New to the forum, couple questions.

[bjcheung77]

Don't be afraid to start with StraighterLine/Study.com - for individuals who are far from a CLEP test center or want to complete their degree entirely online, these two providers are better as the final exams count for SL 30%, SDC ~33% or ~66% of the grade. The passing rate for SL/SDC is much higher than taking another provider.

Now, fast people one can complete the SL/SDC course depends on previous knowledge of the subject, if you can brain dump, and if you use the course materials effectively. For me, I have a laptop/second monitor, I use my SL/SDC on the laptop and the provided e-textbook on the second monitor, I do my courses quickly by copy/pasting my own "Coles Notes" of what I don't understand and review the chapter summaries/previous quizzes/exams/midterms, etc.

When the final comes, I remove my second monitor and do the proctored exam - voila, some are open book for SL, but it's always closed book for SDC, but I know my scores always high when I start the final. You just need 56% or higher to pass the course, as your quizzes and assignments will make up for the "boo boo/foo foo errors" you make in the final proctored exam.

An example of a quick course or two I did with SL is Medical Terminology and Pharmacology. I finished each course within a long weekend and scored a 99% final grade in each of the courses, both are open book final. All the answers are on the textbook.

Now an example of SDC, I finished their Computer Science 105 in a day as I did a few of their computer courses (CIS & CS), all of the course material was complete practically, I just did the final couple of quizzes, and did the final, I got 92% final grade (I didn't bother with getting 100% for my quizzes, I just went straight to finish it fast).

What I suggest people to do, is do the courses in groups that overlap - History I/II, Western Civ I/II etc, whatever that has a I/II or a continuation of the course, anything that already gets you up to par with the previous course, you can finish them faster as you will build on those topics. Don't fret over the courses, the first time you start, it is daunting until you complete that first course, the rest will become a breeze when you know the ropes and how to complete them.