At the junior level, you can now lead and guide younger persons into academic prosperity by helping them on exams that you've taken.
For those of you who may have thought by now "Gee, this is a great way to enlist in the military at an advanced paygrade" it is obvious that you think way ahead of the game! In other words, you gain your associates as a civilian, or at least 45 credits so that you can enlist as an E-3 or possibly E-4. An awesome combination of having an associates along with a high ASVAB score will open the door to increased sign-on bonuses, increased college funds, and more desirable jobs/rates/mos/etc. Then use the military benefits of free exams, tuition assistance, discounted rates and fees, and MGIB (after 2 years continuous active service) to complete your BS and or MS degree!
Caution: Make sure you sign up for the MGIB when you are at boot camp. That is a one-time offer. If you are foolish enough to decline it, you'll NEVER be able to enroll again.
This month we will be taking a lot more exams than normal. But if you looked carefully, many of them closely correlate with each other and cover the same material. In some cases, you can take them both the same day, back to back (you may have noticed this for earlier months as well).
For those of you who may have thought by now "Gee, this is a great way to enlist in the military at an advanced paygrade" it is obvious that you think way ahead of the game! In other words, you gain your associates as a civilian, or at least 45 credits so that you can enlist as an E-3 or possibly E-4. An awesome combination of having an associates along with a high ASVAB score will open the door to increased sign-on bonuses, increased college funds, and more desirable jobs/rates/mos/etc. Then use the military benefits of free exams, tuition assistance, discounted rates and fees, and MGIB (after 2 years continuous active service) to complete your BS and or MS degree!
Caution: Make sure you sign up for the MGIB when you are at boot camp. That is a one-time offer. If you are foolish enough to decline it, you'll NEVER be able to enroll again.
This month we will be taking a lot more exams than normal. But if you looked carefully, many of them closely correlate with each other and cover the same material. In some cases, you can take them both the same day, back to back (you may have noticed this for earlier months as well).
Month 4
- Associates completed
- Enroll in BS in General Business
- Military option: Enroll in 6 more credits
- CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
- DSST Environment and Humanities, Race to Save the planet
- CLEP Human Growth and Development
- DSST Lifespan Developmental Psychology
- CLEP Intro to Sociology
- DSST Ethics in America
- ECE Ethics, Theory and Practice
- DSST Personal Finance
- DSST Principles of Finance
- Enroll in BS in General Business
- Military option: Enroll in 6 more credits
- CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
- DSST Environment and Humanities, Race to Save the planet
- CLEP Human Growth and Development
- DSST Lifespan Developmental Psychology
- CLEP Intro to Sociology
- DSST Ethics in America
- ECE Ethics, Theory and Practice
- DSST Personal Finance
- DSST Principles of Finance
Week 13
Associates complete
All applicable fees should be paid up. Just waiting now for the diploma to arrive in the mail. Nuff said.
Enroll in Bachelors in General Business
Self explainatory. Keep in mind that you can still continue to take exams whether or not you are enrolled. In fact, for those of you who plan on extending out the degree plan longer than 1 year, it would be wiser to start testing before you enroll, and then about half way or 3/4s way, enroll. This way you will be closer to degree completion within a year from the enrollment date. In other words, you avoid having to pay a considerable student service fee (enrollment only covers you for one year. If you do not finish degree requirements within that time frame, you must rollover your enrollment by paying that service fee.) While testing, you can still have your test scores sent to the college of your choice. Or you can contact CLEP, DSST, etc. and have an official transcript sent to the school of your choice.
Military option: Enroll in 6 more credits
Just a reminder to enroll in 6 more credits @ Excelsior if you plan on completing the BS degree using the military option. When these courses are completed, this would be a total of 13 credits, which would fulfill the residency for the military option. It's free if you use tuition assistance. Remember to route your Tuition Assistance special request chit early so you have plenty of time.
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
If you can read and write, you should be able to pass this one. I cut a 57 on this one with minimal study. The single best advice for this one is READ the paragraphs, READ and RE-READ the question, UNDERSTAND what the question is asking, and answer the question ONLY using material that is in the reading provided. Make sure you can rationalize your answer choice with the evidence presented in the story, not your own personal experiences! In other words, many of the questions ask you to draw a conclusion as to what will most likely happen next/why a certain event is occurring/etc. Only select the best answer that is supported logically from the reading!
DSST Environment and Humanities
I actually failed this one by 1 point with NO studying whatsoever. That was back when I was just taking CLEPs just for the heck of it; before I found out about instantcert. In fact, this was my very first college credit exam failure and it sparked my search for finding a good study guide. But actually, if it wasn't for this failure, I wouldn't have found out about instantcert and probably would have failed a much more important exam (a core requirement). I guess things happen for a reason :)
All applicable fees should be paid up. Just waiting now for the diploma to arrive in the mail. Nuff said.
Enroll in Bachelors in General Business
Self explainatory. Keep in mind that you can still continue to take exams whether or not you are enrolled. In fact, for those of you who plan on extending out the degree plan longer than 1 year, it would be wiser to start testing before you enroll, and then about half way or 3/4s way, enroll. This way you will be closer to degree completion within a year from the enrollment date. In other words, you avoid having to pay a considerable student service fee (enrollment only covers you for one year. If you do not finish degree requirements within that time frame, you must rollover your enrollment by paying that service fee.) While testing, you can still have your test scores sent to the college of your choice. Or you can contact CLEP, DSST, etc. and have an official transcript sent to the school of your choice.
Military option: Enroll in 6 more credits
Just a reminder to enroll in 6 more credits @ Excelsior if you plan on completing the BS degree using the military option. When these courses are completed, this would be a total of 13 credits, which would fulfill the residency for the military option. It's free if you use tuition assistance. Remember to route your Tuition Assistance special request chit early so you have plenty of time.
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
If you can read and write, you should be able to pass this one. I cut a 57 on this one with minimal study. The single best advice for this one is READ the paragraphs, READ and RE-READ the question, UNDERSTAND what the question is asking, and answer the question ONLY using material that is in the reading provided. Make sure you can rationalize your answer choice with the evidence presented in the story, not your own personal experiences! In other words, many of the questions ask you to draw a conclusion as to what will most likely happen next/why a certain event is occurring/etc. Only select the best answer that is supported logically from the reading!
DSST Environment and Humanities
I actually failed this one by 1 point with NO studying whatsoever. That was back when I was just taking CLEPs just for the heck of it; before I found out about instantcert. In fact, this was my very first college credit exam failure and it sparked my search for finding a good study guide. But actually, if it wasn't for this failure, I wouldn't have found out about instantcert and probably would have failed a much more important exam (a core requirement). I guess things happen for a reason :)
Week 14
CLEP Human Growth and Development
If you've taken DSST or ECE Lifespan Developmental Psychology, it is based on the same psychology. I cut a 60 on this one, and had I really studied hard, I would have easily got a 70 or higher. But Excelsior only assigns pass/fail credit for this one.* You'll begin to realize that many of these exams, particularly the business and psychology ones are interrelated: some concepts are covered over and over.
* Remember that pass/fail credit assigned to certain cleps can change to real letter grades, so you still want to score as high as possible on all exams.
DSST Lifespan Developmental Psychology
See the above paragraph on CLEP Human Growth. Take these the same day. In addition to the instantcert Human Growth guide, use the Cracking the GRE Psychology which you should already have. I scored a "B" on the Excelsior version with minimal study. Again, once you start taking 2 or 3 psychology exams, you will be able to zip though most of the others. Take this one the same day as you would the CLEP Human Growth.
CLEP Intro to Sociology
I scored a 67 on this exam. Too bad, again, only pass/fail credit was assigned. Since you've taken a few psychology exams already, this one should be a breeze. The instantcert guide will also bring you up to speed with its crash course. Shouldn't take you longer than a 10-hour day to cram....I mean prepare for this one :)
In addition to the instantcert guide, try to find a brief summary on the following people and concepts:
- Ervin Goffman's 'front region' and 'back region' (family)
- William J Goode (forgot the concept)
- Herbert Gans's poverty concept
- Thomas Malthus's population growth
If you've taken DSST or ECE Lifespan Developmental Psychology, it is based on the same psychology. I cut a 60 on this one, and had I really studied hard, I would have easily got a 70 or higher. But Excelsior only assigns pass/fail credit for this one.* You'll begin to realize that many of these exams, particularly the business and psychology ones are interrelated: some concepts are covered over and over.
* Remember that pass/fail credit assigned to certain cleps can change to real letter grades, so you still want to score as high as possible on all exams.
DSST Lifespan Developmental Psychology
See the above paragraph on CLEP Human Growth. Take these the same day. In addition to the instantcert Human Growth guide, use the Cracking the GRE Psychology which you should already have. I scored a "B" on the Excelsior version with minimal study. Again, once you start taking 2 or 3 psychology exams, you will be able to zip though most of the others. Take this one the same day as you would the CLEP Human Growth.
CLEP Intro to Sociology
I scored a 67 on this exam. Too bad, again, only pass/fail credit was assigned. Since you've taken a few psychology exams already, this one should be a breeze. The instantcert guide will also bring you up to speed with its crash course. Shouldn't take you longer than a 10-hour day to cram....I mean prepare for this one :)
In addition to the instantcert guide, try to find a brief summary on the following people and concepts:
- Ervin Goffman's 'front region' and 'back region' (family)
- William J Goode (forgot the concept)
- Herbert Gans's poverty concept
- Thomas Malthus's population growth
Week 15
DSST Ethics in America
I scored a 51 on this, without studying at all (before I knew about instantcert). 25% was testing theories, and 75% was a series of yes/no questions. Once again, Instantcert has an all-you-need-to-know study guide for this test. You can also buy the book, DSST Official Test Preparation, which actually covers 8 of the DSST exams, with many sample questions, answers and brief explainations to the answers..
ECE Ethics, Theory and Practice
This one is similar to the DSST version, in that only about a 1/3 of testing the theories, and 2/3s of application of the theories. You can pass this if you use the DSST Ethics in America study guide. (I got a "B" on it using ONLY this study guide) But it is not complete. You may be able to get an "A" if you guess well enough. Otherwise, you are better off going with either the iStudySmart guide, or buy the recommended textbook, Basic Moral Philosophy (used copy, if possible). Then compare with the exam content outline, available free from Excelsior's website. Take this one the same day as the DSST version. Some of the concepts you may want to home in on include:
- utilitarianism (the underlying principles was MOST important for the whole test, but knowing "spin-offs" from Mills or Bentham (sp?) also helps)
- Kantianism and his categorial imperative
- Aquinas and the double-effect
- Aristotle and principles of virtue
- Epicurus and hedonism
- consequentialism vs deontologial morals
- autonomy
- divine command theory and moral objectivism
- social contract (Hobbes)
I scored a 51 on this, without studying at all (before I knew about instantcert). 25% was testing theories, and 75% was a series of yes/no questions. Once again, Instantcert has an all-you-need-to-know study guide for this test. You can also buy the book, DSST Official Test Preparation, which actually covers 8 of the DSST exams, with many sample questions, answers and brief explainations to the answers..
ECE Ethics, Theory and Practice
This one is similar to the DSST version, in that only about a 1/3 of testing the theories, and 2/3s of application of the theories. You can pass this if you use the DSST Ethics in America study guide. (I got a "B" on it using ONLY this study guide) But it is not complete. You may be able to get an "A" if you guess well enough. Otherwise, you are better off going with either the iStudySmart guide, or buy the recommended textbook, Basic Moral Philosophy (used copy, if possible). Then compare with the exam content outline, available free from Excelsior's website. Take this one the same day as the DSST version. Some of the concepts you may want to home in on include:
- utilitarianism (the underlying principles was MOST important for the whole test, but knowing "spin-offs" from Mills or Bentham (sp?) also helps)
- Kantianism and his categorial imperative
- Aquinas and the double-effect
- Aristotle and principles of virtue
- Epicurus and hedonism
- consequentialism vs deontologial morals
- autonomy
- divine command theory and moral objectivism
- social contract (Hobbes)
Week 16
DSST Personal Finance
I took this one way back in "A" school. I thought I'd failed, but come to find out I scored a 56 on this one, in which Excelsior gave me an "A" grade for. DSST put out a book, called the Official Study guide for the DSST Exams that should cover this topic well enough to pass. If you follow stocks/bonds, use a checking account, etc., it will help. If you're an avid Wall Street Journal/Investor's Business Daily reader, you should pass with little difficulty.
DSST Principles of Finance
Definetly study the instantcert version of this tough exam. I barely passed with a 46, after briefly reviewing between 1/2 and 2/3s of the instantcert questions. Don't go in and test until you feel confident that you thoroughly know the concepts i.e. don't cram! You can take this the same day that you take the Personal Finance version. Don't rely solely on knowing previous investment-related experience. I did, and paid the price of a "C" grade. But I didn't care because this satisfies the Financial Management core requirement! Again I hugged the proctor when I was done with this test :) Nuff said.
Total credits this month: 24 s.h., lower level, 6 s.h. upper level = 30 credits!
Overview of core requirements completed, weeks 1-4:
- Written English Requirement, WER 3 credits satisfied
- 6 additional credits credits in humanities
- 6 additional credits in social sciences/history
- 3 credits in math precalculus or above
- 12 additional arts/science credits
Weeks 5-8
- 3 credits Macroeconomics and 3 credits in Microeconomics
- 3 credits in Statistics
*** Arts and Science component (33 credits minimum) completed! ***
- 3 credits in computers
- 3 additional business credits (intro to biz)
Weeks 9-12
- 3 credits Financial and 3 credits Managerial accounting
- 3 credits Business Law
- 3 credits Principles of Management
- 3 credits Principles of Marketing
*** Business Component (21 credits minimum) completed!***
- 1 credit Information Literacy
***Additional credit component (7 credits minimum) completed!***
- 6 credits additional liberal arts. (2 clep psychologies)
- 3 credits business (supervision)
Week 13-16
- 12 credits for humanities (liberal arts); Ethics component satisfied
- 9 credits in social sciences (liberal arts)
***BS arts/science (60 credits minimum) component satisfied
- 3 credits in business (personal finance)
- 3 credits in Financial Management
- 3 credits in Upper Level Business
Total BS in General Business credits: 100 s.h.
Recommended Booklist
- Environment/Humanities, Human Growth/Development, Intro Sociology, Ethics in America, Principles of Finance, Instantcert study guides. $20/month.
- DSST The Official Test Preparation Guide, Petersons, $20 Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble
**- Cracking the GRE Psychology Test, Princton Review, $20 Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble
** You should have already bought this and this will not be calculated in the costs.
- Basic Moral Philosophy, Robert Holmes, $70 Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble
[update January 17, 2005]
- Official Clep Study Guide 16th ed. ISBN 0874477093 Amazon.com | Barnes&Noble (note: not included in the current total of costs).
[update January 17, 2005]
- Master booklist and study guides for all exams now available > >
Total Month 1 Expenses = $1595.00
Total applicable military discounts: up to $1305 depending on enrollment option and where you take exams.
Total Month 2 Expenses = $780
Total military discounts available: $660 for exams and information literacy.
Total Month 3 Expenses = $1120
Total military discounts available = Up to $900 depending on enrollment.
Month 4 Expenses
- instantcert - $20
- recommended textbooks - $110
- 3 CLEP x $75 + 5 DSST x $75 + 1 ECE x $180 = $780
- Enroll in BS General Business program. $995/795*** or $815/615*** or $150 for military option.
- Enroll in 6 credits @ Excelsior - free (tuition assistance)
- travel/misc expenses - $100
*** $200 off if you were previously enrolled in an Associates @ Excelsior within the last 6 months. I will use the higher amount in calculating expenses.
Total Month 4 Expenses = $1995
Total military discounts available: up to $1625 depending on enrollment option.
Total so far = Month 1 + Month 2 + Month 3 + Month 4 = $5490
Total applicable military discounts to date: up to $4490 depending on enrollment option.
I took this one way back in "A" school. I thought I'd failed, but come to find out I scored a 56 on this one, in which Excelsior gave me an "A" grade for. DSST put out a book, called the Official Study guide for the DSST Exams that should cover this topic well enough to pass. If you follow stocks/bonds, use a checking account, etc., it will help. If you're an avid Wall Street Journal/Investor's Business Daily reader, you should pass with little difficulty.
DSST Principles of Finance
Definetly study the instantcert version of this tough exam. I barely passed with a 46, after briefly reviewing between 1/2 and 2/3s of the instantcert questions. Don't go in and test until you feel confident that you thoroughly know the concepts i.e. don't cram! You can take this the same day that you take the Personal Finance version. Don't rely solely on knowing previous investment-related experience. I did, and paid the price of a "C" grade. But I didn't care because this satisfies the Financial Management core requirement! Again I hugged the proctor when I was done with this test :) Nuff said.
Total credits this month: 24 s.h., lower level, 6 s.h. upper level = 30 credits!
Overview of core requirements completed, weeks 1-4:
- Written English Requirement, WER 3 credits satisfied
- 6 additional credits credits in humanities
- 6 additional credits in social sciences/history
- 3 credits in math precalculus or above
- 12 additional arts/science credits
Weeks 5-8
- 3 credits Macroeconomics and 3 credits in Microeconomics
- 3 credits in Statistics
*** Arts and Science component (33 credits minimum) completed! ***
- 3 credits in computers
- 3 additional business credits (intro to biz)
Weeks 9-12
- 3 credits Financial and 3 credits Managerial accounting
- 3 credits Business Law
- 3 credits Principles of Management
- 3 credits Principles of Marketing
*** Business Component (21 credits minimum) completed!***
- 1 credit Information Literacy
***Additional credit component (7 credits minimum) completed!***
- 6 credits additional liberal arts. (2 clep psychologies)
- 3 credits business (supervision)
Week 13-16
- 12 credits for humanities (liberal arts); Ethics component satisfied
- 9 credits in social sciences (liberal arts)
***BS arts/science (60 credits minimum) component satisfied
- 3 credits in business (personal finance)
- 3 credits in Financial Management
- 3 credits in Upper Level Business
Total BS in General Business credits: 100 s.h.
Recommended Booklist
- Environment/Humanities, Human Growth/Development, Intro Sociology, Ethics in America, Principles of Finance, Instantcert study guides. $20/month.
- DSST The Official Test Preparation Guide, Petersons, $20 Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble
**- Cracking the GRE Psychology Test, Princton Review, $20 Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble
** You should have already bought this and this will not be calculated in the costs.
- Basic Moral Philosophy, Robert Holmes, $70 Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble
[update January 17, 2005]
- Official Clep Study Guide 16th ed. ISBN 0874477093 Amazon.com | Barnes&Noble (note: not included in the current total of costs).
[update January 17, 2005]
- Master booklist and study guides for all exams now available > >
Total Month 1 Expenses = $1595.00
Total applicable military discounts: up to $1305 depending on enrollment option and where you take exams.
Total Month 2 Expenses = $780
Total military discounts available: $660 for exams and information literacy.
Total Month 3 Expenses = $1120
Total military discounts available = Up to $900 depending on enrollment.
Month 4 Expenses
- instantcert - $20
- recommended textbooks - $110
- 3 CLEP x $75 + 5 DSST x $75 + 1 ECE x $180 = $780
- Enroll in BS General Business program. $995/795*** or $815/615*** or $150 for military option.
- Enroll in 6 credits @ Excelsior - free (tuition assistance)
- travel/misc expenses - $100
*** $200 off if you were previously enrolled in an Associates @ Excelsior within the last 6 months. I will use the higher amount in calculating expenses.
Total Month 4 Expenses = $1995
Total military discounts available: up to $1625 depending on enrollment option.
Total so far = Month 1 + Month 2 + Month 3 + Month 4 = $5490
Total applicable military discounts to date: up to $4490 depending on enrollment option.
homepage
Degree Plans
- Introduction
- Is distance learning
for me?
- What colleges qualify?
- accreditation and diploma mills
- BS in 6 months roadmap
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
- BS checklist
- proof of studies
Study Guides
- CLEP booklist
- DSST Dantes booklist
Final Words
About Us
- news
- special thanks
- privacy policy
- disclaimer
[new] links
- link to us
contact us
- faq
- message board
- biz opportunities
Site Map
Degree Plans
- Introduction
- Is distance learning
for me?
- What colleges qualify?
- accreditation and diploma mills
- BS in 6 months roadmap
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
- BS checklist
- proof of studies
Study Guides
- CLEP booklist
- DSST Dantes booklist
Final Words
About Us
- news
- special thanks
- privacy policy
- disclaimer
[new] links
- link to us
contact us
- faq
- message board
- biz opportunities
Site Map
Copyright 2004-2005 123collegedegree.com and
Joshua A. Graham
Joshua A. Graham
