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I've recently started working on my degree again and managed to get 5 credits over the weekend. I thought I was doing pretty well until I started Saylor's Financial Accounting. I'm not sure if it's just me being out of the scholastic environment for a while or what but this class is already overwhelming me. I breezed through ALEKS Intermediate Algebra, passed my first CLEP with only a few days preparation, nailed the ethics course on the first try, but this accounting class just makes my brain melt. 450 page text plus endless notes... my eyes are just kinda glazing over at the walls of text. I started reading the text and taking notes. I had 6 handwritten pages of notes and was only 1/3 of the way through the first chapter. I don't mind working hard and honestly, accounting doesn't seem too boring to me (I like working with numbers/data), but this class is really getting to me. I even attempted a practice test but when I clicked on the link I just got a message that said "only registered educators can access the quizzes."
I'm really worried because this is only an introductory course and I feel like I really need to learn the material to fully understand some UL courses I need to take. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me or if someone else has taken it and can tell me it gets better.
Okay, done venting.
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lillingworth Wrote:I've recently started working on my degree again and managed to get 5 credits over the weekend. I thought I was doing pretty well until I started Saylor's Financial Accounting. I'm not sure if it's just me being out of the scholastic environment for a while or what but this class is already overwhelming me. I breezed through ALEKS Intermediate Algebra, passed my first CLEP with only a few days preparation, nailed the ethics course on the first try, but this accounting class just makes my brain melt. 450 page text plus endless notes... my eyes are just kinda glazing over at the walls of text. I started reading the text and taking notes. I had 6 handwritten pages of notes and was only 1/3 of the way through the first chapter. I don't mind working hard and honestly, accounting doesn't seem too boring to me (I like working with numbers/data), but this class is really getting to me. I even attempted a practice test but when I clicked on the link I just got a message that said "only registered educators can access the quizzes."
I'm really worried because this is only an introductory course and I feel like I really need to learn the material to fully understand some UL courses I need to take. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me or if someone else has taken it and can tell me it gets better.
Okay, done venting.
I encourage you to enter "Saylor" in the search box above. It's not you- the class requires 120+ hours if you're doing the class. You can learn by other methods and then just try the test, or you can power through the material.
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lillingworth Wrote:I've recently started working on my degree again and managed to get 5 credits over the weekend. I thought I was doing pretty well until I started Saylor's Financial Accounting. I'm not sure if it's just me being out of the scholastic environment for a while or what but this class is already overwhelming me. I breezed through ALEKS Intermediate Algebra, passed my first CLEP with only a few days preparation, nailed the ethics course on the first try, but this accounting class just makes my brain melt. 450 page text plus endless notes... my eyes are just kinda glazing over at the walls of text. I started reading the text and taking notes. I had 6 handwritten pages of notes and was only 1/3 of the way through the first chapter. I don't mind working hard and honestly, accounting doesn't seem too boring to me (I like working with numbers/data), but this class is really getting to me. I even attempted a practice test but when I clicked on the link I just got a message that said "only registered educators can access the quizzes."
I'm really worried because this is only an introductory course and I feel like I really need to learn the material to fully understand some UL courses I need to take. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me or if someone else has taken it and can tell me it gets better.
Okay, done venting.
I'd go with Study.com or SL for this then, 450 pages is a lot for an intro to financial accounting course.
Or maybe even attempt the CLEP
Thomas Edison State University - BSBA: Accounting - September 2017
B&M: Stats, Business Law I, Microeconomics, Business Comm, Computer Concepts and Apps, Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting II, Managerial Accounting, Not-for-Profit Accounting
CLEP: Sociology, Psychology, Marketing, College Comp Modular, Human Growth and Development
Institutes: Ethics 312
Aleks: Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, PreCalculus
Shmoop: U.S. History I, U.S. History II, Modern European History
Study.com: Principles of Finance, Advanced Accounting I, Applied Managerial Accounting, American Government, Macroeconomics, Principles of Management, Globalization and International Management, English Composition II, Intro to Computing, Public Speaking, Info Systems and Comp Apps
SL: Intermediate Accounting I, Introduction to Religon, Cost Accounting, Western Civilization I/II
TECEP: Strategic Management, Federal Income Tax
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I took the CLEP and used AccountingCoach to help learn the material: Learn Accounting Online for Free | AccountingCoach
When I took my Saylor courses, I did my best to steer clear of the texts - they were incredibly difficult for me to comprehend!
BSBA GM - TESU, 2017
120 credits applied using CLEP, DSST, Saylor, and TECEP exams - see my bio for exact exams!
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cookderosa Wrote:I encourage you to enter "Saylor" in the search box above. It's not you- the class requires 120+ hours if you're doing the class. You can learn by other methods and then just try the test, or you can power through the material.
I searched quite a bit to see if anyone had the same problem. I even searched saylor + finance/financial but it's just a really commonly used phrase so the results are a bit jumbled. I think trying to take on this plus ALEKS stats was a bit much. It's making me consider changing to BALS as that puts me 20-30 credits closer to graduating haha.
Goal: Anything. Just need the paper.
In Progress: last few 300-400 level, Am Gov
Complete: [Sophia]: CSMLearn, TEEX DI, Art History 2, English Comp 2, Sociology, Ethics, Project Management, Human Bio, US Hist2, Intro to Business, Microeconomics, Accounting, Finance, Greek Phil, Stats, Conflict Res (1CR), Visual Comm, Dev Effective Teams, [SL]: Bus Law [ALEKS]: Intermediate Algebra [Institutes]: Ethics [CLEP]: Western Civ I [Murrray State University]: 5CR: MAT130 MAT230 4CR: GSC199 ENG105 CHE101 ITD107 PHY130/131 3CR: COM161 MAT117 ART121 HIS221 PSY180 CHN101 RGS200 CSC199 CET284 ECO230 JPN350 RES132 THD104 1CR: IDC199 MSU099
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lillingworth Wrote:I searched quite a bit to see if anyone had the same problem. I even searched saylor + finance/financial but it's just a really commonly used phrase so the results are a bit jumbled. I think trying to take on this plus ALEKS stats was a bit much. It's making me consider changing to BALS as that puts me 20-30 credits closer to graduating haha.
My 17 year old son got through 3 Saylor courses pretty easily (Intro to Business, Intro to Marketing, and Corporate Communication), then he tried Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Accounting and hit a wall. They were all needlessly convoluted. He took both Economics at Straighterline and did great, and he's about to do Accounting there as well. It's very common for people to find those courses at Saylor far more difficult than courses at Study or SL.
Here Researching for my son, who has done the following:
Community College: Intro to Philosophy, Fundamentals of IT, English Comp 1
Saylor: Intro to Business, Principles of Marketing, Corporate Communication
Shmoop: US History 2 (WGU won't accept this)
ALEKS: Int. Algebra, College Algebra
Study.com: Personal Finance, Principles of Finance, HR Management, Global Business, Advanced Operations Management
Straighterline: US History 2, Environmental Science, US History, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, English Comp 2, Principles of Management, Business Law, Business Ethics, Psychology, Organizational Behavior, Accounting 1,Communication, Managerial Accounting, Statistics
Ed4Credit: Managing Information Systems
Sophia: Project Management
WGU: Bachelors in HR Management
Second son is currently attending Penn Foster for his high school diploma, then on to Ashworth for An Associates in Criminal Justice
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Synicaal Wrote:I'd go with Study.com or SL for this then, 450 pages is a lot for an intro to financial accounting course.
Or maybe even attempt the CLEP
I would second this. Many to all of the Saylor course are way too much material, albeit at a fantastic price.
P.S. As gingers we don't have souls, it's on of the many advantages of being in the top %4 
Former University of Pennsylvania Economics Major Trying to Restart
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The Institutes: Professional Ethics - 2cr
TEEX: All 3 Cyber Security - 6cr
CLEP:A&I Lit - 6cr
Sophia: Building Teams - 1cr
Kaplan: PLA - 3cr
Saylor: Env Ethics - 3cr
45cr down
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03-08-2017, 11:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-08-2017, 11:06 AM by jsd.)
Take a free Financial Accounting course on something like Coursera or find a cheap used textbook on the subject whose chapters seems to align with the Saylor exam objectives. After you finish, take the free Saylor practice test and see how you do. Saylor exams are supposed to be non-specific to their poor course design, so it should work out for you, and you can go on to take the $25 final.
If it does work out, you paid the low Saylor price without having to suffer through their coursework.
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The crux of Financial Accounting is to understand how the following concepts all fit together:
- debits
- credits
- Chart of Accounts (COA)
- account types in the COA (broadly, asset, liability, equity, then the sub types of these)
- normal type of balance for each account type in the COA (is it normally a debit balance or a credit balance?)
- Balance Sheet and its accounts/the accounting equation (assets = liability + equity)
- Income Statement and its accounts/how the Income Statements flows into the Balance Sheet
Color Accounting is a great intro to these concepts. I obtained the Kindle version for free a couple years ago, when it was part of some kind of promotion. I liked it a lot. There is another book called The Accounting Game. I don't own it but have looked through the review pages on Amazon. It also looks very good.
Both of these seemed like a good way to grasp the concepts I mentioned above and are not very expensive.
Please don't let this course stop you from your dream of a BSBA. You will need these concepts for Financial Accounting and for Managerial, but if your major is not accounting, then you won't need any other accounting courses. So I am pretty sure that you won't need them for any other course in the BSBA.
Here is what I do when something seems overwhelming. I obtain a course description, then I go to YouTube and look for videos about each of the topics in the description. You could do that for the topics I've mentioned above.
I don't know if any of this is helpful. But once those topics are fully understood, a lot of what follows in the accounting world makes a lot more sense.
BSBA/Accounting TESU (2016). MSA UIUC (2018).
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Using Straighterline's Financial Accounting as a substitute for TESU's Intermediate Accounting I? Don't do it if you are an accounting major and/or want your CPA license. They are not the same course and I think TESU has erred in accepting the SL course as Intermediate I. I made this discovery here: Intermediate Accounting II.
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I agree with everyone else in this thread either use a textbook or other easier to read free course and then complete it through the 25 dollar exam. If you want another route that is a little more expensive but covers managerial accounting and financial accounting if you are going to TESU is taking Straighterline's Accounting 1 and 2 to satisfy those two classes.
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