UMPI Bachelor of liberal studies-management minor - Start to finish in 5 months

[Mom2my2]

Congratulations!!! You are an inspiration!!!

[studyingfortests]

I can't believe I missed this post when it was first made.

This is incredibly inspirational and a true redemption story. I've worked with people with substance use disorders, and your story is exactly the sort of thing that inspires and excites anyone, but especially those who have walked in your shoes.

Congratulations on a richly deserved degree.

[NBM123]

By the time I am writing this post, I am a 50-year-old immigrant who moved to the states 20 years ago as an uneducated person. I have two kids, ages 9 and 12. I was married for 25 years to the mother of my kids, and we got divorced four years ago. I swore to myself that I would enjoy a few years as a bachelor, but Cupid had plans for me, and a few months after the divorce, I met a wonderful woman to whom I am proudly married now.
 Years of addictions and bad decisions made my education path impossible to complete, and once I was able to get sober, the reality of life made me believe that it was too late to pursue a career.
Because of the mess I created and the fact that nobody believed in me after betraying them all, I gathered a few things and emigrated north, where nobody knew about my past.
For the next ten years, I dedicated myself to working seven days a week. It was my way to stay out of trouble, and it worked. I have been sober and out of trouble for over 21 years now.
   I used to think that a college degree was unachievable. As years went by and kids were growing up and asking questions, I started to question myself that it was, in fact, not too late to complete my GED. I have to admit that I was concerned about my ability to get my brain going again into “learning mode” after all those years of abusing it. But It was not that hard after all, and the sense of satisfaction that I felt after graduation was a gratifying feeling that created, without me knowing at the time, the stepping stone for further advancement.
At first, I thought that was the end of the road for me as far as education goes, more so because I always managed to make a living and provide for my family as a small business owner. Still, the seed of education was already rooted in my soul, and it would not leave me alone.
 
I chose the Bachelor’s in Liberal Studies with a management minor because it is the degree that takes the most Sophia/Clep/study.com/InstanTcert credits. My goal was to complete only ten classes at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and get them done in one term. That is what I did; thanks to ashkir and ss20ts for putting together a degree plan for me. I followed that plan and transferred all the earned credits, a total of --97, to UMPI (Please note that only 90 were used). I am posting below what I did, hoping that someone gets to benefit from it.

I started on July second with CLEP and on July eleventh with Sophia. I finished my last class at UMPI on November first.

The following is the list of classes taken from start to finish to complete my degree.

CLEP

SPANISH LEVEL I AND II   6   (ONLY 3 UNITS ARE REQUIRED, BUT SINCE I AM A NATIVE SPANISH SPEAKER, I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT)
PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT 3 TRANSFERRED AS UL BUS325
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING  3 TRANSFERRED AS UL BUS330



INSTANTCERT
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 3 
 
SOPHIA 

ART HISTORY I 3 
ART HISTORY II  3
COLLEGE ALGEBRA 3 
CONFLICT RESOLUTION 3 
DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TEAMS 1 
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 3 
HUMAN BIOLOGY 3 
IT CAREER EXPLORATION 1 
INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS 3 
INTRODUCTIONS TO ETHICS 3 
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY 3
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY 3 
MACROECONOMICS 3
MICROECONOMICS 3
ESSENTIALS OF MANAGING CONFLICT 1 
U.S. HISTORY I 3 
U.S. HISTORY II 3
VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS 3
PROJECT MANAGEMENT 3
BUSINESS LAW I 3 TRANSFERRED AS UL BUS350
PRINCIPLES OF FINANCE 3 
INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 3 
ACCOUNTING 3 
ENGLISH COMPOSITION I 3 
ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS 3 
COMMUNICATION AT WORK 3
INTRODUCTION TO WEB DEVELOPMENT 3



STUDY.COM
LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 3
BIOLOGY 101 WITH LAB 4
 
UMPI
BUS 260 LEADERSHIP 3
BUS 321 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 3
BUS 335 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 3
BUS 352 BUSINESS LAW II 3
BUS 353 LEGAL & ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS 3
BUS 415 OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 3
BUS 440 BUSINESS ANALYTICS 3
CRJ 350 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE 3
ENG 121 COLLEGE COMPOSITION II 3
HUM 103 CREATIVE DECISION MAKING 3
 
 
TOTAL COST OF THE DEGREE
 
$357 on CLEP.- This cost can be avoided by using Modern States to prepare for the exams
( WWW.modernstates.org)
 $158 with Sophia. 2 months x $79 EACH (www.sophia.org)
$35 with Instantcert (www.instantcert.com)
$250 with Study.com (WWW.study.com)
Yearly subscription with Grammarly $144
 
 
TRANSCRIPTS
 
GED SENT VIA GED.COM $15
CLEP VIA CLEP.COM $20
SOPHIA, INSTANTCERT, AND STUDY.COM VIA CREDLY.COM $0 (FREE)
 
 
I applied for FAFSA and was awarded $3,273.00 for the Fall term. UMPI kept $2800 and sent me a check for $473. A month later, I learned that I qualified for the HEERF III (supplemental Financial Aid), and I received a check for $1500.
 
Total out-of-pocket cost - $994 That is correct. I earned a bachelor’s degree, plus I ended up with $994 in my pocket after paying all my expenses.

 

Looking at the transcript, the Principle of Management CLEP didn't transfer in as an UL credit, correct?

[bjcheung77]

Looking at the transcript, the Principle of Management CLEP didn't transfer in as an UL credit, correct?

That's what I see as well on the transcript, Marketing came in as upper level though. Generally, you should not hope CLEP exams will come in as upper level credit as most schools would only have them as lower level first year credit.

[idktbh]

How's life after college? Were you able to find a job in the related field?

[ss20ts]

How's life after college? Were you able to find a job in the related field?

He graduated a year ago. He had a job at the time. He's rarely on here nowadays as is the case with most people who complete their degree.

[Federicojavier]

Hello everyone. It has been a busy year. Sorry to all of you who messaged me and got no response, I am not active here anymore. I just wanted to share with you that exactly one year ago I finished my BLS at UMPI and 2 weeks later I was accepted at NWCU. I just finished my first year there and I received my final grades for the first 4 courses, last night. I passed and I am now headed to start 2L next month. Since I had a BLS I am not required to take the baby bar. 

FYI I am now 51 years old, immigrant and English is my second language.

[indigoshuffle]

Hello everyone. It has been a busy year. Sorry to all of you who messaged me and got no response, I am not active here anymore. I just wanted to share with you that exactly one year ago I finished my BLS at UMPI and 2 weeks later I was accepted at NWCU. I just finished my first year there and I received my final grades for the first 4 courses, last night. I passed and I am now headed to start 2L next month. Since I had a BLS I am not required to take the baby bar. 

FYI I am now 51 years old, immigrant and English is my second language.

What is NWCU? Are you going into law? That's amazing!

[Federicojavier]

Hello everyone. It has been a busy year. Sorry to all of you who messaged me and got no response, I am not active here anymore. I just wanted to share with you that exactly one year ago I finished my BLS at UMPI and 2 weeks later I was accepted at NWCU. I just finished my first year there and I received my final grades for the first 4 courses, last night. I passed and I am now headed to start 2L next month. Since I had a BLS I am not required to take the baby bar. 

FYI I am now 51 years old, immigrant and English is my second language.

What is NWCU? Are you going into law? That's amazing!

Northwestern California University School of Law. Yes, I am now starting my second year. 100% online Juris Doctor program.

[CaughtInTheRye12]

This is such an inspiring story to read brother. If I still lived in California I would probably be following in your footsteps and planning to apply to CalBar law schools soon. But I moved home to Nevada ten years ago and the Nevada Bar only accepts ABA approved JDs (and foreign LLB degrees when coupled with an ABA LLM degree). Anyway, I know this thread is 2 or 3 years old but congratulations! You’ve inspired me to finish my degree ASAP at UMPI and retake the LSAT this April. También, soy Perito Traductor certificado por las Cortes Supremas de los estados de Nevada y Utah aunque el Español no es mi idioma natal. Saludos amigo y síguele echando ganas! Cheers brother!