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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Holding Fast to College Credit for Less



Getting a Grasp on American History

If you’re like me, your grasp on American History comes from PBS and watching documentaries online, so getting a clear focus on the two CLEP exams we’ll be doing and the higher level DSST Civil War and Reconstruction from an overview is achieved via daily history outputs by the US Library of Congress and The History Channel. The Library of Congress runs a Today in History page with detailed reading and links.

Digesting small amounts of history on a daily basis can build up your knowledge bit by bit.  To gain credit you’ll have to focus on the curriculum and be ready to answer the questions in the exam.  Approaching American History really requires an overview and the first stop on gaining an overview is Kahn Academy which contains a series of lectures that give an overview of American History in a number of minutes with diagrams included.

The Kahn Academy This link will take you to the page need and there are three basic overviews needed to cover the whole of American history starting with:















This overview provided by the Kahn Academy covers both US History I and US History II, but it provides an overview worth getting to know as it will become foundational in the development of broadening your knowledge. It also covers the Reconstruction period that is part of the Civil War and Reconstruction DSST exam.

Once you have completed the overview, you’ll have a decent grasp of the great section of American history that these courses cover.

In my next post, I'll cover a bit more of the US History I CLEP  and how I'm breaking it down into digestible potions so that I'll succeed in the process of earning College Credit for Less than it would cost at my local community college.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

College Credit Exams and the Learned Leprechaun


College Credit for Less and the Learned Leprechaun
Save yourself some Gold and earn College Credit for Less!
See you on March 17th!


It’s four AM and I haven’t slept a wink! That means it’s typical Leprechaun hunting time - just as the sun is about to breach the horizon.  My grandfather, Lord rest him, used to tell stories of the “little people” and the ways they’d trap ye in a field just around sunrise.  For all his stories he never did turn up a pot of Gold.  As far as I can discern, the only way to make any gold at all is by securing a college degree. The objective is noble and my strategy is fairly clear in that I’m going to earn College Credit for Less by doing my own self study and taking CLEP® exams, plus other types of exams that I’ll write about later.

The “little people” were renowned for their vast knowledge which I presume has something to do with living for thousands of years! It won’t take you that long to get your degree by doing tests, but you’ll certainly save yourself a crock of gold in the process.

Since the CLEP® exam can be taken by anyone regardless of age. and the information is stored for 20 years, this way of getting a degree would be implemented by any Learned Leprechaun.  If languages aren’t your strong point then something else may be. There are 33 CLEP exams available to take.  Some others which will give you up to six credits include:

CLEP Humanities  - 6 credits awarded

CLEP Social Sciences and History - 6 credits awarded

CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - 6 credits awarded

I’m not as learned as I’d like to be, so some of these tests would require major investment of time to get the grade I’d need.  My first objective is to gain credit for the learning that I already have.  My strong point is History, and I’m sure I’d make a fair effort at the Social Sciences and History exam, but I do want to learn about my adopted homeland (more than what I was required to do to pass the citizenship test).

There are three History exams which I’ll be focusing on in this blog.  They are:

US History I CLEP

US History II CLEP

Civil War and Reconstruction DSST

Each of these exams are worth three humanities credits, with the Civil War and Reconstruction being granted higher level credits in some schools.

Why I chose History! Because I like it and it holds my interest.  Also, most kids in the United States have a grasp of their own nation’s history so I will be able to assist more of them earn College Credit for Less by focusing on a subject that they are familiar with. I also wanted to allow foreign students who have emigrated to the United States (like myself) plumb the depths of the heritage that is theirs by choosing to be American.

So as with any Learned Leprechaun worth his weight,  I’ll start with three wishes but won’t grant you a fourth! Seriously though, for the benefit of those who don’t know anything about American History I’ll start at the beginning by taking an overview and then move on to detailed step-by-step breakdown of the syllabus that I propose so that in about six to eight weeks we’ll be prepared to take the first of the tests.  Since I’ve already given you a good breakdown of gaining credits, I’ll start with a short plan that gives you links to sources of free information including video so tomorrow we’ll begin getting technical and dealing with the information proper.  Also, don’t forget my friends at InstantCert have a flashcard system that will assist you in solidifying this knowledge in preparation for the examination. If ten people sign up I get to have some Pizza money.  In the meantime I’m on a diet! If you read this blog and find it helpful please leave a comment or tell someone else about it so they can benefit too!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Join the Navy



“Join the Navy and Travel the World”


 (also avail of free CLEP testing!)


I like ships. The bigger the better, because I left my sea legs at the bottom of the ocean once I put on weight. And big ships don’t plunge into the abyss as much as little ones do. I’ve been at sea in the throes of a heavy gale, and I’ve been in the throbbing engine room at port. Oddly enough, I was sea-sick at port and not at sea. Sometimes trying to navigate your way through the fog of examination testing can seem disorienting. Have you ever been in a “pea-souper” and been unable to see seven feet in front of you, and the only sound is lapping water against the hull?


The idea of going into the unknown is sometimes terrifying, but having a chart and the moaning fog-horn can make a sailor's life easier to make it back to land. There's a similarity with examination-based testing like the CLEP.®
It’s the fear of the unknown that means lots of people safely stay on land and pay full tuition to gain those credits, but doing it this way costs around $150 for up to three credits and saves you almost $800 on many of those required courses


12 Credits for a test! You can’t be serious… I most certainly am. These three tests can gain you between 3 and 12 credits for a passing score.


Languages. I grew up trying to learn three languages - Irish, English and French.  Much later I tried my hand at German, so I can manage to buy a beer and a meal in four languages,
but that’s not what I’m “talking" about here.  Language proficiency is what
counts, and the CLEP examination has three languages available that can gain you up to 12 credits.


French
Levels 1 and 2 usually result in a 3-6 credit allowance, depending on your college.


German
Levels 1 and 2 usually result in a 3-6 credit allowance, depending on your college.


Spanish
Levels 1 and 2 usually result in a 3-6 credit allowance, depending on your college.


Choosing your college based upon the number of credits they will accept this way may save you thousands of dollars. I don’t provide advice on languages or language schools particularly, although those who’ve been in the military language schools can gain college credit for that training, which will save them cash in the future. If you are a native Spanish speaker and can read and write it too, then you’ll be well on your way to gaining at least six credits. If that’s you, contact me and I’ll let you know how that works. My personal e-mail will be in my book, and there will be a link to it somewhere on the blog here. It will cost less than $5 because I want you to save yourself money


Some other colleges allow you to take tests in other languages and will accept them as credit, but since I’m currently talking about CLEP
testing, that’s for another post.


Don’t forget, the guys who send me pizza money also can prepare you for your CLEP language tests (plus many others) for a small fee, and sometimes they’ll even reduce it further or give you thirty days free trial.
They’re good guys. Just make sure you let them know I sent you, and I’ll be able to get pizza again in a few weeks. Visit them at InstantCert.



Friday, June 8, 2012

Dizzy with Effort

The Effort of Learning for Yourself





Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much are the three pillars of learning.

Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

Hardship! Disraeli certainly experienced his fair share of discrimination as a Jewish convert to Christianity. He was neither Christian enough for some nor Jewish enough for others, but a man of cleverer ability would be hard to find.

Gaining something of value almost always requires effort. My mother used to say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”  Even in Ireland where leprechauns roam on roaring drunken nights, it’s always been obvious to me that I’ve never seen a money tree. Although I walked the golden streets of Washington D.C., I've never seen one there either.  Mom’s idiom was about how I was spending money and the value of effort that reaps a return.
This year I had the chance to take some economics classes on the East Coast of Ireland, and I discovered that in economics one of the factors of production is labor, which is the item that people sell to business in return for wages.  Increasing my value to business means that I can offer business my services while reaping wages in return.

That’s why the College Level Examination Program is worth the effort. By studying yourself and using the InstantCert Flashcard System when you pass the test you can gain college credit for less, saving yourself at least $800 on a three credit class

The CLEP® Test
Most people who do the test today do so by computer, unless they are on an outpost in Afghanistan serving in the Armed Services, where they may find themselves doing a pencil and paper exam.  The exam is a set of multiple choice questions, usually about 70-120 questions, that you are asked on a computer screen. The question tries to prove your ability in the subject area.  A passing score is 50, for which some colleges award a pass in that class, but if you score higher they may give you an A grade.

Multiple people using the InstantCert system and some other resources (I’ll point you in the right direction to gain those too!) can pass the test the first time using just their system, in about six weeks. Some will need extra help, which is where my sources of information will come in handy.  The reward that over 2,500 colleges will award you credit for proven knowledge via these tests is amazing. So, you can gain the information from me and practice your knowledge on InstantCert and be walking out of a test center in six weeks with three credits under your belt. This amazing reward will cost you less than $150, including your celebratory ice cream! Well, by the time you're done, you won't be able to carry your credits out the door - you'll need a forklift! You'll also need somewhere to send your transcripts, but we’ll get to that in a further post.

70 questions in 90 minutes (sometimes a few more and sometimes a few less)... we’ll deal with that exam by exam as we work our way through.  Since this is a blog, it would be nice to see you subscribe or pass a comment - that way we know that you’re out there! The social sciences and history test has 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes but gives six credits if you pass! Certainly worth the effort!  If you are part of the military or Armed Services, these tests are free - a great bonus for those who serve the United States in that capacity. Not only that, but if your close relative belongs, then you could avail of free resources to assist you in doing your exam. I’ll have more on that soon I promise… Twelve months of research pulls up a lot of information on what you can get and how you can get it.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the tests that can gain you up to 12 credits in a single sitting. More on that in 24 hours. Now it is time for a cuppa tea! Some old habits die hard.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The Meat and the Gravy of College Credit for Less




 Simply put, gaining college credit for what you already know seems a great idea.  Since over 2,500 colleges allow you to do this, then it is certainly worth considering: a method of gaining credit for stuff you can learn at home before you go to college, or if you are like me, have some college under your belt but need more credits in order to get the degree.

 Since 1900, the College Board has assisted students entering college through testing.  They have instituted a service that allows students to take tests in particular subjects and then gain credit or skip the class at over 2,500 colleges.  The College Level Examination Program, also known as CLEP®, (which are registered trademarks of the College Board) allows students, for a fee (currently $77), to take a test at a designated center.  Over 1,500 testing centers exist in the United States and military installations across the globe.  These centers charge a small fee, usually $20, to administer the test.

 The College Board has a site, which in my opinion is very difficult to navigate, to find the information about tests and what you need to know.  They publish a book that costs around $25 but the information I have here will cost you nothing initially and if you do buy my book (It’s being written once I’m not typing on this blog), it won’t cost more than $5 because I want you to join me in reducing your collegecosts by up to 25%, depending on which college you go to.

 My personal goal is to gain my degree for less than $7,000.  We'll see what happens and I’ll keep you posted as we go along.

If you find yourself with a broad knowledge of the world and set yourself up for a test, it’s possible to get 3 credits for scoring 50 marks on the test.  One Airman I know gained 30 credits this way without studying! (Go USAF!) Well he’s unusual.  There’s no way I could do that, so I’m putting together study guides for myself.  I plan, step by step, to get this degree for under $7,000.

 I also want to recommend a service that most people use for four weeks before each exam to ensure they have the depth of knowledge they need.  It costs $20 per month, which means that it’s possible to do your study and gain college credit for about $150.  That includes $77 for the College Board, $20 for the testing center, $5 or less for my book, and the rest for a textbook or two either used or via a service I’m negotiating with at the moment.

That means $150 for at least 3 credits and a savings of almost $800 by you doing the work yourself.  In the first option I’ll be providing in my book, multiple links and study tips allow you gain the information for free or at least for less than $5.  That along with a subscription to my friends at InstantCert page for around $20 per month. (Yes, they pay me occasionally! That’s how I keep my Domino’s Pizza place busy.... I wish!)

 You'll see their link on the blog page at some point.  It is also possible to do everything yourself as I’m doing but it does take a large amount of research, which is what I’ve been doing the last twelve months.  So put your effort in getting those credits rolling in with some free advice from myself and InstantCert .  Tomorrow I’ll explain how the test works, what score you’ll need to pass, and how some colleges will award credit.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Your Ben Franklins and College Debt


Benjamin Franklin one of America’s greatest founding fathers once exhorted

“…free from the dominion of vice,

by the practice of industry and frugality,

free from Debt,

which exposes a man to confinement and Slavery to his Creditors”



Each time I see a hundred dollar bill, (I wish I saw more of them!) I’m reminded of the many exhortations of Ben Franklin. It's quotes like these and infamous others in his work, Ways to Wealth, that spur me on to work towards getting my education without debt.  In Shakespeare’s Hamlet the exhortation “Neither a borrower or a lender be” I’d very much like to be a lender, (Not much chance of the Bank of Desmond) but I’ve endured the pain of being a borrower too many times to motivate me to earn College Credit for Less and so not need to borrow to invest in myself. And so I understand The Great Bard’s wisdom.

Choosing a college is one of the most important things you’ll do. Everyone’s reasons are similar and yet different. Everyone wants to get an education, but that’s only part of it.  There’s the idea of growing up, being an adult, (I’m 37 and I’m just grasping that now!) There's belonging to a fraternity, or screaming till you're hoarse as your College Team makes the qualifying touchdown. It's the friends you’ll make and the networking contacts you hope you’ll maintain for the rest of your life.  The college experience is something you have to be there to attain.

The reality is that colleges cost cash. There are numerous ways to get that cash - from hardworking parents, to waiting tables at your local Burgers R Us outlet, to gaining scholarships and availing of government grants. Eventually we’ll take a look at raising funds so that you can earn College Credit for Less.

Most colleges have a program set up by the government which will allow you to gain credit for information that you already know (if you don’t already know it, I’ll teach you how to gain that knowledge) Over 2500 Colleges in the United States award credit this way, yet very, very few people know about it.  Consider for a moment what a credit hour costs at the college you’d like to attend. Here are two examples

Northern Illinois University $315 per credit hour (in State)  

State University of New York $302 per credit hour (SUNY Campus’ rock)

Most colleges require you to have around 120 credit hours to graduate. That's about $40,000 give or take, plus you then need some books, a laptop, and room and board.  Most current college books cost about $120 each and seems like you’ll need one for each class. That's another $4,000 in books alone.  Yet using this system that exists in most colleges, you can gain the three credits for the class for about $150. That’s a saving of over $870. The thing is that you need to do the work.  With the right planning, you could gain up to 40 (yes, 40!) credits with an outlay of $150 per three credit class.  This isn’t advertised heavily in most colleges, as the college will lose about $8,000 once you discover this and put it into action. Yet they will provide you with the information very easily once asked for. Some colleges won’t give you credit for this knowledge but will let you take other courses of interest instead. This broadens the mind but doesn’t help your future debt burden so check out which colleges do what.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Why Slavery isn't an Option


Why Slavery isn’t an Option


In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt said,

Any Government, like any family, can for a year spend a little more than it earns. But you and I know that a continuance of that habit means the poorhouse.”

I’m proud to be an American. I’m also immensely proud of the nation of my birth. You may often hear me quip, “Irish by birth, American by choice!” In my adopted nation’s history, slavery had provided economic growth to the states of the South in their push to produce the world's cotton in the years before the Civil War. This is well known and the War to End Slavery cost the lives of more Americans than any other conflict. Yet in our nation today a slimy, sinister slavery exists that chains its victims to years of low interest loans that even bankruptcy won’t allow you to escape from!

I’m interested in making money, (you'll eventually find a link to my book somewhere on this blog) yet the motivations of others who want to enslave your future in the form of student loans want to gather their interest from your bank accounts for many years to come has potentially devastating effects on your future. If you’d like to give away your money that’s up to you, but I’d rather have it to use for something better. Even if that’s going down to Domino’s and getting myself a pizza!

I’m not advocating a Ramen Noodles Lifestyle here but there are ways, legal and often unknown ways, to cut a quarter of the cost of your education.  Yes, you do need that degree and this journey began for me by chance. (Although I don’t think chance had much part in it.) I clicked on a webpage almost a year ago, and then clicked a link similar to one or two you’ll see on my page from time to time.  It took me to a site that told me how I could get my degree for about $15,000 instead of the $40,000 that most people expect to pay.  This sounded too good to be true although it actually is true. This company/ministry makes a profit charging those who sign up a fee per year to act as an intermediary between their students and colleges who accept their service.

They also counsel you or your child and pray for them as they go through their degree.  I’m not interested in what you believe or why, although if we do chat it might come up in conversation because I do have faith and practice it as best I can, but I’m not interested in paying someone for a service that gives me counsel and prayer.  I say my own prayers daily and I’d be glad to pray for you if you’d ask me to, but I wouldn’t, on principle, chat to you and pray for you while getting paid by you. That seems a little strange to me.  Obviously I put my pennies in the collection plate on Sundays and if I attend synagogue, which I’ve been known to do, I may even throw a few dollars in the pot, but you won’t find me praying for money.  Maybe someday we’ll sit down and chat about substitutionary atonement, but I’ll be buying the coffee because I’m not interested in profiting financially from my faith.

What I’m selling!  Is very simple: a step-by-step approach to reducing college fees and gaining college credit for less.  You won’t be paying me to get your credit and you won’t even be buying very much from me if you happen to be reading this blog and haven’t purchased the book (somewhere on this site J !!!)  What I’m going to do is ask you to join me in gaining College Credit for Less so that slavery to loans isn’t an necessity. You can do that by reducing your college fees up to a maximum of 25% at whatever college you choose. (Well, almost whatever college you choose) It’s a secret not many people know or they don’t see the reward in finding out what in my next post will explain how,

over 2500 Colleges in America award credit this way!

So join me on the journey to gaining an education that won’t cost you payments in the future.