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Questions from the new guy! - DRS71188 - 11-19-2011
Hello all,
As a new member of the community I am trying to learn as much as I can about all of these new discoveries, such as Aleks, SL, PnF, CLEP, UEXCEL, DSST & etc. Also I am very curious if it is controllable to take full time college courses while doing SL courses, or is it to much? I wanted to get started ASAP, but I wanted to try after I finish my ALEKS math courses to double up TESC 12 credits while doing SL courses during the semesters. Another Question I have: Which of the big 3 school is the fastest for completion? I would think TESC is, but then again I am assuming. TESC says there courses are 12 weeks, so can I take 4 semester per year? So much curiosity due to educational enlightenment of all these new features. Please help me out, I am trying to research as much as possible before diving in, and I keep using the search function but cannot find some of the most basic information.
Questions:
1. Length of ALEKS (Intro Algebra - Business Stats)
And I know you can skip any further studying by passing the exam the first time, but I am talking about if you have to actually go threw and learn it.
2. How long does a SL course take from start to finish.
3. Going full time while doing SL course to much?
4. Quickest big 3 school to complete?
I will continue to post questions as I think of them, that is all I have for now!
Thanks everyone,
DRS:hurray::hurray::hurray:
Questions from the new guy! - burbuja0512 - 11-19-2011
Hi there and welcome!! I hope I can help answer your questions and I'm sure others here will have a lot more to add.
1) ALEKS - took me FOREVER, though some people here can get through it quickly. That being said, it really taught me a lot and I no longer think that I am horrible at math. Ha ha.. I'm not good, but not as bad as I thought I was. However, ALEKS took me so long that I ended up just taking the College Math CLEP, which for my COSC degree, met the requirements I needed
2) SL time varies on the course, your available time and your aptitude. Accounting I and II only have 6 exams each if I remember correctly. I rushed through them because I truly hate accounting and did the minimum to pass. I think I probably took a week or two on each course. Macroecon has 19 exams and even though I really enjoy macro and found it a lot more interesting than accounting, I believe that there was a test for every chapter... unbearable.
3) Why would you go to full time school while doing SL? What are you studying? Can you test out of most of your classes so you don't have to deal with this? The time you have available in the day will really dictate what you can do. I work full time, have kids and DH and travel for business, so I can typically only focus on one subject at a time. However each person's situation will vary widely and can also depend on how quickly you learn.
4) The quickest degree to complete would be one that you can test out of. The nature of college classes dictate a minimum of five to fifteen weeks per course depending on the school you attend. I took eight weeks in my COSC capstone course. It wasn't difficult and I really enjoyed it, but there wasn't any way to speed things up. I would also add that the "easier" tests are one that you already know a lot about or concern a subject area of personal interest. For example, I have been in the business world for years, so some of the biz tests like biz ethics, intro to biz, supervision, and management were very quick to study for, even though I found them all a little boring. Other subjects like substance abuse and criminal justice were just interesting so therefore fun and easy to take.
I would also want to know a bit about your career plans and your personal goals. What will a degree do for you? Do you plan on advancing to a graduate degree? If you're already mid-career, the degree you get might not matter. However, if you're just starting off and don't plan on getting a masters degree, I would recommend going with the most focused degree possible. For example, if you're mid-career, you may just need to "check off the box" for having an undergrad and you can go for a liberal arts degree. However, if you don't have much experience and want to move into a corporate job, you might want to gain a slight advantage by going for a business administration degree.
There are a TON of factors and I'm only listing off a few variables, so any other info you can provide would help.
Thanks!
Burbuja
P.S. If you have any questions about a COSC degree, check the links in my sig
Questions from the new guy! - burbuja0512 - 11-19-2011
P.S. Even if you don't know what you're doing yet, you may want to just dive in and start studying for the CLEP or DSST that most appeals to you. Testing and the alternative college path is not for everyone, so one way to find out is just to move forward! You don't need to know what you're going to do; just pick a subject that interests you and make sure the test won't duplicate credits you already have. If you're unsure about this, just pick a subject matter that you KNOW you have never, ever studied.
Questions from the new guy! - ryoder - 11-19-2011
I finished SL Accounting I in 1 week. Accounting II in 1 week. Business communication in 1.5 weeks. Anatomy and Physiology I&II took 4 weeks but I had 2 vacations in the middle of that.
Questions from the new guy! - DRS71188 - 11-19-2011
Thanks for the reply, I am focusing on BSBA-ACC. I am not mid-career, I am 23 and a Pharmacy Technician and former business owner. My career choice is based on several different factors, but mostly the factor that I want to be in business, and I like numbers. I am trying to get something quickly so I can make more money to support my family :-). I plan on doing clep for courses as well, but I plan on starting with ALEKS since I don't think it will take me long but I am not completely sure because I havn't started. I am a wonderful at independent studies, so nothing should be to much of a big deal. I am just focused on planning my quickest route to my undergrad. I plan on doing MSM-ACC afterword & MBA in finance. I've wanted to get these degrees for awhile just havn't had the time!
Thanks for the comments!
DRS
Questions from the new guy! - ryoder - 11-19-2011
You sound like my kind of guy. Kick ass and take numbers.
Ok so here is the deal. Straighterline rocks if you are a fast paced learner. Go to the website, find out what text you need and order it on Amazon right now. Get an older version and pay overnight shipping. It should cost less than 15 dollars all said and done. Then go sign up for the monthly deal and pay for accounting I&II. Before the book comes in, start studying accounting basics by downloading some sort of accounting for dummies style book ASAP. You need to get debits, credits and the fundamental accounting equation right away. Once you understand that, you are good to go.
Know whats on the financial statements and how taking in a payment for something already invoiced out affects accounts receivables, cash etc.
The tests are based on the book. Make sure you read the book and understand the material at a decent level before taking a test. Be good at locating a relevant example in the book in order to answer a question. The tests are unproctored but timed so you need to know the book well. Know how to use the glossary, the index and where to find example problems.
Now for ALEKs. This will just take time. Lots of time. I spent 40 hours on statistics and I am pretty well educated in math.
Sign up cause its cheap. Take the eval. Then work "the pie" and print each answer out to a pdf or some sort of electronic format that you can read when taking the tests. These will be your open book notes. The tests are all open book and untimed but you have to know the material and how to compute the answers to the questions.
ALEKs is good for 9-12 credits at TESC so do your stats class and then hit up college albebra and business statistics which is almost a 100% repeat of statistics so do it right away after the ACE credits hit your ACE transcript.
If you don't know what I am talking about, do a search. It has been well documented on this forum. Good luck and get to work
Questions from the new guy! - DRS71188 - 11-19-2011
Thank you for the advice & motivation. I see that you got your CIS undergrad from TESC, can you tell me what the class structures are like? How many semesters can I take a year, and how long did it take you from the ground up? I am going to do acc-1/2 and micro/macro econ over the next few weeks since they will be my easiest. Once I get started ill push right threw, I just like to have a game plan :-). I am so worried about enrolling at TESC and fasfa not covering enough, its making me paranoid. Maybe you can help on that kind of question? 6800 for a year which is super cheap. My wife gets like 19,000 a year from fasfa not including summers. But thank you I will get those books & start right away.
Questions from the new guy! - burbuja0512 - 11-19-2011
Ohhhh... pharmacy tech. VERY COOL. Do you mind if I give some suggestions based on personal experience? First of all, take the substance abuse DSST. Half of the test is about street drugs, but the other half is about licit substances, which will be a no-brainer for you. If you have narc-tech experience, then you'll have no problem with any of the opioids. Those make up a good portion of the test.
Now here is my totally unsolicited career advice. I worked with medical information for years. I managed to get into a medical sales job (Look at the computer in your hospital and I worked at one of the major reference companies.. don't want to name it here, but if you've ever looked up drug info, there is a good chance that I was a sales rep for that company)
ANYHOW... I didn't really have any qualifications for the job other than my outgoing personality, but once I was in medical software sales, I took a pharm tech course and spent a year volunteering on Friday nights at a local hospital pharmacy. This combination of sales + some medical experience caused my career to skyrocket. Yes, I kid you not... an online pharm tech course plus sales experience = a REALLY good job and lots of options. There are so many large companies out there that want a combo of biz experience + medical. At the hospital, you may be the low man on the totem pole, but if you go to work at a company that sells medical products to hospitals, pharma, or other healthcare industry clients, your experience will be invaluable. Think companies like Amerisource Bergen, McKesson, Omnicare, etc...
Even if you're not into the sales scene, product management or IT in the healthcare arena are highly compensated. For any of the jobs I've mentioned, you're talking in the range of 60-100k + From an IT perspective, with the forced switch to electronic health records, EMR/EHR companies are also huge and have deep pockets. Both sales and IT in these areas have a lot of growth potential.
Anyhow... if anything that I've mentioned interests you, I would suggest either a biz or an IT path. Add that with your medical background and you can easily double to triple your pharm tech salary.
Questions from the new guy! - mrs.b - 11-20-2011
burbuja and ryoder answered the majority of your questions much better than I could, so I'll just contribute a little personal experience with #4: Is going full time while doing SL course too much?
It is possible. If you're determined enough, I'm sure you can do it for a period of time. How long is the question. Having gone down that road, I would suggest knocking out any tests you want now while you can focus and speed through them, and if you have courses remaining, then take the courses. I've been enrolled in 3 classes a semester in TESC online and GS courses, and then stacked on top studying for CLEPs, a DSST, two Penn Foster courses (and two more planned), and a handful of other self-paced courses elsewhere, with the goal of completing 78 credits in one year to graduate with a double major (BSBA-HROM and BSBA-OPM). It is possible, but it is extremely rough if you have a family and full-time job to balance. So much so, that after nearly six months of it, I am seriously considering dropping the second major or slowing down and taking an extra six months to finish. Like you've described yourself, I tend to be an "all or nothing" sort of person and hyper-focus on my chosen tasks. Still, a human being can only keep up that kind of pace for so long without burning out.
If you want to speed through the credits, the only way that seems reasonable (to do it with your sanity intact at the end) is the complete testing route others suggested. That way, you can focus exclusively on one test, take it, then move on to the next. You'll still race through the courses, probably faster than you would if you try to juggle 4 or 5 classes worth of material at once, while keeping up with your family and job.
Questions from the new guy! - ryoder - 11-20-2011
Do NOT enroll in TESC right now. This board will help you to test out of most of your degree. Do not enroll until you know exactly which classes you need that cannot be tested out of. TESC classes take time and you will get burnt out if you take too many.
Like mrs.b said, its harder to get burnt out when doing testing since you can take breaks when you want, you can focus on one at a time, and you get instant gratification when you pass.
You should create a degree plan and post it here so that others can help you figure out your testing out options.
Book mark this PDF as it is a great resource for figuring out what you can CLEP/DSST out of.
http://degreeplanners.com/media/TESC_Equiv_Sorted_By_Course.pdf
Your quickest test out route at for business TESC is the BSBA General Management so if you want to quickly get into a masters, this is your best option.
The CIS and Accounting tracks cannot be completed via test out alone. I already had some computer classes and certifications that helped me to complete the CIS major and that is my field so it made sense for me to do it. I was strongly considering a BSBA Gen Mgt at Exelsior prior to becoming a member on this forum and Geezer recommended the CIS degree. I am glad he did.