Upset over the Institutes Insurance Ethics Course

[katelynn]

I passed it cold like 86%.....don't sweat...it's mostly common sense...

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Haha it took me like 20 mins to go from nothing to adding it on my transcript. It was my first ACE course I ever took.

I used to have friends like you in high school. Common sense eventually revealed to me that they were very insecure people and would say whatever it took to make those around them feel inferior. Feel better soon, bud. 

[Merlin]

Guys... I'm genuinely really upset and need to vent. I spent a whole day and a half studying for the Institutes Insurance Ethics course. I know a lot of you guys said you finished it in a couple hours, but I wanted to feel certain I knew the material before attempting a test. I made a Word document of all the key information I thought I would need. I then spent 2 and a half hours on the test, all to end up with 68%. I feel so discouraged because that's such a close score, yet not close enough. I put in so much more effort than the average student on here invests into that course, and still failed. Could it be for my lack of knowledge about insurance in general? I'm only 20 years old and have no clue about any of it. Why does it seem so easy for everyone else on here? No part of me wants to spend another 2 hours on this test. Should I just guess my way through until I pass? I know it'd be foolish to pass up free credit, but I need advice on how to go about it for my second attempt. Thanks.

Everyone learns at their own pace. I would dare say that many of the people saying they can complete courses like this in a few hours with high scores are people who are already familiar with the material beforehand. Since this particular course isn't proctored, I'm sure some of those people just looked everything up as they went along and didn't really bother to learn the material at all. I have seen that approach recommended here in the forum. There may also be some who are just being misleading about the time it took for some reason.

Getting a degree or finishing a course isn't a race, so you should always go as fast or slow as you're comfortable going. Don't worry what other people say they are doing, you do you. I admit to being one of those people who tends to over study, but I'm doing this because I enjoy learning and want to master the material. I'm not just here because I want a piece of paper. I like to read everything and take notes as I go along. I don't rush and I will go back to revisit topics I don't understand until I understand concepts well enough to be able to explain them to someone else. Because of that, I tend to take longer to study, and I also tend to earn high marks in the courses I take, but that is the way I prefer to study.

Going into this course, I knew little about insurance but still managed to finish the course in about a day (well, technically I think it was like 8-10 hours split between two days). Yes, I probably could have done it quicker had I spent less time getting a handle on the material and didn't care about getting more than a passing score, or if I had wanted to just look up the answers while I went along, but that isn't my style.

My point being, pick a path that you enjoy and stick to that, you'll have more fun and probably learn more too. If you make it a competition, it might eventually start to feel too much like work and you could lose some of the enjoyment. Unless you need the competition to keep you motivated, then have at it. Just try not to let the claims of others discourage you.

[katelynn]

Good morning everyone, I just wanted to update you guys and let you know that I passed the Insurance Ethics course late last night. I wasn't going to sleep until I passed haha. My best score was 78%, which I'm pleased with. Thank you to Merlin, TexasTink, douknowme40, Linda, bjcheung77, and dfrecore. The encouragement from you guys really helped me. 

Also, I discovered that the first test attempt is considerably easier than the following ones. The questions don't even compare. That must explain why I was able to score 69% the first go around, which later dropped to the high 50s, and then the low 50s. If anyone reading this hasn't taken the course yet, don't worry if you don't pass the first time. Stick with it until the easier questions cycle back, which could take several attempts.

[armstrongsubero]

I passed it cold like 86%.....don't sweat...it's mostly common sense...

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Haha it took me like 20 mins to go from nothing to adding it on my transcript. It was my first ACE course I ever took.

I used to have friends like you in high school. Common sense eventually revealed to me that they were very insecure people and would say whatever it took to make those around them feel inferior. Feel better soon, bud. 

Thats not true I genuinely thought it was common sense and just went with my 'gut' feeling...with ethics you must have some idea of whats ethical or not due to socialization and the norms you have grown up with...I was sacred to look at the material while taking the exam cause it was my first time taking that type of exam and I just did it.

It has nothing to do with feeling better sbout myself. I felt less stress when I read about people passing it easily and got me realexed to do it. Cause I dont know about you but when people make it sound difficult I panic a little so I just wanted to reassure the OP that he has nothing to worry about.

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Congrats on passing by the way!

[katelynn]

I passed it cold like 86%.....don't sweat...it's mostly common sense...

---

Haha it took me like 20 mins to go from nothing to adding it on my transcript. It was my first ACE course I ever took.

I used to have friends like you in high school. Common sense eventually revealed to me that they were very insecure people and would say whatever it took to make those around them feel inferior. Feel better soon, bud. 

Thats not true I genuinely thought it was common sense and just went with my 'gut' feeling...with ethics you must have some idea of whats ethical or not due to socialization and the norms you have grown up with...I was sacred to look at the material while taking the exam cause it was my first time taking that type of exam and I just did it.

It has nothing to do with feeling better sbout myself. I felt less stress when I read about people passing it easily and got me realexed to do it. Cause I dont know about you but when people make it sound difficult I panic a little so I just wanted to reassure the OP that he has nothing to worry about.

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Congrats on passing by the way!

Thank you for taking the time to explain that, I really appreciate it. I apologize for the misunderstanding/miscommunication. Sometimes it's impossible to understand the intention behind what someone says over text, and words can easily be misconstrued. The way your reply was worded (not blaming you) made it sound a tad condescending which is why I, along with dfrecore, took it that way. I understand now where you were coming from. 

Thank you for the congratulations. Have a wonderful day!

[sanantone]

I passed it cold like 86%.....don't sweat...it's mostly common sense...

---

Haha it took me like 20 mins to go from nothing to adding it on my transcript. It was my first ACE course I ever took.

I used to have friends like you in high school. Common sense eventually revealed to me that they were very insecure people and would say whatever it took to make those around them feel inferior. Feel better soon, bud. 

Thats not true I genuinely thought it was common sense and just went with my 'gut' feeling...with ethics you must have some idea of whats ethical or not due to socialization and the norms you have grown up with...I was sacred to look at the material while taking the exam cause it was my first time taking that type of exam and I just did it.

It has nothing to do with feeling better sbout myself. I felt less stress when I read about people passing it easily and got me realexed to do it. Cause I dont know about you but when people make it sound difficult I panic a little so I just wanted to reassure the OP that he has nothing to worry about.

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Congrats on passing by the way!

That was the original problem. She had the idea that it would be easy because of others' experiences, but it hasn't been easy for her. Your post came off as being braggadocious and belittling. 

Ethics have a lot of gray area with different schools of thought and variations between cultures. I've taken ethics courses as continuing education for a certification and for a degree program. I didn't have any problems in those courses, but I failed the first time I took the Institutes test cold. I know how ethics philosophies apply to the criminal justice field, but I had to think differently for an insurance course.

Ignore this. I should mind my own business and not defend anyone here except for a few people.

[Lordoftimeywimey]

I meant to comment earlier than this but- congrats!! Your experience sounds exactly like mine with this course. It took a few tries and frustrated me to no end at first, especially due to what everyone else seemed to think of the course (so easy, took me 5 minutes and got a 90%,etc.). Still passed with the minimum score but guess what? It counts! Perseverance is key, and the amount you had with this course is admirable! It is easy to just sit down, take an exam, pass with flying colors, rinse wash repeat. It is another thing entirely to go through what you did to pass, so I am REALLY proud of you!

[davewill]

People have the same problem with Personal Finance. Most of the regulars here are more "established" and have been dealing with loans, mortgages and investments for years, so think it's easy. When a student fresh out of high school takes it, it's all new to them and a little confusing. There's also the phenom of math people thinking various math courses are easy, good writers thinking the courses that take lots of writing are easy, tech people thinking CIS courses are easy, etc... That's why I cringe a little when people ask for the "easiest" test or course. It's all relative to your existing knowledge and aptitudes.

[armstrongsubero]

People have the same problem with Personal Finance. Most of the regulars here are more "established" and have been dealing with loans, mortgages and investments for years, so think it's easy. When a student fresh out of high school takes it, it's all new to them and a little confusing. There's also the phenom of math people thinking various math courses are easy, good writers thinking the courses that take lots of writing are easy, tech people thinking CIS courses are easy, etc... That's why I cringe a little when people ask for the "easiest" test or course. It's all relative to your existing knowledge and aptitudes.

I couldn't agree more. Easy is relative to your own experiences and abilities, I guess ethics would be easy for me because the nature of my job demands it. I guess persons with more experience in the workplace would think the ethics course is easy whereas someone fresh out of school would have to study for it I guess.

[katelynn]

I meant to comment earlier than this but- congrats!! Your experience sounds exactly like mine with this course. It took a few tries and frustrated me to no end at first, especially due to what everyone else seemed to think of the course (so easy, took me 5 minutes and got a 90%,etc.). Still passed with the minimum score but guess what? It counts! Perseverance is key, and the amount you had with this course is admirable! It is easy to just sit down, take an exam, pass with flying colors, rinse wash repeat. It is another thing entirely to go through what you did to pass, so I am REALLY proud of you!

Wow, thank you so much for the kind words! I didn't hear that a lot growing up, so you have no idea how much that means to me. 

This thread has taught me how important it is for us to share our academic struggles and not be concerned about receiving judgment for it.  I had a hard time finding anyone in this community who related to me on this course/exam, but this thread really seemed to encourage everyone to be more open about their own difficult experiences. There are other people out there that will find comfort knowing they aren't alone and they certainly aren't any less educated just because they had a less than popular experience. I'm really happy with all of us.