New here (first CLEP ?)

[dmdean]

Good to get to know you, Jennifer. Thanks for writing! It's helpful to have an encouraging hs mom; I mostly get looks like, 'are you nuts?'. My son, Riley, is, on the other hand, ready to get started.

Glad to hear that the books I have will work. The idea about building your curriculum around your students is exactly what I will be doing my son's senior year. He already has enough credits to graduate and I really wanted something cool to do, like British Lit with British History (yes, my son loves that stuff), but then found this route. I will take the main groups of tests (history, english, maybe math) and count it all under that one heading. It will just highlight that we have topped it all off with 'testing'. You know how they (the state authorities) love to know that you have 'tested'. It just brings smiles to their faces.

So far, here's the plan. Take US History II first. and use the REA book and IC. That will give him a good start. Then, take Analyzing Lit and US History I later. Also, good to know how to study for that one! I probably have some books around the house too that will work.

I read about the Sociology test last night and didn't think that was where we needed to be right now. It kinda looks a bit too much at this point. Thanks for the suggestion, though, to whoever it was, I will keep it in mind for a later test.

As for the SAT, I had thought about doing this, but around here (in MN) it's just hardly ever done. The ACT rules, as they say. And since he's not going into a b&m college, I figured why stress him out needlessly. But I will think more about it. He is set to retake the ACT in June to get a few more points, which I know he is capable of. It's funny, it was his first big test outside of the home and he did pretty well. He does well with algebra and geometry; it's just the time factor with the ACT. He ended up having to guess on a few math questions because of the time limitations. So, we'll probably start with the College Math CLEP first!

As for the foreign language one, we are going to attempt French this coming year, after 4 years of Latin. Wish they had a CLEP for Latin, but I guess there wouldn't be very many takers.

Yes, that DL book is a good one. Got me started on all this stuff. One of the people in there is a friend and currently a missionary. Her name is Heidi Caasi. Maybe you can give that info to your children and see if they can find her!

Did you ever check into CollegePlus? It's Brad Voeller's extension of his book. You probably know about it. We applied, but the cost is holding me back.

BTW, I am considering giving this all a go myself too! I have 18 credits from my previous life, B.H. (before homeschooling), but I am now almost 49 years old and this all looks terribly daunting. I keep telling myself that if I learned Latin, I can learn anything! I'm so impressed that you have pursued your dreams. Maybe we can PM more about this sometime.

I'm so excited to be on this board!

Have a great day,
Margo

Margo,
Great questions. I too , like Jennifer am a homeschooling mom. I wrote an essay for College Plus for their coaching f(or myself at 41 )and didn't win the scholarship. However, I have recently learned YOU DO NOT NEED THEM AT ALL. People like Jennifer, GettingmyBA and all the great I/C posting students will guide you through the process and keep you motivated. I started TESC needing 40 credits in Sept. and lookng at 2 years to grad, I am still homeschooling 6 of my kids and very active in all aspects of our community. I will be done by July- only taking 36 weeks to finish. I/C is GREAT to learn all there is to know about getting it done as efficiently as possible. There are ways you can grad. without ever really attending any online classes. Testing is a great venue. These I/C students are so helpful.
Jennifer's suggestion about gearing education around testing is fantsatic. I have a dear friend who is an attorney and a homeschooling mom who does just that. Her kids have earned numerous scholarships this way.
Glad to meet you,
dmdean
PS
Someone told me recently that we shouldn't use our names on these forums because we are allowing ourselves the possibility of being 'googled'.