The Duggars and CollegePlus

[Chebasaz]

Really interesting thread and everyone makes some great points. I'll toss in my 2 cents as long as you don't hold me to that value.

The things that seem incredibly easy and straightforward to me and you, can confuse the heck out of other people. Everyone doesn't surf the internet the same way we do. They don't study for exams the same way we do, and they don't approach degree planning the same way either. That doesn't make them wrong or stupid, it just makes them different. I get at least a dozen Emails a week asking questions which I have already answered on Free-Clep-Prep. Often times, it's simply because they're brand new to the entire test-for-credit world and they're overwhelmed. Once they get started on the path and get through the ton of new information (acronyms, credit types, degree requirements) they're usually fine. You gotta admit, it's a pretty steep learning curve at the beginning.

CP takes that curve away. For $3000, they'll do it all for you and basically take the place of a student adviser. I know you're saying, "But they don't have to!" and you're right. But some people don't care. They want to pay that money. I never can spare the time, but I get requests to tutor and consult constantly. I often point them towards IC, the wiki and a few other free resources. They don't want any of that. It's not about the fact they could get it cheaper or for free. They WANT to pay that money and not have to worry about all this stuff. For those people, I often send them CP's way (no affiliation here) simply because CP is offering a service that they want. It's not the path that I would choose, but hey.. it's not my journey either.

The Duggars endorsing was their own choice, and I can't blame CP for milking that for all it's worth. The down side is like you said, plenty of other people out there will probably never know there's a cheaper way. Plenty of others will though. You guys do a world of good here. You're honestly helping people improve their lives and that's an awesome thing. It's what keeps me lurking here long after my own degree is done, and what keeps me pointing others this way as well. Just keep in mind that not everyone is willing or able to follow the same path.