Bachelor's Degree in 1 year - Diary 4 - DSST, CLEP, TECEP Experiences 

Pls share! Tks

Thanks for the compliment! Hopefully I don't get quite as stressed and uh...mouthy, as ol' Musky has been recently.

How? Pls share

Not running out of time man - you can crush this and get moving up. I can tell you though - the degree just gets you conversations and general knowledge. Your own learning and networking are what will provide the tangible things that people are interested in once you have the conversation.

Ha, thanks man!

Hey thanks! And you're welcome! I hope you're able to use the info and even pass it on perhaps.

@@NathanYoungLibrary absolutely!!! I've been passing it on to a few family members and friends that are just finishing high school!!

Man, I've never gotten that question. I've been thinking about this for three days now, and I've started writing down some of the key things that I think help with this. I'd be really curious to hear what YOU think might be the keys to doing that as well - I imagine you've been thinking about it a bit since you asked?

Oh my gosh, I rewatched this video to see what was here and totally forgot about the question "What does this assume that I know?" - I cannot believe that I haven't been using this mental model lately. I'm really glad you commented on this and brought me back to it.

Excited for you Susan! Check back in and give some progress updates!

Thanks, Nathan! I will do that! Your video was helpful and I will watch the others too when I have time!

Hi, Nathan! I am getting ready to order the book for my first DSST that I plan to take at the end of December when I'm on a break from work. Do I just study the book and then call the verified testing center, or do I need to do something else on the "getcollegecredit" website. Sorry, I'm a newbie to this and need to take 3 of them. Just need a little assistance on how to get started. I already verified that the course I'm taking will transfer in. Thanks, in advance, for your help!

@@susanbeck5841 That's awesome! For DSST Tests, I'm not sure there's a book, but you can take practice tests on their site. For CLEP tests, there IS a book. (Maybe you mean CLEP) Yup, study and then when you feel like you're ready to take an exam, just call the center and schedule it. Here's my video about how I study for CLEP tests: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ApTB8xowFBI.html and I follow basically the same process for DSST tests as well. If they need you to purchase the exams prior to getting there (sometimes that happens) you need to register on the CLEP/DSST website first. I sorta talk through that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O3z--i6QXFY.html Let me know if you have any other questions!

@@NathanYoungLibrary - It's DSST for sure be amuse I need 3 Upper Division courses. There is a book on the getcollegecredit website that helps you study for the exam ahead of time. I am already studying!

Thanks! Glad I could provide something useful!

Glad it was helpful!

No, some upper level bio classes not offered

Hey Michael! Good to hear from you. I agree, a video with that title would probably be a good one. Have you happened to watch my video on taking a test you might not have to study for? I sorta cover this question in that video and a few of my general update ones but, basically I just repeat that the time investment totally depends on your previous experience with that information set. Several of the tests, I just walked in and knocked down, didn't study at all, and some I've studied for 20 hours and scraped by. If you're asking "Time to go from 0% knowledge to passing the test, on average" I would guess it's actually more like 30-40 hours invested per test...but again, that totally depends on your information absorption rate. I've chatted with people who have taken the Biz Law exam 3 times and put in 60 hours+ and haven't passed it. Not any different for any of the test types. Sorta like asking how long it takes to pass an in-depth quiz on the original 151 Pokemon or an in-depth quiz on bread making...totally depends on the person. Sorry that's not more like, "an answer" - something I CAN tell you is that it takes about 1.5 hours to do my "test testing" method and see how "close" you are to getting a passing grade on a test. That's really the best indicator I've found for this. Does this help at all? Haha

There's a lot to unpack there, haha (Lemme break it down) Do I think this is possible for someone who: - Did NOT do Dual credits in high-school: Yes - Is going back to school later in life: Yes Do I think it's possible to accelerate: - Your bachelor's: Yes - A double major or major/minor?: Yes Do I think it's possible for YOU to do all of those things? Yeah, I don't see any reason it wouldn't be possible for you. Do I think this will directly impact your ability to get a career and move out of your town?: Only sort of. Disclaimer: I believe this but it's not necessarily true! Your earning potential as any given person is largely based on what you find yourself doing, or invest yourself into doing. If you invest yourself into a bachelor's degree (or two, or three!) but still seek out minimum wage jobs, you'll still work those. Also if you get a higher paying job but don't perform, no amount of degrees will save you. (probably) By contrast, if you have ZERO degrees (Me when I started!) but invest yourself into doing work that other people care about, and building relevant modern skills and a portfolio of them (ANYTHING in the trades esp. Wind/Solar, project management, business development, etc) your market rate will just go up. ALSO, if you start making friends or connections in the areas (industry or profession) you want to be in. Or just...mentor types in general. It's not to say that getting a degree and going to college is a bad move. But it IS to say that it's not your only way out of a small town and minimum wage jobs by any stretch.

I did too! He speaks well, has good information, and it was really helpful info.

Hey Shay, no problem. A course is a "Class." So, you might be taking English 101. That's a course. If you're taking English 101 and College Algebra 101, you're taking "2 Courses" or "2 Classes." Class and Course are basically interchangeable words. Credits (sometimes called "Credit Hours") are the "point values" given to each course that you take. (I'm going to use points and credits interchangeably for second) You need a certain amount of those points(credits) in order to get a degree. An associates degree is 60 points(credits). A bachelors degree is 120 points(credits). Different classes are worth different amounts of points (credits). For example: Your College Algebra 101 CLASS, might be worth 3 points(credits). That means if you take college algebra and pass the class, you'll be awarded 3 credits, and you will now need either 57 more to get your associates degree, or 117 more to get your bachelor's degree. Some classes are worth less points(credits) and some are worth more. This semester, I took 3 Classes. One class was worth 3 credits, one class was worth 2 credits, and the last class was worth 1 credit. So, I took 3 classes, and earned 6 points(credits). I hope that helps!

Cool! i'm also from Jamaica! I can't give you any advice as I'm still a highschooler but good luck man!

I think I'm missing a LOT of information on your main goal, which makes it very difficult to answer your question effectively. Teach who? I will say that, in general, the easiest degrees to test out of (meaning the degrees you could probably take the most tests towards) are things that have more "rote" information contained in them, and very little practicum required. So, an accounting degree would probably be easy, because the information doesn't change, so it's easy to turn it into tests. History is another good example. An extremely difficult one would be nursing, since it requires that practicum, that hands on stuff.

hmm stuff were it's hard to change. to be honest im pretty bad getting past calc in math so going to avoid that. history has a lot of memorization and im already trying to use a lot of that learning a new language. literature might be okay but im scared of having to turn in a lot of newyorker level professional essays lol. i'll have to think about it. i do have close to an as art degree too also(bs classes like public speaking photography left). i just dont know how you'd do tests for that to get it up to ba level btw hope i could take tests like these at a community college. the closest uni is about 100 miles away. :)

Just look into the degree programs and then compare those to potential exams and what you already have. I did a breakdown on degree programs and how they work over here: nathansyoung.com/school/diary-18/ and I've shot and just need to edit together the video on how to generally research degree programs. (Hopefully by next week but we'll see) My FAQ page is here: nathansyoung.com/school/accelerated-degree-faq/ and I answer a couple more of the things you're talking about in more depth.

thanks i'll check it out. right now im transfixed on doing an online school (ashford convenience or liberty for in state) but im going to wait a week to see if the commitment is still there. after a little research, i most likely going to choose between liberal arts or do an esl course. just have to see how all my community dicking around credits transfer, which considering the math and an almost full graphic design as degree, probably will be liberal arts. if i can get tests sent to my local community school i could do that and save some money.

Still working on it Zee! I'm a little behind schedule and some life things have happened to slow me down (new job, sold a company, moved, etc) but I'm still taking classes as we speak!

Nathan Young that's understandable. Best of luck!

I'd say I'm doing more than OK, at least that's how it feels. I don't feel like I've lost out on anything, personally. But saying that is only fair when I also say: I am a voracious learner and am going to get this information from SOMEWHERE, no matter what. haha

@@NathanYoungLibrary Thanks! Good luck with your pursuits

Thanks Davey!

I have not taken that one, but you could check out CLEP Guinea Pig's channel as I believe he has. The easiest DSST (or CLEP) tests that I've taken are the ones I did not have to study for but already knew the information for. I break that down in this video, if this helps: nathansyoung.com/school/diary-17/

Dylan Wallace have you taken the dsst law enforcement yet ?

Micheka, I haven't taken that DSST specifically, but I have put together a practice process that I use (almost) every time I take a test, and it keeps working for me. I did a video on that process here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ApTB8xowFBI.html&t You can also get some solid info at this forum site: www.degreeforum.net/mybb/ I hope that helps! Let me know what you end up doing, I'd like to be able to answer this question better in the future.

He is coming soon did you end up taking the Substance Abuse DSST ?

You can take the tests for the 1st time whenever you want. If you fail a test, the retake wait time is 90 days for that specific test. (If you fail eng101 you have to wait 90 days to retake eng101, but that doesn't affect any other test)

I have a video dedicated to finding degree plans and building your own right over here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6wQZ_IneRSE.html If you're not sure about all the terms and why things work the way they do, you can check out my video explaining how degree programs and credits work right over here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RkGC3b4MdYk.html

Hey Kierra! First, good luck on your whole journey, it's long and grueling no matter what but (I think) it's worth it. Ok, before I go too deep on an answer here, I have to ask: Have you seen the rest of even the few most recent videos that I put out? This is diary video 4, but I just released diary 16 two weeks ago with my Summer semester updates. I'm still not done, and I definitely was not able to (I don't think anyone is able to) test out of 120 credits for a valid degree. I explain a lot of this throughout the video diary and I'm writing a sort of summary on my website about it. (Nathansyoung.com) but it's not posted yet. I do have all the video diaries that I've posted there in order if it's easier to look there than on here. Almost every question you have is going to be answered already in those videos. Super short answer for now: I use the practice exams to check my knowledge against a subject, find my weak areas, and then use either Study.com, RU-vid, or general internet searching to learn about the topics. (Like what I explain in this video diary 4 - it's more about general subject knowledge than particular exam questions) Hope that helps - I can answer better if you tell me what questions you still have after checking out some of the other videos I have out already. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NTnTbAyQFxA.html&t this one might be particularly helpful.

Hey, what college are you enrolled in that excepts all the credits? I'm currently looking to enroll somewhere

Modern States can pay for your Clep tests Military can pay for Dantes, you have are in military or spouse

Nope - it's 3 months. Here's a snippet from clep.collegeboard.org - the official CLEP site: "Repeating Examinations You may not repeat an exam of the same title within three months of the initial testing date. If you retake an exam within the three-month period, your administration will be considered invalid, your score will be canceled, and any test fees will be forfeited. "

Yes, a TECEP is considered to be a "semester long course" by the college. So, you can enroll for the TECEP in a given semester, but then to take that TECEP again, you have to wait for your next enrollment period (or semester) - since TESU does "rolling" enrollment periods, it effectively just comes out that you can take a TECEP again every 3 months if you fail it.

You can earn CLEP and DSST credits without being enrolled at any college. TECEPS are exclusive to Thomas Edison and you must be enrolled to take those.

@@NathanYoungLibrary do those credits expire?

@@TheRealEasy1 Yes...after like 20 years or something, haha

You are allowed to take basically as many CLEP or DSST exams as you want, at any time.

The ONLY disadvantage that I'm aware of is if you take a CLEP test without making sure that it'll transfer to your school of choice. There are a few colleges/universities (called "The Big 3") that accept CLEP credits and other credit-by-exam credits... Just make sure those credits transfer. Just so you don't waste time and $$.

Well, that seems unlikely but not impossible? I'm positive that there are CLEP testing centers in England, but then getting accepted into a US University without having any sort of Visa seems odd?

Hey Austin - Yeah, it's pretty legit, and it's not easy. It's also not super popular information. Here's an update video that I did about a month ago ru-vid.com?o=U&video_id=h5p6Vq2R6m4 where I talk about being roughly 60 credits in and how that's been. I've been keeping a pretty steady diary for the last seven months, so you can check that stuff out. I think a big part of the reason people have a hard time with it is that, a lot of people, once they realize this stuff is real, hit this "Omg I could make so much money telling people how to get a degree super fast!" and they cheese it super hard, so it gets a bad rap. I'm not even going to go down the whole "colleges don't want you to know this secret!" road - that's a little silly. The reality is that these tests aren't part of the normal college staff day to day, so why would they learn about them? Why would an academic adviser learn about this outside method that has nothing to do with their school? So, it's just that schools are motivated to help you do well at their school - not to "finish your degree" if that makes sense.

I appreciate the honesty. What you stated was very logical. My only other question would be; why would a community college advisor helping a student transfer not bring it up? also, Jay Cross gets a lot of shit, heard his site is a scam

Yeah, the whole DIY degree thing? Learning about that made me sad, cause it felt like another one of those "cheese it" people who gave the whole thing a bad flavor. I actually read some forums on www.degreeforum.net where they talk about this testing stuff A LOT and there are several threads on there bashing it pretty hard. Mostly for unfulfilled promises - like maybe the guy had good intentions and let it get beyond him. I think your adviser would have to know about it in the first place, and I think most just don't, for the reasons that I mentioned. They don't have an incentive to learn about it, so most probably just don't. I've taken a few tests at local colleges where the test admins don't even know how the testing works. I've seen my name on the sign in sheet in November, and then again in March, as the only two names on the sign-in sheet.