Decisions, decisions...

[Elinor]

I'm one month, and 18 credits, into my college journey :hurray:. I've taken 3 CLEPs (English Comp w/ essay, A&I Lit, and College Math) and I'm working on English Literature and Freshman College Comp. I had originally thought to work towards a history degree from Thomas Edison, but after reviewing some of the tests that I'd need to take I'm thinking about slightly changing directions. I'm NOT good a memorizing names and dates... Anyway, I'm now looking into the English degree, but I'm not sure how much I can test out of there. I'm just not familiar with all the available tests and how they correspond to the required courses.

If anyone has any pointers/tips/suggestions they would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks!

[PonyGirl93]

OK, here's the credit distribution for an English BA at TESC: Thomas Edison State College | BA in English Credit Distribution

Here's how CLEPs will fit in the general ed category:

I. General Education Requirements 60
A. English Composition 6 ---------- English Comp w/ essay
B. Humanities 12
Must include at least two subject areas
-------- Humanities/English Lit/American Lit/A&I Lit (A&I may go towards your major-specific courses, someone else will have to chime in)/Spanish/German/French
^^All of these are 6 credits, so you'll only have to pick 2

C. Social Sciences 12
Must include at least two subject areas
-----------Psych/Sociology/History/Western Civ/ (any or all)

D. Natural Sciences and Mathematics 12
Must include at least two subject areas
One college-level mathematics course required (3)
-----College Math/College Algebra/etc
One computer science course recommended (3)
-----Info Systems & Comp Apps
Other natural sciences/mathematics (6)
-----Biology/NaturalSci/Calculus/etc

E. General Education Electives 18
-----Anything goes :]

Also, if you haven't already ordered Freshman Comp, I just discovered recently that TESC only accepts one or the other (Eng. Comp or Fresh. Comp), so you may want to cancel that.

Hope this helps :]

ETA: Oh, and there's a lot more test options if you do DSST also, but I stick with CLEPs, maybe someone else can suggest some DSSTs to fit in this plan :]

[Elinor]

OK, here's the credit distribution for an English BA at TESC: Thomas Edison State College | BA in English Credit Distribution

Here's how CLEPs will fit in the general ed category:

I. General Education Requirements 60
A. English Composition 6 ---------- English Comp w/ essay
B. Humanities 12
Must include at least two subject areas
-------- Humanities/English Lit/American Lit/A&I Lit (A&I may go towards your major-specific courses, someone else will have to chime in)/Spanish/German/French
^^All of these are 6 credits, so you'll only have to pick 2

C. Social Sciences 12
Must include at least two subject areas
-----------Psych/Sociology/History/Western Civ/ (any or all)

D. Natural Sciences and Mathematics 12
Must include at least two subject areas
One college-level mathematics course required (3)
-----College Math/College Algebra/etc
One computer science course recommended (3)
-----Info Systems & Comp Apps
Other natural sciences/mathematics (6)
-----Biology/NaturalSci/Calculus/etc

E. General Education Electives 18
-----Anything goes :]

Also, if you haven't already ordered Freshman Comp, I just discovered recently that TESC only accepts one or the other (Eng. Comp or Fresh. Comp), so you may want to cancel that.

Hope this helps :]

ETA: Oh, and there's a lot more test options if you do DSST also, but I stick with CLEPs, maybe someone else can suggest some DSSTs to fit in this plan :]

This helps a lot; thanks! Do you know what it means when it says "must include at least two subject areas"? Like, for the humanities, will they accept the English Lit. and the American Lit. as two different subject areas?

Also, about the freshman comp, will TESC accept it as an elective?

Thanks again!

[NAP]

Definitely look at all of your options for your major, but before you decide against being a history major, I would recommend trying 1 or 2 history exams first.

I have taken 3 and I found them to be not fact-based, as in names and dates, but more about what happened and why. I would say that is what makes them college level exams. The Official CLEP Guide and DSST Fact Sheets will show example questions for each exam.

I posted my feedback about US History I + II and Civil War here:

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post52148

Keep us updated on your progress with this!

[PonyGirl93]

This helps a lot; thanks! Do you know what it means when it says "must include at least two subject areas"? Like, for the humanities, will they accept the English Lit. and the American Lit. as two different subject areas?

Also, about the freshman comp, will TESC accept it as an elective?

I'm thinking that those two would not count as two separate subject areas. But Humanities and on of them would. Then you could use the other lit one for electives.

No. That's what I was hoping for too, but apparently they consider them the exact same class, so it doesn't matter what you try to use the credits for it won't work.

Oh, and the requirements for the History major are almost exactly the same as the English one, so you can keep your major kind of undecided for a time, while you test out of most of it.

[P00057870]

What do you want your degree for? This is the first question. Where do you plan to go with it. If all you want is a degree, any degree-- you may chose a faster and cheaper path.

Your choice but it comes down to what you want to do.

Everyone here will be happy to help with guidance in getting there.

[Elinor]

@NAP - I've not definitely decided against history; I'm just exploring options. Even if I do choose English, I'll probably take some history tests. The thought of lots of history tests scares me a little.

@PonyGirl93 - I kind of thought I'd have to take the humanities CLEP. It sounds hard... Oh, well. And they don't accept the freshman comp as an elective! That's a bummer! I've heard that's one of the easiest 6 credits you can get! I guess it's understandable though.

@P00057870 - Yeah, I'm pretty much just going for a degree. When I first started looking, the history and the English degrees from TESC seemed most doable through testing, with my experience/interest, and relatively quickly. Are there other faster and cheaper options???

Thanks for y'alls response! Everyone has been very helpful here!

[papidingo39]

Hello all

I am getting ready to take my last test for my degree and I am just wondering if anyone here has taken the civil war and reconstruction test lately. I have heard that they were going to tweak the test and I just wanted to see if that happened or not.

thank you all in advance.

Randy

[PonyGirl93]

The thought of lots of history tests scares me a little.

@PonyGirl93 - I kind of thought I'd have to take the humanities CLEP. It sounds hard... Oh, well. And they don't accept the freshman comp as an elective! That's a bummer! I've heard that's one of the easiest 6 credits you can get! I guess it's understandable though.

The history tests really aren't too bad, if US History 1 is any indicator. It took a lot of studying (by far the most studying I've done for any of my tests so far), but not an outrageous amount.

Well, you could look into DSST tests, then you might be able to take one that was less general. But really, Humanities wasn't too bad, especially if you take English Lit (and Am Lit) first. Lit is half of the test, so that's really helpful. Then, there's tons of helpful resources & subject lists on this forum. If you're an IC member, the cards are supposedly right on.

[Lindagerr]

Your question kind of gets lost in that thread. Are you an IC member? If so check the specific exam feedback, if not post your question under general exam info.