Study.com - Best Time/Cost Saving Strategy?

[kylan11]

Hi guys!

I'm finally done with all 22 of my Sophia courses (only missing Human Biology + Lab).
So next up, Study.com! I have about 7 courses to take:

Humanities 201 (to fulfill HUM 103: Creative Decision Making)
Business 110 (reportedly fulfilling MAT 140: Business Math as of June 2023)
Accounting 301 (BUS 220: Managerial Accounting)
Finance 101 (BUS 325: Financial Management)
Business 310 (BUS 353: Legal & Ethical Environment of Business)
Business 304 (BUS 240: Change Management)
Business 312 (BUS 415: Operations Management)

Which should, ordinarily, take me about 3 months for a total cost of $580. This includes $170 a month x 3 (with the 30% off coupon) + $70 for the extra exam.

However I'm wondering if there's a way to optimize time and/or money spent by starting out with a Premium Plan, as suggested by the Wiki Page. I really don't know anything about SDC yet, so I'm unsure whether it's worth it money or stress wise.

Suppose I start with the Premium Plan ($60) and take the full month to speedrun every quiz and assignment I can access. I will still need 3 months of College Accelerator to finish off, unless I somehow pass 4 classes in 1 month ($170 + $140) then 3 the next ($170 + $70). Bringing my total to $610. Doesn't seem worth it at first glance, but I'm sure I'm missing something.

Please enlighten me. Thank you!

[turbotortuga]

Hi guys!

I'm finally done with all 22 of my Sophia courses (only missing Human Biology + Lab).
So next up, Study.com! I have about 7 courses to take:

Humanities 201 (to fulfill HUM 103: Creative Decision Making)
Business 110 (reportedly fulfilling MAT 140: Business Math as of June 2023)
Accounting 301 (BUS 220: Managerial Accounting)
Finance 101 (BUS 325: Financial Management)
Business 310 (BUS 353: Legal & Ethical Environment of Business)
Business 304 (BUS 240: Change Management)
Business 312 (BUS 415: Operations Management)

Which should, ordinarily, take me about 3 months for a total cost of $580. This includes $170 a month x 3 (with the 30% off coupon) + $70 for the extra exam.

However I'm wondering if there's a way to optimize time and/or money spent by starting out with a Premium Plan, as suggested by the Wiki Page. I really don't know anything about SDC yet, so I'm unsure whether it's worth it money or stress wise.

Suppose I start with the Premium Plan ($60) and take the full month to speedrun every quiz and assignment I can access. I will still need 3 months of College Accelerator to finish off, unless I somehow pass 4 classes in 1 month ($170 + $140) then 3 the next ($170 + $70). Bringing my total to $610. Doesn't seem worth it at first glance, but I'm sure I'm missing something.

Please enlighten me. Thank you!

Where are you seeing SDC Finance 101 as equivalent to BUS 325 Financial Management? I've never seen that equivalency noted before.

[rachel83az]

If you start out with the premium plan, I don't think they'll allow you to add a coupon. They might apply it manually if you email them, though.

[kylan11]

Where are you seeing SDC Finance 101 as equivalent to BUS 325 Financial Management? I've never seen that equivalency noted before.

You are correct. I could have sworn I had seen it somewhere but I made the plan over 1.5 years ago and a lot has changed.

I also discovered that Sophia's Business Ethics fulfills BUS 353 therefore I don't need to take Business 310 either (time to update the Degree Plans on the Wiki as well).

So I added English Comp II to narrow UMPI's courses down to exactly 10, therefore now I have these 6 from SDC:

English 105 (ENG 121: College Composition II)
Humanities 201 (HUM 103: Creative Decision Making)
Business 110 (MAT 140: Business Math)
Accounting 301 (BUS 220: Managerial Accounting)
Business 304 (BUS 240: Change Management)
Business 312 (BUS 415: Operations Management)

If you start out with the premium plan, I don't think they'll allow you to add a coupon. They might apply it manually if you email them, though.

Thanks for the heads up, I don't think I'm willing to risk it for such a small reward. Do you think these 6 courses are doable in 3 months?

[LevelUP]

Unless I somehow pass 4 classes in 1 month ($170 + $140) then 3 the next ($170 + $70). Bringing my total to $610. Doesn't seem worth it at first glance, but I'm sure I'm missing something.

Please enlighten me. Thank you!

The total is $550, not $610 if you complete it in 2 months.

[kylan11]

Unless I somehow pass 4 classes in 1 month ($170 + $140) then 3 the next ($170 + $70). Bringing my total to $610. Doesn't seem worth it at first glance, but I'm sure I'm missing something.

Please enlighten me. Thank you!

The total is $550, not $610 if you complete it in 2 months.

I've included the $60 for one month of the Premium Plan.

[bjcheung77]

Hmm, your signature needs to be updated, it's Study.com not Study.org... Anyways, you want to read this thread and also verify with the institution just in case, I don't think you need that MAT-140 as your other courses should have hit the requirements already. You should really link us to your spreadsheet... Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid405225

In regards to Study.com, skip the thought of doing the one month and upgrading, the cheapest option remains the 30% discount in the coupon threads. Each additional exam is $70/exam if you needed.. So in total, for 7 courses is 160+160+160+70, at $550 and you have more time as a "buffer" to complete everything.

[rachel83az]

English 105 (ENG 121: College Composition II)
Humanities 201 (HUM 103: Creative Decision Making)
Business 110 (MAT 140: Business Math)
Accounting 301 (BUS 220: Managerial Accounting)
Business 304 (BUS 240: Change Management)
Business 312 (BUS 415: Operations Management)

If you start out with the premium plan, I don't think they'll allow you to add a coupon. They might apply it manually if you email them, though.

Thanks for the heads up, I don't think I'm willing to risk it for such a small reward. Do you think these 6 courses are doable in 3 months?

I wouldn't take English Comp II at SDC. It'll be so much faster and easier for most students to complete it at UMPI. 1 paper at UMPI vs. up to 6 or 7 papers at SDC.

Business Math should also be pretty easy at UMPI. But it's only an exam at SDC, so shouldn't be that difficult.

Humanities 201 may or may not work now. UMPI no longer offers HUM 103. Their replacement class(es) are reportedly significantly easier/faster than the old HUM 103 class.

Except for Business 110, all the SDC classes you want to take have at least one assignment. That's going to slow you down somewhat. However, I think it is perfectly reasonable for you to complete them all in 2.5 to 3 months. There is going to be little to no overlap between classes, so taking classes in a specific order isn't going to help you much. I would probably start with Business 304 and 312, finish with Business 110 and either English 105 or Humanities 201 if you choose to do those. Leave Business 110 until very last. Having a final class that is ONLY an exam will give you somewhat of a buffer if you still need a bit more time to complete the required assignment(s).

[kylan11]

Hmm, your signature needs to be updated, it's Study.com not Study.org...  Anyways, you want to read this thread and also verify with the institution just in case, I don't think you need that MAT-140 as your other courses should have hit the requirements already. You should really link us to your spreadsheet... Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid405225

In regards to Study.com, skip the thought of doing the one month and upgrading, the cheapest option remains the 30% discount in the coupon threads.  Each additional exam is $70/exam if you needed.. So in total, for 7 courses is 160+160+160+70, at $550 and you have more time as a "buffer" to complete everything.

Thanks for the info! Yes, I'll just do the 3-months accelerator directly.
Here is my degree plan spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...ue&sd=true

MAT-140 is in my BA major, and it should also fulfill GEC 3A. Therefore I didn't take Sophia's College Algebra.

I wouldn't take English Comp II at SDC. It'll be so much faster and easier for most students to complete it at UMPI. 1 paper at UMPI vs. up to 6 or 7 papers at SDC.

Business Math should also be pretty easy at UMPI. But it's only an exam at SDC, so shouldn't be that difficult.

Humanities 201 may or may not work now. UMPI no longer offers HUM 103. Their replacement class(es) are reportedly significantly easier/faster than the old HUM 103 class.

Except for Business 110, all the SDC classes you want to take have at least one assignment. That's going to slow you down somewhat. However, I think it is perfectly reasonable for you to complete them all in 2.5 to 3 months. There is going to be little to no overlap between classes, so taking classes in a specific order isn't going to help you much. I would probably start with Business 304 and 312, finish with Business 110 and either English 105 or Humanities 201 if you choose to do those. Leave Business 110 until very last. Having a final class that is ONLY an exam will give you somewhat of a buffer if you still need a bit more time to complete the required assignment(s).

Thank you for the helpful tips. I'd rather take English Comp II at SDC even though it will take me longer as I'd like to narrow my UMPI courses down to exactly 10. I do realize I'm chasing diminishing returns because I want to make sure I can do it in 2 terms. Needing a third term would screw my budget badly. And I'm sure there will be surprises where some courses won't transfer and I will need to take 1-2 extra classes.

[rachel83az]

Because your degree plan consists entirely of Sophia & SDC classes, plus the IBM Cert and the ACTFL exam, you can be fairly certain that everything will transfer. You might even be able to graduate in a single term, assuming you get everything down to just 10 classes.

A word of warning, though: there are no more exams at UMPI since the switch to Brightspace. So BUS 244 and BUS 343 are not going to be exams.

Actually, I suggest going to Saylor and attempting their Management Information Systems exam. Maybe read through the info briefly and then attempt the no-cost certificate test. If you can get at least 70% on the certificate, take the actual exam. If you fail, it's only $5. But, if you pass, it counts as BUS244 and then you can do English Comp at UMPI.