Starting from scratch. Fastest path to Associates on the way to BS?

[dfrecore]

Thanks for the detailed reply. Is CBE "Competency Based Education"? I'm completely new to this whole universe and am currently drinking from the firehose of information here. Thanks again!

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Another more specific question: Do people focusing on shortest time to completion test to focus more on CLEP and other test based credits vs. something like Sophia? If I understand it correctly, Sophia is essentially still taking the class, but it's self paced, so you can move faster if you're able vs. CLEP which is just a one time test that you take when you think you're ready.

Any benefit or preference to one over the other?

Yes, CBE is competency-based ed.  In this discussion, it's where you pay by time, rather than per course.  For UMPI, it's $1400/8-week term.  Most people on here are bringing in 90cr and then doing 30cr at UMPI in 1, 2 or 3 terms - with 2 being the "most popular" because it's doable and costs the least (I personally can't imagine doing 1 term, but a couple of people have).  The ones that do 3 terms seem to be people who have Pell Grants so aren't paying out of pocket, or people who want more than 1 minor/concentration (I may be wrong).

Another option, especially for someone who is looking at IT and/or business is WGU, also CBE.  There, you'd bring in less credit since the terms are longer - 6mo terms.  But for someone with no credit, they're a good option as well.

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For courses vs. exams: there is no benefit or preference.  Some people are great test-takers and prefer them; others prefer courses.  For CLEP, if you use ModernStates.org as your CLEP-prep course, you can actually get a voucher and then take the CLEP for free.

I, and probably most on here, use a more varied approach - we do some of everything.  I've taken CLEP and DSST exams for courses I think I can pass easily without study (I took the Management & Marketing CLEP's and the Intro to Computers and Personal Finance DSST's, all in 1 day, and passed them all easily - but I had years of experience with all of that).  So I've taken Exams from CLEP, DSST, TECEP and The Institute (gone).  And Courses from Sophia, Study.com, ALEKS, PennFoster, FEMA (gone), Ed4Credit (gone), and Kaplan (gone). That does not count the college courses I've taken from SIX colleges!