which combo of Sophia courses?

[ACI]

I'm new to Sophia.  I'm understanding that it is $80 per month, where you can take 2 courses at a time, finish them quickly and then take another 2...which would allow you to complete 4 courses in one month.  Is that correct?

I'm wondering which courses would be the best to take together, to be able to complete 4-5 courses in a month without an overwhelming amount of work. These are the ones that are needed:

Intro to Sociology
Intro to Ethics
Intro to Psych
US History II
Communication at Work
Visual Communications
Accounting
Business Law
Principles of Finance
Microeconomics

[rachel83az]

Honestly, you can do more than 4-5 per month, but also depends on your schedule. For Ethics, you need Greek Philosophers also; It just makes everything easier.

It's best to pair a course with Touchstones (such as Greek Philosophers) with a course that doesn't have them (such as Visual Communications). By doing this, you can continue working on the one without Touchstones while you're waiting for the other's Touchstones to be graded. Check https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List to see which ones have Touchstones and which don't.

[ACI]

Honestly, you can do more than 4-5 per month, but also depends on your schedule. For Ethics, you need Greek Philosophers also; It just makes everything easier.

It's best to pair a course with Touchstones (such as Greek Philosophers) with a course that doesn't have them (such as Visual Communications). By doing this, you can continue working on the one without Touchstones while you're waiting for the other's Touchstones to be graded. Check https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List to see which ones have Touchstones and which don't.

Oh, thanks!  I didn't realize that.  Is that because the touchstone might be in the middle of the class and you wouldn't be able to move on unless it was graded?

Can you tell me why I need Greek Philosophers along with Ethics?  Because it's easier, or am I missing a requirement?  

What if the touchstone grade isn't back by the end of the month?  Is the class not counted?

[rachel83az]

Oh, thanks!  I didn't realize that.  Is that because the touchstone might be in the middle of the class and you wouldn't be able to move on unless it was graded?

Kind of. For instance, the Touchstone for Business Law comes at the end of Unit 3 (IIRC). You can keep going after submitting your Touchstone, you don't have to wait for a grade, but there are only 4 units. You'll likely finish the course a couple of days before the Touchstone comes back from grading. If you have two courses where you're waiting for Touchstones to be graded before you can finish them, you can't do anything else. 

It is technically possible to message support and ask for a third course to be unlocked, but I wouldn't count on it. You might finish on a weekend or during non-business hours and have to waste time waiting for them to be available.

Can you tell me why I need Greek Philosophers along with Ethics?  Because it's easier, or am I missing a requirement?  

The Ethics course is (mostly) a Philsophy course. A lot of it won't make much sense if you didn't do Greek Philosophers first. It is possible to complete it, it'll just be more difficult than it needs to be and may take you significantly longer. If you want, you can do everything except the Touchstones for Greek Philosophers and then drop the class. 

What if the touchstone grade isn't back by the end of the month?  Is the class not counted?

The courses are not time-limited. If you don't finish in a month, but you pay for another month, you are able to finish the course and get credit. For the courses you've listed, though, the Touchstones usually take 3-5 days at most to be graded.

[bjcheung77]

With Sophia.org, I usually recommend completing courses that have no touchstones first, (or completing 1 course with and 1 course without a touchstone so you don't have to wait for grading on both/either courses).

Another thing to note is, I recommend having a second monitor for reviewing course materials/PDF content, while you do the quiz on the main monitor or exams. You can multi-task and get things done so much faster!

[ACI]

Oh, thanks!  I didn't realize that.  Is that because the touchstone might be in the middle of the class and you wouldn't be able to move on unless it was graded?

Kind of. For instance, the Touchstone for Business Law comes at the end of Unit 3 (IIRC). You can keep going after submitting your Touchstone, you don't have to wait for a grade, but there are only 4 units. You'll likely finish the course a couple of days before the Touchstone comes back from grading. If you have two courses where you're waiting for Touchstones to be graded before you can finish them, you can't do anything else. 

It is technically possible to message support and ask for a third course to be unlocked, but I wouldn't count on it. You might finish on a weekend or during non-business hours and have to waste time waiting for them to be available.

Can you tell me why I need Greek Philosophers along with Ethics?  Because it's easier, or am I missing a requirement?  

The Ethics course is (mostly) a Philsophy course. A lot of it won't make much sense if you didn't do Greek Philosophers first. It is possible to complete it, it'll just be more difficult than it needs to be and may take you significantly longer. If you want, you can do everything except the Touchstones for Greek Philosophers and then drop the class. 

What if the touchstone grade isn't back by the end of the month?  Is the class not counted?

The courses are not time-limited. If you don't finish in a month, but you pay for another month, you are able to finish the course and get credit. For the courses you've listed, though, the Touchstones usually take 3-5 days at most to be graded.

Thank you!  Are there any other courses I've listed (or not listed) that should be taken in a certain order?  Should we replace  Communication at Work or Visual Communications with Greek Philosophers?

CIS Degree Plan (with concurrrent CS degree) - Google Sheets

[rachel83az]

Honestly, I would keep all three. Visual Communications has basic design groundwork if he does something like go into app design in the future. Communication at Work covers modern workplace communications, information which can be invaluable to a young person who is going to enter the workplace relatively soon. And Greek Philosophers makes Intro to Ethics easier.

All three are pretty quick and easy courses.

[booklovingirl]

Can you tell me why I need Greek Philosophers along with Ethics?  Because it's easier, or am I missing a requirement?  

The Ethics course is (mostly) a Philsophy course. A lot of it won't make much sense if you didn't do Greek Philosophers first. It is possible to complete it, it'll just be more difficult than it needs to be and may take you significantly longer. If you want, you can do everything except the Touchstones for Greek Philosophers and then drop the class. 

I did Intro to Ethics without Greek Phil and had no problems at all. It was fairly easy and I've never studied Greek Philosophers outside of Sophia either.  So, YMMV.  I would recommend doing the trial first (up through first set of challenges) and see how it goes for you.

[studyingfortests]

One of my friends knocked out 7 courses (21 credits) in a month when they were having their $40 special, and then another 15 credits the following month... while working full time. So it's possible to get a lot done even with a full-time commitment, depending on how much you prioritize it.

He alternated courses with capstones with ones that did not have them so he'd always have something open to work on. In a couple of cases, he reached out to support to have a third course added (while waiting for grading) and they were very responsive.

[ACI]

Can you tell me why I need Greek Philosophers along with Ethics?  Because it's easier, or am I missing a requirement?  

The Ethics course is (mostly) a Philsophy course. A lot of it won't make much sense if you didn't do Greek Philosophers first. It is possible to complete it, it'll just be more difficult than it needs to be and may take you significantly longer. If you want, you can do everything except the Touchstones for Greek Philosophers and then drop the class. 

I did Intro to Ethics without Greek Phil and had no problems at all. It was fairly easy and I've never studied Greek Philosophers outside of Sophia either.  So, YMMV.  I would recommend doing the trial first (up through first set of challenges) and see how it goes for you.

Thanks!  So, you never studied Greek Philosophers at any time?