Crunch time - call for help!

[gcalvin]

Hi everybody,

I'm getting close to the end of my rather ambitious goal of achieving an Excelsior BSGB in 60 days. I took my first CLEP on 11/27/07, and here's what I have left as of today:

ECE World Population (taking it tomorrow -- 01/15/08)
Penn Foster Managerial Accounting (expected it Friday, hasn't shown up yet)
DSST Principles of Finance (want to take it Friday -- 01/18/08)
DSST Fundamentals of Counseling (also Friday -- 01/18/08)
EC Business Strategy (started 01/07/08)

Sixty days from 11/27/07 is 01/25/08 -- a week from Friday. There is a lot to do, but I can make it if I stay on course. Here's what I need to do:

1) Finish preparing for World Population today and tomorrow morning -- the exam is at 1 p.m.
2) Read two chapters of Business Strategy every day for the rest of this week, and complete the online quizzes. I should also do at least two posts per chapter on the discussion board.
3) Read three chapters of Corporate Finance Demystified every day until Friday, to prepare for the Principles of Finance exam.
4) Run through the IC Fundamentals of Counseling flashcards once a day until Friday.
5) Accomplish one "lesson" (usually two or three chapters) per day of Managerial Accounting once the materials arrive.
6) Schedule and take the proctored Managerial Accounting exam.
7) Do my Business Strategy case study project next week, completing it by Friday 01/25.

Now that's really not as bad as it looks. I'm taking the time off work, so that's not an issue, and I have very few other commitments (jazz band rehearsal Tuesday nights is about it). I really have a good twelve hours a day to devote to this, as long as I don't slack off.

Here are the challenges:

a) The Business Strategy text is frightfully dull. The chapters are not terribly long (20-30 pages) but it is really taxing my concentration to stick with the reading.
b) I haven't seen the Managerial Accounting text yet, but if it's anything like the Financial Accounting text that Penn Foster supplied, then it's even worse than Business Strategy. But I do have a copy of Management Accounting Demystified, so that may help mitigate that problem.
c) Obviously, I can't afford to fail anything. As a matter of fact, I still have the ECE English Composition and TECEP Operations Management exams outstanding. If either of those comes back bad news, I'm afraid I may give up the whole project.
d) Believe it or not, I'm a terrible procrastinator. Part of the reason I'm putting myself on such a tight schedule is that, in my neurotic mind, if I'm not accomplishing something really extraordinary, I'm afraid I won't finish at all.

So with all that in mind (and I apologize for the length of this post) I am calling on any of you who are willing to help keep me on course for these next two weeks. Please use this thread to insist that I update you on my progress, and please scold me and kick me in the hindquarters as needed.

Thanks in advance for your help and good wishes!

-Gary-

[BMWGuinness]

Gary this is a wonderful idea. What are your plans after the degree? Have you thought about an MBA? Have you been given permission to finish your Business Strategy course ahead of time?

I know what you mean about dull. When I find a subject to be dull, I usually split up my study time with something I enjoy. A short television program, a quick game on the computer, or I'll switch over to getting outside or going to the gym for an hour or so.

[gcalvin]

Originally Posted by BMWGuinness

Gary this is a wonderful idea. What are your plans after the degree? Have you thought about an MBA? Have you been given permission to finish your Business Strategy course ahead of time?

I haven't decided what I want to do, but it probably won't be an MBA. I have some thought of spending a year or two teaching English in Japan. I'm also considering earning a California teaching credential.

I haven't exactly been given permission to finish BS (yeah, I know) early, but the restrictive start dates have been taken off all the quizzes, and the discussion board topics are all there already. I don't see any obstacles at the moment other than my own initiative.

-Gary-

[BMWGuinness]

Originally Posted by gcalvin

I haven't decided what I want to do, but it probably won't be an MBA. I have some thought of spending a year or two teaching English in Japan. I'm also considering earning a California teaching credential.

I haven't exactly been given permission to finish BS (yeah, I know) early, but the restrictive start dates have been taken off all the quizzes, and the discussion board topics are all there already. I don't see any obstacles at the moment other than my own initiative.

-Gary-

Please keep me informed about this, as it is the most important aspect for me. I HATE non-accelerated classes. While you're at it, why don't you give your roadmap on your way to the business degree on here for anyone who is just coming to the forum (if you have time ;o))

[Chuckers]

Originally Posted by gcalvin

Hi everybody,

I'm getting close to the end of my rather ambitious goal of achieving an Excelsior BSGB in 60 days. I took my first CLEP on 11/27/07, and here's what I have left as of today:

-Gary-

Did you start with no credits on 11/27/07 and are finishing in 60 days?!? That's amazing!

[gcalvin]

Well, my plan was basically cribbed from the bain4weeks.com site, but updated as needed and slightly modified. With CLEP Principles of Accounting no longer available, I had to do CLEP Financial Accounting and Penn Foster Managerial Accounting. ECE Production/Operations Management is gone, so I had to do TECEP Operations Management. ECE Business Strategy exam is gone and they won't accept TECEP Business Policy, so I had to enroll in the EC Business Strategy course (initially the advisors were going to deny me, as I had basically no credits when I first attempted to register, but after an e-mail explaining my intentions, they relented and let me sign up). And I replaced Foundations of Gerontology, Intro Psychology and Educational Psychology with Civil War and Reconstruction and US History I and II.

Here's a rundown of what I've taken so far:

11/27 CLEP Humanities
11/29 CLEP Natural Sciences
12/01 DSST Management Information Systems
12/03 ECE Ethics Theory and Practice
12/04 CLEP Social Sciences and History
12/04 CLEP American Government
12/05 CLEP Information Systems and Computer Applications
12/05 CLEP Introductory Business Law
12/08 CLEP Principles of Macroeconomics
12/10 CLEP College Algebra
12/10 DSST Criminal Justice
12/10 ECE Statistics
12/11 CLEP Introductory Sociology
12/11 CLEP Principles of Management
12/13 CLEP Microeconomics
12/13 DSST Here's to Your Health
12/13 DSST Principles of Supervision
12/15 DSST Drug and Alcohol Abuse
12/15 DSST Civil War and Reconstruction
12/17 ECE Labor Relations
12/18 CLEP History of the United States I
12/18 CLEP History of the United States II
12/18 CLEP Principles of Marketing
12/20 DSST Business Law II
12/27 ECE English Composition
12/29 ECE Research Methods in Psychology
01/02 ECE Human Resource Management
01/04 ECE Abnormal Psychology
01/09 TECEP Operations Management
01/09 CLEP Financial Accounting
01/11 ECE Organizational Behavior

I'll leave it as an exercise to figure out where all the credits apply.

-Gary-

[BMWGuinness]

This is an excellent reference!

[StealingDreams]

That is awesome Gary. Looks like you worked really hard. I am kind of doing the same thing except I just want to have my CLEP and DSST test done by March 12th and will have Business Stratagies and maybe a few others to clean up. Good luck on finishing all this on time and keep us posted on your progress.

How was the American History I test on a difficulty scale of 1-5?

[gcalvin]

Originally Posted by StealingDreams

How was the American History I test on a difficulty scale of 1-5?

Like anything, it's easy if you know it, and difficult if you don't. I'm kind of a history buff, so I took it without any real study. I did the practice exam in the Official Guide, and convinced myself I'd be okay, then I just took the exam and scored a 75. It probably helped some that I had been studying for Civil War and Reconstruction before that, though.

In my experience, the Official Guide is the best indication of the difficulty of the actual CLEP exam. DSST and ECE exams don't seem quite so predictable to me.

-Gary-

P.S.: How come nobody's yelling at me for checking the board every twenty minutes instead of studying like I'm supposed to be??

[BMWGuinness]

Originally Posted by gcalvin

Like anything, it's easy if you know it, and difficult if you don't. I'm kind of a history buff, so I took it without any real study. I did the practice exam in the Official Guide, and convinced myself I'd be okay, then I just took the exam and scored a 75. It probably helped some that I had been studying for Civil War and Reconstruction before that, though.

In my experience, the Official Guide is the best indication of the difficulty of the actual CLEP exam. DSST and ECE exams don't seem quite so predictable to me.

-Gary-

P.S.: How come nobody's yelling at me for checking the board every twenty minutes instead of studying like I'm supposed to be??

How has your success with IC been? I plan to use it as a primary study tool for any CLEP/DSST Exams I need.