Roadmap for New Excelsior College Students

[japhy4529]

Hi All-
When I began this journey with my husband, we were both lost as to which direction to go and what tests to take first. With that in mind, I wanted to list the tests that I took for my Psychology degree and the order in which I took them, in the hope that this will help to guide new students. This is not to say that this is the way that you should travel. It is just to give you an idea of maybe where to begin.

I started when I was 47 years old. It has been a difficult but very rewarding journey. I've made several friends along the way who have helped me, and without them I think I would have taken many tests that I didn't need. At times I was so discouraged I didn't think I would ever be able to accomplish this. One time I packed it all up and said "enough". I just wanted to share this so if you get discouraged, I want you to know that others have also. Just don't quit! Keep trying! You can do this too!

Sociology (CLEP)
Macroeconomics (CLEP)
Microeconomics (CLEP)
US Govt (CLEP)
Psychology (CLEP)
US Hist 1 (CLEP)
US Hist 2 (CLEP)
(I needed all the previous tests to be able to take Social Studies & History. They could be taken in any order, although I would recommend starting with Sociology and then Psychology. As Macro & Micro are harder exams, I would recommend taking them after the two History exams.)
Social Studies & History (CLEP)*
English Composition (ECE)
Statistics (DSST)
College Algebra (CLEP)
Humanities (CLEP)*
Accounting (CLEP)*
Principles of Finance (DSST)
Ethics (DSST)
Ethics (ECE)
College Math (CLEP)*
Analyzing & Interpreting Literature (CLEP)*
Introduction to Computing (DSST)
Info Systems & Computer Application (CLEP)
Operations Management (TECEP)
Principles of Management (CLEP)
Principles of Supervision (DSST)
Human Resources Mgmt (DSST)
Principles of Marketing (CLEP)
Introduction to Business (DSST)
Information Literacy (ECE)
Introduction to Business Law (1) (CLEP)
FEMA (2 credits)
Business Policy (TECEP)
Human Growth & Development (CLEP)
Introduction to Education Psychology (CLEP)
Abnormal Psychology (ECE)
Research Methods (ECE)
Adulthood & Aging (ECE)
Foundations of Gerontoloty (ECE)
Social Psychology (ECE)
Organization Behavior (ECE)

*These exams were worth 6 credits each; all other exams listed were worth 3 credits each. NOTE: the 6 credit CLEP Accounting exam is no longer available and has been replaced by a 3 credit exam that only covers one half of the original exam.

If you are taking College Math, I would highly recommend taking it right after or right before College Algebra. If you need Money and Banking, I would take it right after Macro and Micro (taken in that order). I took Intro to Business AFTER the business courses because it made it very easy to just go over InstantCert. The only reason I saved ECE Organizational Behavior for last was to see what grade I needed for my GPA; however, a good time to take OB would be right after or right before taking the DSST or ECE Human Resources Management exam. The ECE Information Literacy exam can be taken at any time and does provide some valuable information.

I feel it is very important that you obtain a copy of the "Student Guide to Credit by Examination at Excelsior College" assessment catalog. This catalog will clearly show which CLEP, DSST, and ECE exams meet each of the degree requirements and the scores required to pass each exam. This catalog does not include the Thomas Edison exams (TECEP) that can fulfill some of the requirements.

Please note that the requirements for the Excelsior College Psychology degree have changed as of January 1, 2007. You can no longer completely test out of a Psychology degree (please see the Excelsior College School of Liberal Arts catalog for details).

I hope that this will be of some help to those of you just beginning on your journey. Remember that all of our journeys will be different, but hopefully this will give some guidelines to those who need a starting point.

Hello,

Would you please show which exams from the above list counted toward your Psych major?

Thanks,
Tom