Where & How to start (newbies)

[DRS71188]

Hello everyone!

I have been lurking around these forums for the last couple of days intrigued with CLEP testing & TESC. I have been wanting to go back to school for the last couple of years, but have been rather busy with life. I am a former company owner, and a current Pharmacy technician and I am married with child on the way, along with also being 23 and I have a few college courses completed around 10 credits. I am a rather impatient student, but very smart mostly afraid of gen eds lol. I am terrified of failing to be most honest and blunt along with being afraid I will take money out for college loans and then waste my money. I am a better independent learner therefore I believe that clep testing and tesc would suite my educational needs. The problem is I do not know really where to start, or how to even start. I understand Instantcert.com is a great resource, which I am already considering in subscribing asap. My biggest questions concern FASFA for tesc. Can I enroll in TESC and fasfa at anytime? Does it matter if its in the middle of a normal school semester? I am not really sure how it works. My other concern is I would like to complete my gen ed requirements mostly through CLEP testing. I want to at-least get about 36+ credits done. Where should I start? I am totally lost with this new concept. Is there anyway somebody could give me some step-by-step guide?

Thank you all for reading I really appreciate it!

[Gooberman11]

Ugg, just typed a long reply and then lost it!
Oh well, welcome and take a good look around. Most of your questions have been answered somewhere already (plus I just answered some of your questions--but they disappeared into cyber space ).
Another good place to look is Free Clep Prep.com Justin has organized a bunch of the testing options by difficulty and overlap.
Good luck and again welcome

[Storyteller]

Welcome! You have come to the best place in the world to find answers on getting a degree. One year ago I had 14 b&m college credits and I am now graduating at TESC with 120 credits for a BA in History. So, getting a degree is possible.
You sound like a good candidate for Clep/DSST testing.
First, Figure out what degree you would like to complete. TESC is the best source for making that determination. Although there are some degrees that can be "tested out of," many will require classes.
InstantCert is super great; that's how I got started and then I found this forum which really helped me move forward.
When I took my first Clep - Am. Govt. - I thought - Wow, I just got 3 credits - and then I said, Wow, I have a long way to go."
After the 3rd test, I cranked up the heat and started taking tests more quickly. Before long, I was inching up on 60 credits!
So, getting an education is possible, just don't look at the forest (120 credits), just focus on the trees (3-6 credits per test).
Even with a baby coming, you can still make time to study with IC.
Good luck and keep your focus.
Also, the Search function on this site can be your best friend at answering many of your questions. However, if you are still confused or need help, post your query and many experienced folks are happy to help.

[DRS71188]

So I am planning out my educational future on excel, and looking at the testing center to see which clep tests they offer. I need a total of 60 CLEP credits to graduate in about 2 years. TESC has a ASBA degree that allows you to transfer into the BSBA degree options and full-fill 1/2 of the educational requirements. So I was thinking should I do the business core of ASBA while continuing to clep extra courses so that I can multiple graduate each year in a row? My goal is to do BSBA accounting concentration, and go on to the MSM-ACC track. Afterwords I would like to explore a MBA-Finance concentration to make myself more marketable and because ultimately its what I want.

I am going to attempt my first CLEP test during jan. What should I start with? I am most scared of math, I need both Statistic & Pre-Calculus for my major, but I am rusty on my upper-level math. I have never even taken College level math, though I am a pharm tech and do know my way around calculations and I am great of making sense of them. But for self-esteem toward independent studies I would like to try my best with an easy test first. I hear english comp is easy, but I already have Eng Comp part 1 done. I guess I could test it for the extra 3 credits. Anybody have some insights for what I should choose as my first CLEP test? Also where do I find locations to do ECE or DSST? Can civilians do the other two types of testings? I ran across a website that made DSST sound military only? Anyway I appreciate the feedback so far, sorry you lost your paragraph! Also if you have any revisions to my plans let me know such as ASBA if its worth it or not, should I just go for the main goals or vear off a bit, all-in-all all the same classes are required. (The reason I want my ASBA is just to change jobs quickly, I am so sick of my current job, and I am ready to get back into the business world making some half-way decent money.)

Thanks for Reading
DRS

[mrs.b]

If you're looking at the Accounting track and there is any possibility you might like to go the CPA route, look into your state's (and any states you may someday want to practice in) for their requirements. Some states CPA licensing is very picky about testing or ACE credits or anything other than regionally-accredited testing sources. If a CPA might someday be in your future, you may need to go the course route. If you have no interest in a CPA, test away.

Also, if you do plan to make a BSBA-anything your end goal for undergraduate, I would not worry about making the ASBA a goal. You can have it added to your evaluation, then just focus on the BSBA requirements. You'll complete the ASBA without needing to pay any attention to it, because everything required for the ASBA is also required (and then some) for the BSBA.

Keithk's thread here may be of some help.

Also, lil10isgirl's thread here has a few tips on some course or course equivalent options.

If you're wanting to go the Finance route, though, look up threads and degree plan for FinancialWorld.


As for financial aid at TESC, take some time to decide how you want to go about earning your credits before delving too far down that road. With so many Gen Eds to earn, you may be better-served taking your CLEP and DSST exams to get those out of the way before you actually enroll. You can transfer those credits in during the evaluation process by having College Board and Prometric send transcripts just like you will with your other college credit source. TESC terms start monthly, so when you are ready to take courses (if you need to), you apply for Financial Aid (as well as complete the FAFSA, Promissory agreement, etc) at that point for the term rotation you are interested in. Here is another thread where other requirements for financial aid were discussed. Basically, if you plan on testing out of most or all of your degree, it will not be of much use so there is no worry about taking out too many loans since financial aid is only available for online and guided study type courses. Testing is paid out of pocket, and might as well do that before you start your enrollment timer ticking so you're not racing a clock.

Welcome! This is an excellent site and resource to fast-track a degree, with great people that know how to make it as painless as possible while doing it "right."

[bricabrac]

DRS71188,

Sure you could ASBA to BSBA to the masters program no problem. Generally, for Accounting I/II, cost accounting, business communications and macro/micro economis you can use SL. But if you are also contemplating the CPA exam, as stated earlier, you will need to look into those specific requirements. Prometric/Dantes exams are for everyone. Check with your local community colleges to find out if they proctor DSST/CLEP/ECE exams. There is a search function on the prometric site DSST - GetCollegeCredit.com.

If you plan to stay at TESC through your masters (I did the same), you might use aleks for your precalculus and statistics requirements. With the BSBA you can get credit for both intro statistics and business statistics. Do a search on the boards for further information on this, but you can also knock out some of your general ed credits through aleks.

For college level math CLEP college mathematics (MAT102/103) for six credits in one exam.
Then you could use ALEKS for :
intermediate algebra (MAT115),
college algebra with or without trig (MAT121),
precalculus or trigonometry (MAT129),
intro to statistics (STA201), and
business statistics (OPM351). So you could rack up another 15 credits though ALEKS.

Here is a general overview:

With Aleks you do not need any books, its an online software program. The information on how it works can be found at Overview of ALEKS and to transfer ALEKS credit to ACE ACE Credit Courses . It is free to set up your ACE account https://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseacti...ripts.main

ALEKS is $19.95 per month. Many sign up and complete as many ACE approved courses as possible within the first month or two. Here is a link to a two month free trial code you can use to get an idea of the program Homeschool 2 Month Trial Request. Just fill in maybe the first inital and middle initial plus last name as the parent and your first and last name as the student. It takes a few days for them to send you a confirmation email with the sign on information. You can call them and ask if the student should complete an asessment at 70% during the free trial period would the student be able to request the transfer to ACE? You can call or email an ALEKS representitve to inquire.

In order to be awarded credit, you only to to assess at 70%. An assessment if the first test you are given when you start the program and its approx 25 questions give or take the different available subjects. If you don't know the answer of a question you click the I dont know button. THis is how the software prepares your individual learning plan. Once complete you are taken to your learning pie. You will be given problems to solve in each section of the pie. You can jump around the pie doing problems until you are familiar with most. Then when ready you sign on to the master account, go into the student area and you will see at the bottom a button to generate an assessment. Log off off the master account. Sign back into the student account and you will be presented with a new assessment. Example: If you answer 18 of the 25 questions correctly you would have assessed at 72% and can sign off. Go to your ACE account and request the ALEKS course be added to your transcript. ACE then contacts Aleks to confirm your score, if it is 70% or better the course is approved and added to your ACE transcript. Once ACE has completed the transfer (1-3 days) they will notify you by email. You then order an ACE transcript sent to TESC ($40 first transcript, $15 thereafter). Sorry if this is a bit confusing. It's a lot in a short paragraph. But once you start, it will make sense.You should also search the forum for as much ALEKS information as you can read.

Some helpful tools:
- mathway.com - I just received the following promotion, FREE Week Premium Upgrade Mathway would like to upgrade your free basic account to a full step-by-step premium account at no charge, so that you can try all the premium problem solving features Mathway has to offer. To receive your free premium upgrade, please sign in to your account using the following link: http://www.mathway.com/login.aspx?pr=promo41257
- I also like Algebrator software - not free but excellent if you run out of time with the mathway free upgrade.
- There is a post on the forum that has a link to a zip file for the aleks statistics print outs.
- Also I have a few posts that have calculators and helpful links for both precalculus and statistics


Well this is my contribution. I'm sure others will be along to help and give advice.
There's plenty of available information on the board, including degree plans, just look around. Good luck in your studies!!

[Gooberman11]

Ok, I'll try again today and hope my post doesn't disappear .
Anyway, what other credits do you have besides 3 Eng Comp? That might help decide what you should take next. Analyzing and Interpreting Lit (6 credits) is a pretty doabl test without much study. If you can analyze literature and study up on lit terms you could probably be ready in a week or two. Word of caution: just because someone says a test is doable or easy doesn't mean you don't have to prepare!! These are college level tests that require college level knowledge. Having said that, many people have acquired that amount of knowledge along the way in life (for some tests). So, if you enjoy lit and basically understand what a poem is saying when you read it then A&I Lit may be a good one to start with. If you have already taken Psych, Sociology and History (or 2 of the 3) maybe Social Sciences and Histories would be a good place to start because it is an overview of those 3 courses (plus some other stuff thrown in). If you have an arts background maybe Humanities would be one that you could focus on first. It is an overview of literature, art, music, plays, ect...
See what I mean about posting what you have already taken and/or what your interests/background is in. Many of the tests have a little overlap so once you get started you will start to see a logical sequence of testing to make your studing most efficient.

P.S. Someone above referenced SL- this stands for Straighterline (in case you aren't familiar with all the acronyms yet ).
Good luck and hope to hear from you soon

[rebel100]

You have received great info so far. I would add that the Clep Marketing and Clep Management are considered to be rather easy. My 17 yo passed both with absolute minimal study. With your background might be 6 easy credits to get your feet wet.

[DRS71188]

Wow thank you everyone for your contributions thus far. In advance I apologize about any grammatical errors I'm on the iPhone and it has a mind of it's own.

I plan on practicing in Florida I am currently in Virginia until 2013 while my wife finishes up her bshmsv/counseling. I current have eng comp part 1 and ancient civ it seems everytime I get started with school something has always popped up that's why I'm going to do it this way (online and testing) so I can finally get it out of the way . So far this community is helping as I love all the support and contribution and I am very appreciative.

The reason I was going to go ahead and start the "timer" as the above poster stated is mostly due to the fact that once I get started there's no stopping me. I was reading last night and was very happy to see that each credit contributes around 6 credits. Which made my day :-), but what is a (aleks)? Never heard of that but it sounds very interesting. My testing center near me offers a very limited assortment of cleps but there all crucial. I will probably start with lit and micro/macro economics for the first month it should take me a few days per subject I have excellent study skills for Indy studies. Plus I would do anything to get out of my current job lol.(pharmacies are very stressful) I was thinking of doing all the main accounting courses first to dive in and make sure my focus area is the goal intended while I'm doing testing each month. It should take no time to build up 60 credits or more testing At credits a test most of the time.

What is the online classroom experience like? I have never taken online classes but I couldn't imagine them being awful. Mostly just based on my own independent productivity and learning curve? Let know any insight would please me. I am so pumped to start progressing my educational future it's All I've wanted for years!

Thanks again & all insight is welcomed!
Drs

[DRS71188]

Jeez after reading the aleks website that seems like a very good opportunity for my math courses, they have beg algebra to Precalc/ statistics that's awesome! If they're is any more insight on aleks like pros/cons let me know.