My Journey

[dmasters1]

First of all, let me say I am glad to be here and be able to pursue a much desired education after many, many years of hard work, and very bad health.

I am currently 55 and have had a severe form of Arthritis since I was 5 years old. I've been confined to a wheelchair since I was 10 years old. If that was not enough, I was diagnosed with early stage Prostate cancer in 2007.

I grew up in a very rural area of the US, and graduated from high-school in 1972. At that time, there were no accessible colleges in my area, and since I came from a family that was not wealthy, I had no chance to move to a place that was more accessible (not many were in those days).

I attended a technical school for broadcasting and earned an FCC 1st Class License (since changed to a General License), but considering my poor physical condition, the license was of little use.

After a few years of looking desperately for a place to go to school, I met a rehab person in my area in early 1979 that got me enrolled in a computer programming course for disabled people in Atlanta, Ga, at Georgia Tech.

I completed the course and got a job with a major corporation that took me to three different locations in the US. I became successful and rose to the level of mid-level management in Information Systems. My health remained stable until 2004, and after working for more than 23 years I had to retire for medical reasons.

So, here I am today--still desperately wanting a degree, and if I may be so bold as to share a dream, I want a PhD.

About a year ago, I completed my cancer treatments and facing extreme fatigue, I decided to enroll in my local community college. Since enrolling, I have earned 12 hours of credits in core classes with a 3.75 (bad prof in a History class) GPA. All A's and one B. All on-campus classes.

As you may have already guessed, it is going to take me much time to complete even a BA degree at my current pace. Therefore I am going to try to CLEP at least 18 hours (all my CC will accept) via testing.

I am a fairly smart guy, and have a ton of life experience, but sadly it means nothing toward a degree on paper, and the acceptance into a good Grad school.

So, what is my point in writing this? Well, I am always hoping someone else will magically be able to shine light on a path that I have failed to find in my research to help me accomplish my goals quicker than it appears possible at this time. Any ideas would be appreciated.

By the way, my time at Ga Tech was long before their retained records for CE credits, so basically I have nothing other than friends that attended at the time to prove I was there.

My first goal is to be able to get into a good Grad school, hopefully, SMU, but that seems so far away.

If I have missed anything, please let me know...

Regards...

[skyfall123]

Welcome to the forum! I found this forum back in 2007, after deciding to complete a degree that I had begun in the late 1970's. In spring of 2007 I had taken a couple of IT courses at the CC my sons were attending. I thought that my only option for completing a BA degree was to complete a new (second) AA here in Florida, and then transfer to UCF in order to complete the BA. I went in to sign up for an algebra course, and was told by the "counselor" that I must first take a remedial math course that carried no value. That experience basically pissed me off, and led to my finding this site. After reading hundreds of threads here, I set out to complete a Business degree from Excelsior. From June 2007 to December 2007, I completed 72 credits (most through testing) and earned a BS Business in about the same time it would have taken to complete the remedial math course that the counselor suggested. hilarious

Later I began one of two Grad degrees at UCF... my BS degree from Excelsior was welcomed with open arms. I'm glad I was forced to reconsider my method of achieving a Bachelors. It saved my a great deal of time and money.

I would suggest that you consider speeding up the process by getting a degree from one of the big three (Excelsior, Thomas Edison State College, or charter Oak State College).

Others will add to this thread and elaborate on various ways to quickly achieve your dream. My point is to consider other options. If you are absolutely hung up on getting a BA degree from a top 100 school, then I would point you here Indiana University Online and Distance Education, Undergraduate, Associate Bachelor's Degrees, General Studies
or here Home | BA or BS in Interdisciplinary Studies (External Degree Program) | Academic Outreach | The University of Alabama
or here Penn State | Earn an Online Masters Degree, Bachelors Degree or Associate Degree

If however you want to quickly earn a BA degree and move into a Masters program, then I would say Big 3 all the way.

Good luck with your journey....you have come to the right place!

Tom

[perrik]

I can't add much to what Geezer said. But I will anyway.

You have so many options, it's hard to know where to start! Taking CLEPs towards a community college AA or AS and then transferring to a 4-year university is one way to do it - the entirely sensible, entirely traditional, and painfully slow way.

Many of us here are students at what we call the Big 3: Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State College, and Charter Oak State College. The Big 3 are regionally-accredited institutions which were created by state university systems in the early 1970s (Excelsior is now private, but TESC and COSC remain public) as a flexible alternative to traditional university programs. To graduate from a traditional college, you must meet its residency requirement, meaning that you must take a certain percentage of your degree coursework at that college while enrolled at that college. The University of Michigan is a typical example - you may transfer in up to 60 credits, and then must take at least 30 of the final 60 credits at U of M. The University of Maryland's University College is geared specifically towards working adults and will accept up to 90 credits from other sources (including up to 60 credits earned by exam); however, you are then required to take 30 credits from UMUC.

The Big 3 don't have residency requirements. Technically, Charter Oak and Excelsior's School of Business are 2.5%-residency programs, as each requires a single 3-credit course to be taken in residence. Otherwise, you may transfer in all your degree credit from other sources. All three offer coursework, but many students graduate without taking a single credit from their alma mater! (my degree is through Excelsior, but none of my credits were earned from Excelsior)

So, what does this mean for you? If you are capable of self-directed study, you can pursue credits from a variety of sources and then transfer them to one of the Big 3 towards your undergrad degree. Traditional semester-based classes are one option, but there are many self-paced classes available (options include Louisiana State University, Brigham Young University, and Ohio University). Ohio University, Excelsior, and TESC offer their own for-credit exams in a wide variety of subjects, and of course there are the standardized CLEP and DANTES exams. Excelsior and COSC also accept GRE subject exams for credit.

As a potential grad student at a traditional program, you may want to take at least some of your upper-level credit through regular coursework rather than through exam or self-paced coursework. SMU is typical in that grad school applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from those who can attest to their academic potential. Professors are handy for that sort of thing. :p

[dmasters1]

Geezer, Perrik, Thanks for the replies. At a minimum I am happy with technology in our current time. I just wish it would have been available way-back-when.

I think my problem with this process sprouts from having so much life's experience, and being a fairly sharp guy, yet having to trudge through core classes at a snells-pace.

CLEP seems to be the way to go--at least as far as I can pursue it within the boundaries of my local CC--but I want to keep an eye on the big picture, and that is grad school in a good institution.

I also must try to balance my desire to achieve a goal with my real-life problems that limit my energy, and perhaps my longevity. Knowing that I will probably never use a degree in a work environment again, I have to maintain a balance between desire and reality.

I want to take a moment to make a comment for those that may come along later and read these comments: I have found no better medicine, even in the face of severe, life threatening problems, than putting your mind to work achieving a desired goal. Most have life's goals, so figure it out and go for it!

I happen to look at the University of Texas website and see that in 2010 they will be offering a BA degree on-line. So, if traditional old UT can offer distant learning then it seems like this will become the norm for most traditional schools very soon. Good for me and others that must pursue an education via non-traditional methods.

Ok, thanks again.

Regards....

[skyfall123]

I think my problem with this process sprouts from having so much life's experience, and being a fairly sharp guy, yet having to trudge through core classes at a snells-pace.

The only reason you would trudge through after finding this site is because of the limitations you impose on yourself. Think differently. If you are as sharp as you say (and we believe you are) then you could test out of a degree in less than a year. There are hundreds here that are living proof.

CLEP seems to be the way to go--at least as far as I can pursue it within the boundaries of my local CC--but I want to keep an eye on the big picture, and that is grad school in a good institution.

The big picture is attaining your BA in a reasonable amount of time, so that you can begin your Masters before you begin collecting Social Security. CLEP is merely one way to achieve your goal. Perrik earned 30 credits taking one $130 GRE exam.

You may need to abandon the notion that Distance Learning or online degrees are a new phenomena. You can earn a Regionally Accredited Bachelors that will qualify you for most Masters programs in less than a year. I and many others here are living proof....and you can do it with a minimum of trudging.

Good luck whatever path you take!

[dmasters1]

The only reason you would trudge through after finding this site is because of the limitations you impose on yourself. Think differently. If you are as sharp as you say (and we believe you are) then you could test out of a degree in less than a year. There are hundreds here that are living proof.



The big picture is attaining your BA in a reasonable amount of time, so that you can begin your Masters before you begin collecting Social Security. CLEP is merely one way to achieve your goal. Perrik earned 30 credits taking one $130 GRE exam.

You may need to abandon the notion that Distance Learning or online degrees are a new phenomena. You can earn a Regionally Accredited Bachelors that will qualify you for most Masters programs in less than a year. I and many others here are living proof....and you can do it with a minimum of trudging.

Good luck whatever path you take!

I love the positive comments. I tend to be my own worse critic, so the negativity comes from that.

I am going to to exactly as you say and look into the details that I need to accomplish a BA quickly. Then look for the grad school...

Thanks very much.

[alleycat]

I love the positive comments. I tend to be my own worse critic, so the negativity comes from that.

I am going to to exactly as you say and look into the details that I need to accomplish a BA quickly. Then look for the grad school...

Thanks very much.

I tell many of the younger students that I have been in classes with that there is way more then this building that they are sitting in right now. Meaning that there are very creative and they can achieve things much quicker then they think they can. These brick and mortar buildings love to hold students hostage for as long as they can so they can make as much money off of them as they can. These students have never had anyone tell them that there is actually another way to get it done. Just this summer in one of my business classes this young mother who was completely over done with her life will not even have an associates degree by next spring because she does not have enough time in her life to take all of the classes that remain. She has been at it steady for 4 years. I told the girl about Clep exams and gave her alittle homework to do and she came bouncing in 2 days later with a new game plan. She was going to start testing and leave the school behind after she finishes a few more classes that she feels she could not test out on. The look of relief on this girls face was priceless. Our class together happen to fall right after she was denied a promotion at her job because she did not have her degree and the other person did. She now has changed her way of thinking and has desided to go with the less stressful route of testing out on what she can. So she can be done and actually spend time with her young family.

[frankiebleyes]

I personally obtained 33 credits in a five week period this spring through clep alone. Don't think just local cc, you can obtain that associates through one of the big 3 quickly by clep, DSST and probably some of your life experience credit added to that. I'm seven years older than you, have had cancer and other medical and life experience setbacks as you described. I agree keeping your mind active is some of the best medicine out there. Think about pursuing your decree on-line, testing out as much as possible. Read many of the posts here and you will see that many have indeed completed there decree within a year and gone on to pursue their master's and ph.d's. Best of luck in whatever you decide. Welcome aboard.