ECE American Dream at TESC / ECEs in general

[kevinmanemane]

If you can answer any one of my million questions, please respond even if you don't know the rest. Any info you can give is helpful and much appreciated!

1. Is the ECE American Dream exam considered 6 Upper Level Humanities credits at TESC?

2. How hard is that exam?

I've only taken CLEPs/DSSTs at this point,

3. How different are the ECE exams?
4. Generally speaking: Harder?
5. Generally speaking: Longer?
6. Generally speaking: More in depth?


I have to take the paper/pencil version if I do an ECE exam:

7. How & when do I get the results are taking the test

8. If you're not enrolled at Excelsior and you want to send your taken ECE exams on a transcript to another school like TESC, what is the process for that?

9. Is it true that TESC does not have a payment plan for their $2,500 enrollment fee?

10. Is anyone aware of any kind of mini-student loan one can get to enroll. I've already spoken with my military education center and they said the GI Bill could help with class payments but not basic enrollment fees.

Its gonna take me like 5 months to save up 3 grand (and THATs if I'm GOOD about it which I know I won't be).

THANK YOU ALL WHO RESPOND!

[blu2blu]

I don't know about your ECE questions but I can tell you about TESC and the GI Bill. Call the Military affairs office over there they are very helpful, ask for a lady named Allison Hanson she is very knowledgeable. As a Military member you only have to pay the $75 enrollment/application fee. The post 9/11 GI Bill will take care of all technology and tuition fees etc.

This is how I got my AAS after testing out of everything: Send them your certificate of eligibility and have them designate you as a CH. 33 user. Once that is done you can apply for graduation, assuming you have all requirements met. The catch is that the GI Bill will force you to take at least one class in order for the VA to pay up. This class does not have to be part of your degree plan so they will pay for your class and graduation fee at the same time. You will receive your diploma before you finish this "fluff" class! So you are exempted from the Military residency requirement mentioned all over the website because that is for TUITION ASSISTANCE USERS ONLY. The VA will pay TESC directly you won't have to mess with that.

To get your certificate of eligibility go to the VONAPP website where you can fill out the forms online, I think the form is VA-2293 "Application for Education benefits." Its easy as cake you just need to put in your service dates, SSN, branch etc then your certificate will be in the mail in about two weeks.

And yes you can do all of this on active duty because that is my situation as well.

[rmroberts]

I can answer a few:
3. Setup isn't that different. Multiple choice just like clep and dsst.
4. Slightly harder.
5. Slightly longer
6. It varies just like diff cleps vary, but not really. Mayba a little
8. Just request a trancript like you would from any other school

Make sure you get the free study guide from EC when you sign up. It's pretty helpful.

[creative]

I have taken a few ECE's.... here is some info on my view of these tests...

Each of the ECE tests I took were: 130 questions, multiple choice, and you were given 3 hours to complete the exam. I never used the full 3 hours to take the exam-- but knowing I had that much time made me relax more and I didn't feel pressured for time--( this is a definite plus over the Cleps and Dsst with only 90 mins to take the exam.) I feel the ECE's are a little harder, the material is upper level so you are expected to grasp the concepts at that level. However, the thing that I like about ECE's is that you can download a free Exam Content Guide for each test-- which clearly outlines EXACTLY what they will cover on the test and what you need to study. They also tell you what textbook they want you to read so there are no surprises there. And if you benefit from practice tests-- which I definitely do-- they have 2 practice tests for each exam. Yes, the practice tests cost extra money and they aren't cheap ($65 for 2) but it is worth every penny if you need that peace of mind before the test. I took the practice tests for one of the ECE's that I was really nervous about and it was totally worth it. It helped me zero in on weak spots and helped me study/clarify details and put my mind at ease. I think Excelsior College has put together a quality product in their ECE tests. They make it very fair for you to know what to study and give you a complete outline. Plus if you utilize the "Specific Exam Feedback' on this forum for any ECE tests you will be set to go!

[irnbru]

Feedback points to American Dream being tough in comparison to other CLEPs/ECEs. People, members here, have done it. I think this is a partially essay-based test.

As far as I know, TESC does not have a payment plan for fees in the same way EC does; this was a factor when I came to choosing between them.

When you sign up for a basic (free) account with EC, there is an option on your account home page to request transcripts which makes the process pretty painless.

[Lindagerr]

1.) If ECE recommends 6 upper level credits TESC may not award that at first, but if you appeal after you take the exam they will probably give them to you. I took the Literacy Instruction in the Elementary school exam at 1st TESC gave me only 6 lower level credits, I copied the whole exam brochure from EC and e-mailed the PDF with an appeal letter to TESC, within 48 hrs I had my 6 Upper level (300 level) credits with the recommended course code.

2.) The exam I took was not easy, but I had not had as long to study as I had planned (only 1/2 the time) because of work responsibilities. I used some of the resources they recommended and thier practice test and I finished the exam in less then 3 hrs and got an A.

3.) I didn't think it was that much different, just sometimes a different way of wording questions, you need to take the time to read and understand what they are asking.

4,5 & 6 not really

7.) I took the exam by computer at my local peterson's testing center and got the results immediately

8.) see the answer above

9) no they do not offer any payment plans

10) I do not know this one.

Good Luck with this and let us know how it goes, If I ever do finish the History degree I will probably use this exam.