This website changed my life. I went from NOTHING to AAS, BS, MS, CISSP, in < 3 years

[Prloko]

:hurray:Congrats! I tried doing the same thing once and advising people and I think one halfheartedly made a gesture. It's better. I like the fact that its like our "secret". I was able to get into a good MBA program. I am taking classes right now with students who graduated from really good schools and have some really high level jobs (VP, Director's, Surgeons, etc.).

I got my degree in about a year with no debt.:coolgleam:

[Ladyplf]

This is a great inspirational story. I am a terrible student; I've failed and repeated courses, I procrastinate, it took me forever to finish my two Aleks courses but I keep chugging along and hopefully I will have a success story soon too. But one thing is for sure, I would have already quit and dropped out of school if not for this forum. The people here are so helpful and giving and supportive. I would have dropped out because of my fear of algebra, but I learned about Aleks here and passed two algebra courses! It took me a while, not like some people who pass on the first assessment but I passed. I log in here all the time just to find out if anybody has discovered a new way to earn credits or has a tip or trick to help me along the way.

My degree means a lot to me. I know it comes from a good reputable state school not a degree mill or a for profit scam school. I work hard for my grades, and there is no artificial grade inflation. At TESC they have us writing term papers on practically every course now. At first I feared and dreaded the capstone but now I understand how important it is to show not only the school but myself that I am a Bachelor of Arts worthy student and this is not a shortcut degree.

[LaterBloomer]

It's funny, but I don't even remember how I stumbled upon this site. Maybe when I was looking at the site about getting a BA in 4 weeks. Who knows? I, too, have found the information and the support here to be invaluable. As to sharing this with others? It must be like other forms of development. You have to arrive at it, and not be taken to it. Does that make sense?

[gingerbeefE]

It weird, when I tell people about getting their Bachelors so quickly they always seem so interested, but I have yet to seen anyone make a move to actually pursue it ( sad because all they people i try to convince are military so they get CLEP/DSSTs free). I even offer to help make them a degree plan, tell them all they have to do is send me the classes they have already completed.

[cookderosa]

It weird, when I tell people about getting their Bachelors so quickly they always seem so interested, but I have yet to seen anyone make a move to actually pursue it ( sad because all they people i try to convince are military so they get CLEP/DSSTs free). I even offer to help make them a degree plan, tell them all they have to do is send me the classes they have already completed.

I've done that too. Something interesting, and this might be a stormy comment, but that's NOT my intent to pick on CollegePlus in this specific instance (though I have in the past) but people pay a LOT of money to have people do their degree plan for TESC and then have an "advisor" tell them what CLEPs to take. A LOT of money. *thousands and thousands and thousands* to a middle man for an open enrollment college.
So, it's not facts, it's not logic. It's something: it's sociology and psychology, and I can't explain what "it" is, but it's something. Something makes people believe they can't do this on their own.
But, then they find this forum, and something makes people stay. Their fire is lit and they knock it out of the park. It's something alright, I just can't put my finger on it, but I think this appeals to a certain personality type.

[Ladyplf]

It weird, when I tell people about getting their Bachelors so quickly they always seem so interested, but I have yet to seen anyone make a move to actually pursue it ( sad because all they people i try to convince are military so they get CLEP/DSSTs free). I even offer to help make them a degree plan, tell them all they have to do is send me the classes they have already completed.

I think a lot of people are afraid of failure. I was ready to quit so many times when I didn't understand something or met with resistance. It was just fear of failure. When I first joined Aleks and got a low assessment I was ready to quit. It seemed like everybody on this forum bragged about passing with 70% on their first or second try. They talked about saving so much money by passing three courses in one month etc. I felt stupid and discouraged that I couldn't get it so easily. But I just decided to see how far I could go. And I plugged away at it and worked on my pie and slowly I started to fill it up. It took a few months not a few weeks for me but I feel like I learned the subjects that I missed learning in High School.

A lot of people didn't get a solid math education and are afraid to try as adults. Or they don't feel strong with their writing and fear doing the assignment in online classes or they don't know how to study for clep exams. This way of learning is not for everyone. It's not easy and some of us do need a little more hand holding. I don't mind that I am taking most of my courses online at Thomas Edison rather than testing out. Testing is not my favorite way of learning but for some courses or just to get my free electives I will use testing. This site is just a guide, a map to the road less traveled but people still have to put in the work and that's scary to a lot of people.