Degree Plan – BS Math Major at Excelsior

[NAP]

College Math CLEP

I studied for 3 weeks. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well, since I want to be a Math major. I got a 76, which may mean that only 4 out of 60 answers were wrong. I am excited to earn 6 college credits for the math I learned in high school!

The exam was much more tiring than I expected and I had to try hard to stay on time. I only had enough time to get all of the questions answered; I did not have time to go back and check the ones I marked or check the others for mistakes.

Materials I used:

REA General Review book (with review/teaching material for each subject plus drills) and SEPARATE REA Preparation book (with 3 practice tests) - http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...exams.html
They were good, but the Trigonometry section was way too deep and the CLEP Success ebook did not even have a trigonometry section.
(REA has a book for just the College Math test available now.)

Peterson's CLEP Success free ebook has review/teaching material for each subject and multiple practice tests.
I read the College Math section of this book and did the review questions. These were good, too. The pre- and post-tests were very difficult like the Peterson’s practice exams.

Peterson’s practice tests – I would recommend working through the CLEP Success materials first. That should help with these more difficult practice tests. To avoid confusion, I also worked through these practice exams one question at a time – do problem, look at answer and explanation, figure it out, and do the next problem. This requires going through the exam quickly and answering all “D” and then going back through the “review section” untimed to do the problems for real.

CLEP Official Study Guide - Practice test
I did very well on this. The other sources had prepared me well, even though Peterson’s can be discouraging because of the high level of difficulty.

The CLEP Sampler can be downloaded from the official CLEP website. This has the calculator that will be available on the test computer during the exam. You can use this to practice at home before the exam and get familiar with the features on the calculator.

If you already have a strong math background, this is a great opportunity to pick up 6 credits in math.


Intro to Computing (72=A), Information Systems & Computer Applications (76), Management Information Systems (73=A)

I have been studying for all 3 computer exams at the same time. It was harder to do this than I expected, but still a wise choice. I am an average home computer user (with no business experience) and had a lot more to learn than I realized.

Please note: I took the old graded (2 digit score) version of both DSST exams. Most people are being given the new refreshed non-graded (3 digit score) version of these DSST exams now. The CLEP test has a new content breakdown for 2010. I believe I took this new version.

I studied for the Intro DSST for 4 weeks. The exam was harder (deeper) than expected. There were a lot of questions for which I needed to know 3 facts and I often only knew 1 or 2.

Study materials I used:

Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101 – I should have started here. It has good explanations and pictures for many topics. I read through all of “Computer Basics” and some of “Databases”.
InstantCert – I read all 3 sets of flashcards for the computing exams.
Petersons practice exams for Intro DSST
DSST site – quiz, official practice test, and fact sheet

Then I studied another week for the CLEP exam. Having taken the Intro DSST first really helped. I also started studying for the MIS DSST and that was helpful for the CLEP exam. With all of this studying, the exam was easier than I expected.

Study materials I used:

InstantCert – I took notes on the CLEP and MIS sets of flashcards.
Petersons practice exams for CLEP
Official CLEP Study Guide practice tests for 2009 and 2010
New 2010 CLEP exam breakdown - http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...#post77333

Again, having prepared for the Intro DSST exam and taken notes on the MIS flashcards were important parts of doing well on this CLEP exam.

Lastly, I studied for 3 more weeks for the MIS DSST. I won’t know my score for several weeks, but the materials I used covered the exam topics pretty well. I was glad I reviewed the material from the previous 2 exams also.

Study materials I used:

InstantCert flashcards
Petersons practice exams for MIS
Study Guide by MISin08 - Google Docs – Thank you!
MIS Glossary - DCN: Glossary
DSS glossary - DSSResources.COM Glossary - great reference glossary
Management Information Systems DSST Study Guide - Free-Clep-Prep.com – This was my first time to use this site as a main study resource. I thought it was quite helpful. I used it last, that way I knew which material was important to read and which material I could skip (such as some parts of wikipedia pages).
DSST site – quiz, official practice test, and fact sheet

Having the chance to earn 9 credits, including 3 upper-level, by taking these exams, which do build on each other, is a great opportunity. Thank you for the advice to take all 3 exams, and thank you all for always recommending excellent study resources.

These credits completed my associate degree and started my bachelor’s degree!


French CLEP

I hope to take the French CLEP early next year (2011).

Currently studying with:

101 Languages of the World software – This has 1000 lines of text on multiple topics that can be listened to one word or one paragraph at a time, slowly or at regular speed, with or without translation, and corresponding games.

I got the Schaum's Outlines for French Vocabulary 3ed and French Grammar 5ed workbooks. They look good for this and were recommended, but I have not decided if I am going to really work through them or mostly just read them.

I am also looking at study guides which were written for the AP test, since I cannot find any for CLEP. They have listening practice, which many books do not have. I am hoping there will be some guidance/notes for what is most important to study for an exam. I am going to try the REA book.

I also need some listening practice. - online videos - Resource: French in Action

I was sent this link that looks fun and interesting (Thanks Justin!):

français interactif - by the University of Texas - It has a nice combination of vocabulary and grammar lessons, listening practice, exercises/quizzes, plus short videos.

He has also posted a few more links here:

French Language CLEP Study Guide

The CLEP Sampler can be downloaded from the official CLEP website. This has an example of a listening, reading, and grammar question for all 3 language exams.

Biochemistry GRE

I am planning to study for the Biochemistry GRE for one year and take it in April 2011.

GRE thread - http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...tests.html

GRE Subject Test Forums - GRE Subject Tests

*****Note: Excelsior is currently considering whether to continue to offer GREs for credit. Be sure to check with Excelsior about this opportunity which may still be available! Also check the policies at Charter Oak and Empire State, if you plan to take the Subject GRE for credit.*****