   I personally don't like the culture on most college campuses today... I believe there is a lot of partying instead of learning, and a lot of group-think.  I moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and checked out the local state college there.   At $500 a credit hour, I didn't think I would ever afford it.   In addition to that, I didn't want to rack up a bunch of debt for something that I really wouldn't cherish anyways, I just wanted a degree.   After a bunch of research I found an article by Jay Cross on The Art of Manliness.  From researching that, I found you guys here. 

-Cost:  I still can't believe that there are third-party businesses that offer courses that are accredited, and that schools will accept them.  I will end up paying around $6.5K for my degree and will exit college without having debt hanging onto me for decades.

-Time:  I would say I have a "type A" personality, add that to the long winters in the U.P., and I thought I found a way to hack the system (Using self-paced learning methods meant for adult learners to take their time, but go 110% at them).  I'm going to be graduating sooner than peers that started college way before me.  I really started studying in November 2016 (I did a few free courses before that to chum the water).  I spent a whole three weeks in November  *attempting* to deer hunt, I went to firefighting training over the winter, I worked full-time for a month in early-summer, and then I finally moved to South Carolina in mid-summer.  I am now almost done with my degree.  I'm not bringing all these things up to make excuses, but to show that someone could potentially knock out a degree in half a year with the absence of interruptions.  This kinda ties into flexibility as well.  

-Flexibility:   The whole idea of really planning your degree is awesome.   I know people that go to the CC and take whatever courses are required and lots of "fun" electives.  Unfortunately, those electives might not transfer to 4-years as they expect.  The fact that I can choose which course  I want to take (e.g. for social science, Psychology, sociology, etc..) and then decide how to learn it (study for a CLEP, take a course through SL, read read read and PLA) --  I mean the whole thing is just amazing!

This fulfills my wants of really learning, but as fast and affordable as possible.  It also fulfills my goals of having a degree.  The only thing about using our method is the issue of "hands-on" degrees.  I think learning about fisheries and/or wildlife management, forestry, fire science, etc... would all be cool, but they require a lot of hands-on work.  Really though, it's the degree that matters the most to me and criminal justice will definitely suffice.

Great thread cookerosa!

 Exactly! CC is the way to go but many people don't want the " same/status" thing that goes with it. I had people tell me I'm throwing my life  away because I'm not going to a 4-year institution in which some big-named person graduated from. Today our educational situation is in a mess. But what most don't understand is that the mess is the message. All my life I was so worried about chasing this perfect 4.0 and getting a phenomenal score on my SATs (which I'm sorta glad I didn't take) , CLEPs made me realize just master it and just put in effort without stressing yourself. I adore everyone on this site because it doesn't feel a forum it feels like family

[rlw74]

I finished my associates in '95. My husband and I got married and moved from Ohio to Texas. The plan was for me to put him through school so we could be debt free and I could continue school when he finished. But when he finished things were a little more complicated. I had a really good job I couldn't quit, he was constantly traveling for work and we couldn't afford for me to quit anyway. So I tried to go part-time. He got into a great career but it required transferring every 2-3 years from state-to-state. OH to TX to OH to GA to MS to VA to MO to MS to IN and finally back to OH. All this in about 17 years. Every time I started back to school we would have to move. I started back to school three or four times. It actually became a joke that if I applied to a school it was a sure thing he would be transferred. Online education just wasn't what it is now. I wanted a B&M experience, an alma mater. I love in-person classes. But no way was I going to start that again. Online has ensured that no matter what happens I can finish, anywhere, anytime. Once I found out about TESU I felt I had to rush as fast as I could for fear they would change their minds. No way could getting a degree be this fast or easy. No 16 week semesters, crazy tuition fees etc. I could take an exam at 2 am or 2 pm. I could work around my families schedule. It has been an amazing experience. I'm now working a master's degree in the same way and I have plans to get a 2nd masters in something more practical later. I'm also loving that I'm debt free - no student loans! I tell everyone about TESU and this forum now.

[DavidHume]

I was working full time, 2nd shift Thursday-Sunday. I assembled a class schedule that was Monday-Thursday that would give me ~2 hours from when my classes ended on Thursday to get to work. Worked out swimmingly for a quarter. Then, state budget cuts led to the college shortening lab hours and my Thursday school schedule got slid to a later start, later finish. I needed to get work to let me come in an hour later. It would work, there was staff. Plus, it would then make my Thursday work schedule the same as my Friday, which made more sense. I sent emails, went to THREE meetings where I had to pitch my plan. All looked like it was going through, but at the last minute I was told I could come in the hour later, but they were going to dock it out of my accrued vacation time. So I did that, but then ran out of vacation time and it was a constant headache and anxiety every Thursday. I lost points on a group project because I had to leave at a specific time to make it to work.

Then I got mugged on the way to the last exam before the final. I made it through that quarter, completing my work the first week of the next quarter. I intended to soldier on, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I took a year off and when I was ready to start working on a degree again I knew I needed to find something that would not cause the issues I'd had previously. Anything in a classroom was out, since my experience taught me that the published time schedule for the year was really more of a hopeful suggestion.
Then I read something about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation work with the Alternative Credit Project. Then I did a whole lot of Googling. Then I was taking Uexcel exams. I already had the bulk of all my lower level credits at that point. And voila!

[eriehiker]

My wife had twins in 2013. They are fantastic, but it has been very difficult for me to spend so much time at home. I have never been a person to sit still for very long and I go crazy if I can't think about issues or anything, really, at a high level. Travel was out as an option, obviously. I had to scale back on the community/union activities that I was big into. I needed something. I initially tried the San Jose State Java programming course when MOOC's first became big. That was just a couple of months after the twins arrived. I worked on that with the twins on my lap and at midnight when they went to sleep. I made it through about half and had to give up at that time.

Then, while negotiating a collective bargaining agreement for the teaching staff at my school, I researched PD options and wondered if there were free or cheap college credit options. I found this site and the wiki and decided that this was the way to go. It is really kind of incredible.

[scaffdog]

I began thinking about completing a bachelor's degree about 8 years ago and waffled back and forth on starting, but always intended to do it the fast and cost effective way by testing out of as much as I could.  The last time I began thinking about it, I came across this forum and registered but never asked any questions.  About 10 days ago I decided to go for it and came back to this forum to gain information and guidance as well as to share some of my experiences to inspire the others the way many of the members here have inspired me.  

11 days in..21 CH earned.