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+--- Thread: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? (/Thread-Difficulty-level-Coopersmith-vs-Uexcel)
Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - Amberlinjeanne - 05-07-2022
I am planning on taking both Social Psychology and Abnormal Psychology. I like that ECE/UEXCEL is graded, but I’ve heard that the wording on the exams is a tad tricky. I have almost zero knowledge about Coopersmith but I know they have quite a few UL courses. Does anyone have any feedback on which format was more manageable? I am not looking for easy necessarily, but the lesser of two evils.
Thanks in advance!
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - Ideas - 05-07-2022
I have not taken a UExcel but from reading about it, I would recommend Coopersmith. I have taken Coopersmith courses.
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - bjcheung77 - 05-07-2022
I agree with Ideas, Coopersmith basically is better because of the relative ease to complete the exam. You study their materials (and if you want, review the textbook but it's not needed). You're going to be tested on the presented materials, be prepared for it and you'll pass with flying colors... UExcels are generally harder, but still doable if you want to take the exam for graded credit.
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - Ideas - 05-07-2022
It's difficult to get A's on the UExcels. They provide stats on what percentage of test takers get A's and I think it's too low.
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - bluebooger - 05-07-2022
I did the excelsior exams about 10 years ago
Statistics = A
Lifespan Developmental Psychology = A
Abnormal Psychology = A
Research Methods in Psychology = A
bought these
https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-EZ-101-Study-Keys-Baucum/dp/0812095804/
https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Barrons-Nancy-Melucci-2004-01-01/dp/B01FKSGMX0/
https://www.amazon.com/CliffsQuickReview-Developmental-Psychology-George-Zgourides/dp/0764586149/
https://www.amazon.com/Statistics-Without-Tears-Non-Mathematicians-Classics/dp/0205395090/
got these at the library
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/great-ideas-of-psychology
these next two were also at the library, but i liked them so much I bought them (each on sale for about $30)
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/theories-of-human-development
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/biology-and-human-behavior-the-neurological-origins-of-individuality-2nd-edition
watched these
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQBxBn90xZaIvS5gxsvErSm7cV8BKuClx
studied this on the subway while on the way to the testing center
https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Abnormal-CHART-PSYCHOLOGY-ABNORMAL-Other/dp/B00QO3RB9A
the exams were not that difficult
and I didn't spend hours every day studying, I jsut watched the vidoes insteawd of watching tv, and the books were simple to read
the DSST
Introduction To World Religions
and
Introduction to the Modern Middle East
were MUCH more difficult
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - dfrecore - 05-07-2022
The Social Psych UExcel exam is the only way to get the UL requirement met for the Social Psych requirement at TESU. So you don't really have better options.
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - studyingfortests - 05-07-2022
I can only speak to one UExcel exam I took, which is Research Methods. I went into it expecting it to be difficult, especially since I am a pretty major math phobe.
I studied for the exam for several weeks (I had no prior background with statistics or research methods), did the Study.com Uexcel prep class and also studied the free flashcards at Quizlet.
I didn't feel super confident going into the exam, and expected a B or a C... but came out with an A. A friend who was studying with me at the same time and took the test in the same week also got an A.
So perhaps that exam wasn't that difficult, or perhaps we were just well prepared.
As a side note: Anyone who is at TESU, you can "double dip" by taking the UExcel prep course, which is then about 95% of the Study.com Research Methods course. If you take both the UExcel exam and SDC Research Methods course, you're studying almost identical material, and can transfer in two separate classes. SDC comes in as a 100 or 200 level intro to research methods, while UExcel comes in as a 300 level, and both can count toward your AOS.
The same friend has also taken a bunch of the Coopersmith psychology/social work courses and says that the exams were not that hard. He didn't read much from the required textbooks, just studied the long powerpoint and the 'crash course' one. However, at least in the psych/social sciences, especially in the drug/alcohol counseling courses, some of the info is wildly outdated and is not even consistent with the textbook, so make sure you study the crash course, as some of the answers they are expecting are not correct with current research. Just a heads up.
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - Jonathan Whatley - 05-08-2022
I received A in every UExcel I took. I organized my study around the exam content guides and the textbooks identified in each. These were Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Sociology, Political Science, Psychology of Adulthood and Aging, Foundations of Gerontology, and Research Methods in Psychology.
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - Kab - 05-08-2022
(05-07-2022, 10:09 PM)dfrecore Wrote: The Social Psych UExcel exam is the only way to get the UL requirement met for the Social Psych requirement at TESU. So you don't really have better options.There is no other way?
Not even coopersmith?
RE: Difficulty level - Coopersmith vs Uexcel? - rachel83az - 05-08-2022
Coppersmith's Social Psych is LL.
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sample_TESU_BA_Psychology_Degree_Plan