Basic Questions

[perrik]

I am new to this board and this testing process. I just became a student at Excelsior. I need to get close to 70 units through testing before getting my BS degree. My long range goal is to go on to get a Masters (at least) in Psychology.

I'd recommend making your first step a thorough researching of the graduate program options. Figure out your focus, sort through the options, and select your target programs. What kind of academic background are seeking? Does the program state that an undergraduate degree in psychology is strongly preferred or do they welcome all majors? If the latter, do they prefer a certain amount of undergraduate work have been in psychology? Do they require other specific undergrad courses on your transcript, like statistics or biology? What GPA is recommended/required for applicants, and does the graduate school have any policy on the minimum number of graded credits required? (some do - look for a link to a policy handbook on the graduate school homepage)

*How do I alert Excelsior that I took each test and of the score I received? If I take any test and fail (although I'm not planning to do that), can I simply never let the school know that I took that particular test?

If you're feeling that shaky about a CLEP or Dantes, you can leave the recipient school's code blank when signing in. Your score will be calculated, but not sent anywhere. You can later spend $20 for a transcript of all your CLEPs or Dantes to be sent to Excelsior, and you can certainly leave off any bad scores. However, it doesn't matter if you hold the score or report it - you'd have to wait 6 months to re-test in either case. So just designate your recipient school! With pass/fail tests, any passing score is a pass, even if it's just barely a pass. Excelsior does list the actual score on your transcript, but unless the exam covers a requirement for the major (or a course recommended by the grad program) a low pass shouldn't be a strike against you.

Although Excelsior will grant credits based on your score on a GRE subject exam, don't take this route! GRE-based credits are listed simply as X credits lower-level and Y credit upper-level, so your transcript won't show an admissions committee what you studied. Besides, when you take actual courses (from Excelsior or elsewhere) to get the necessary upper-level psychology credits, you'll have professors/instructors who can write those important letters of recommendation.