Need Quick Completion of Excelsior BS Liberal Arts

[gcalvin]

Originally Posted by teststudent

The depth requirement I need to complete the degree is "Arts and Sciences."

I'm thinking of the exams below:

DANTES SUBJECT STANDARDIZED TEST SE*483 THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION
DANTES SUBJECT STANDARDIZED TEST SG*548 MONEY AND BANKING
DANTES SUBJECT STANDARDIZED TEST SE*471 RISE AND FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION
Excelsior College Examinations RELX*310 RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD
Excelsior College Examinations PSYX*325 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Excelsior College Examinations BUSX*315 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Excelsior College Examinations PSYX*315 PSYCHOLOGY OF ADULTHOOD & AGING

This is certainly achievable. You might consider ECE Research Methods in Psychology also, as that is another upper-level exam, and there are IC materials for it. Absolutely use the Excelsior Exam Content Guides and strongly consider using the practice exams. The practice exams give explanations for each of the right and wrong answers after you take them, and I find those VERY helpful. The only exam on your list that I have taken so far is the Civil War and Reconstruction, which I just sat this morning. The IC material was very helpful, and I passed with a 68.

Your one-exam-per-week schedule is not out of line, but you should also consider a broad prep followed by clustered exam approach. For instance, you could take two weeks studying Civil War and Soviet Union, switching back and forth to keep them both "fresh", and then take both exams the same day. You could do the same thing with the Psychology subjects, as they reinforce each other to some degree.

I would strongly recommend finding a test center that offers the online DANTES exams, but that might be just my preference -- I don't like pencil-and-answer-sheet, and I hate waiting for the results.

[gcalvin]

Originally Posted by teststudent

Even if I studied 80 hours per exam and took 14 weeks instead of 7 to complete everything, that's still much better than having to wait 6 months to redo them.
When you are able to pass the instantcert practice exams, does that mean you should know enough to pass the real exams?

Don't forget, you also have the option of taking a different exam, if you should fail one.

Generally, knowing the IC flashcards nearly perfectly, on the random order setting, is a pretty good predictor of success on the real exam, but it's not a guarantee. (I am presuming you want As on these, not just passing grades?) Follow the advice of reading the bottom material EVERY time you run through the flashcards, right or wrong. I still feel better taking another practice exam, especially for the ECEs. The ECE practice exams are pricey, but unless you are very confident of your knowledge, I think they are worth it.

[teststudent]

Originally Posted by cinderly

First, confirm with your university that the exams you have selected will fulfill your depth requirement in Arts & Sciences. (I didn't know that was a depth -- for some reason, I thought depths were in specific subjects. Proves out that old saw about assumptions, eh?)

Once you've done that, recognize that, regardless of your preparation, your first exam is as much a test of your method as of your subject knowledge.

Because of this, I would urge you not commit to a schedule until after you've completed your first test. You will have a better idea, then, of what kind of preparation works well for you and what sort of time line you can reasonably expect for exams of similar difficulty. (You can find past discussions of relative exam difficulty on IC.)

I'd then decide which approach is better for reaching my goals:

1) Take the test(s) you absolutely must pass, first, to allow yourself sufficient time to retake in six months if necessary.

2) Take the most easily replaceable test(s) first so you can move on to something else if you fail.

Good luck to you.

Specifically, the Arts & Sciences include subjects which are classified as
Humanities (e.g., art, philosophy, music, languages, literature,
religion), Social Sciences and History (e.g., sociology, psychology,
history, political science, economics), and Mathematics/Natural
Science(e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, college algebra)

I have selected Psychology depth in the exams I selected, but I notice some of my choices do not have instantcert preparation available, so I may need to readjust my choices if the ECE study and practice material is much more time consuming to go through than instancerts material.

What are good upper level substitutions for the two exams (ECE Organizational Behavior and ECE Religions of the World) I selected that don't have instant cert exams available?
How about Research Methods in Psychology and Drug and Alcohol abuse?

[teststudent]

Originally Posted by ShotoJuku

How about a few hours a day (3-4) and a part-time job too?

Seriously, you can only study so long before the absorption rate reduces to naught. Plus a PT job will give some $$$ too.

Just a thought....

I could spread the time out in the day, get something to eat, workout, go run errands, take a short nap to rest my eyes etc. as long as 8 hours of study got done. I would not try to study for 8 hours straight.

If as all possible I would rather just get it done as fast as possible and be able to apply for my next job with the all the BS degree requirements completed.

By the way, how long after they accept your exam scores does it take Excelsior to give you a transcript showing your degree is completed?

[ShotoJuku]

Originally Posted by teststudent

By the way, how long after they accept your exam scores does it take Excelsior to give you a transcript showing your degree is completed?

Generally speaking, most scores (once received at EC) are posted on your status report in around 10 days.

[gcalvin]

Originally Posted by teststudent

What are good upper level substitutions for the two exams (ECE Organizational Behavior and ECE Religions of the World) I selected that don't have instant cert exams available?
How about Research Methods in Psychology and Drug and Alcohol abuse?

Organizational Behavior is there, but it's under DANTES. Unfortunately, taking the DANTES exam only gives you lower-level credit, but the prep material may be sufficient -- use it and then take an ECE practice exam to be sure (I'm planning to do that very thing later this week).

Will Drug & Alcohol Abuse satisfy your requirements? If so, then by all means give it a try. I just passed it today, and I found it difficult, but scored a 61. Prep was IC and a regrettably purchased PDF from PassYourClass.com.

[teststudent]

Originally Posted by ShotoJuku

Generally speaking, most scores (once received at EC) are posted on your status report in around 10 days.

So within 2 weeks or so of completing the last exam, my Excelsior transcript will say the degree is completed and I can put it on my resume?

[teststudent]

Originally Posted by gcalvin

Organizational Behavior is there, but it's under DANTES. Unfortunately, taking the DANTES exam only gives you lower-level credit, but the prep material may be sufficient -- use it and then take an ECE practice exam to be sure (I'm planning to do that very thing later this week).

Will Drug & Alcohol Abuse satisfy your requirements? If so, then by all means give it a try. I just passed it today, and I found it difficult, but scored a 61. Prep was IC and a regrettably purchased PDF from PassYourClass.com.

I suppose I don't have to use Instantcert for every single exam. I could keep what I have and use the Excelsior prep material and practice exams for those two courses. Is the Excelsior material much more time consuming to learn than Instantcert?

[ShotoJuku]

Originally Posted by teststudent

So within 2 weeks or so of completing the last exam, my Excelsior transcript will say the degree is completed and I can put it on my resume?

Once ALL of your degree requirements are completed, and EC advises you that you have completed your degree, then I would say....YES!

[gcalvin]

Originally Posted by teststudent

I suppose I don't have to use Instantcert for every single exam. I could keep what I have and use the Excelsior prep material and practice exams for those two courses. Is the Excelsior material much more time consuming to learn than Instantcert?

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I'm saying that InstantCert does provide Organizational Behavior flashcards, but they are under DANTES in the course list. Also, I'm not recommending the Excelsior prep material, but only their practice exams. The practice exams are about $65 each, and provide questions very similar to what you will find on the real exams. Not only that, after you finish the practice exam, you will have a detailed report of what you got right and what you got wrong, and clear explanations of each answer, including discussions of why the wrong answers are wrong. So you do the InstantPrep material until you are pretty sure you are ready to take the exam, then you do the Excelsior practice exam as a final confirmation that you are prepared.

I have no experience with the Excelsior Guided Learning Packages. They seem expensive to me, but they may well be worth the price.