I am starting from scratch with my education. I have been out of school for MANY years and have decided to start college at almost 50 years old. I would prefer to do all my schooling online. 1. Do you have to get an Associates Degree before moving on to a Bachelors? 2. Do any of the colleges have complete testing online versus having to get a proctor? 3. Any suggestions on financial aid of some sort or even scholarships? I am sure I make too much for aid, but don't make enough to just pay for it outright. 4. What about the tests you can take (CLEP, GRE, etc.)? Any suggestions on which to look into and which to ignore? 5. Professional profiles? Is there a place that can help me put one together? I have read a few articles already, but any quick and helpful hints are truly appreciated. I'm sure all these questions have been posted in quite a few places, so my apologies for all the duplicates. Thanks in advance!
1 - No. 2 - Complete courses online. 3 - Dunno. 4 - Depends on which couses fit your program of study. First you have to determine which schools accept CLEP, DANTES, GRE, etc for credit. 5 - What is a 'professional profile'? Please don't be put off by seemingly curt replies. You'll see that what you seek to know is learned in 'layers'.
1. No 2. Yes, there are many. 3. Go to the fed gov. education website, lots of info there. (Once you have a school in mind, you can get your options pretty easily). 4. What is your major? 5. What is a professional profile?
Finding a proctor is generally easy. My wife started from scratch at Thomas Edison State College and takes her exams at the local public library. Most libraries provide the service.
Congratulations on your decision. It is never too late to...well...to do just about anything. No. However, you can earn an Associate as part of (usually the first half of) your Bachelor degree Yes, there are some. A couple that come to mind are www.esc.edu and www.uiu.edu . With that said, I wouldn't necessarily reject programs that require proctored tests. It usually isn't too difficult to find a proctor. For a lot (most) programs, you can receive stafford loans by applying for financial aid. The school you decide on can help you with this when you get to that point. Or, once you decide on potential programs, I am sure many people here would love to help. Since different programs have different policies concerning these tests, this question is really difficult to answer at this time. For instance, both of the schools I mentioned before allow up to 90 s/h's of CLEP/DSST/Etc. tests. The "big 3" allow up to 120 s/h's (the whole degree) of these tests. Many others allow between 30 and 90 s/h's of these tests. Are you interested in earning a lot of credits this way? Many schools offer a 1 credit class on portfolios, or prior learning assessment. Other schools offer literature describing the process. I have never put together one, so I will leave it to others to answer this one more fully. Hope this helped a bit. Tony
Thank you! Thank you to everyone for responding. Short and to-the-point answers are fine! A professional profile, from what I understood, is putting together your life and work experiences, for credit. If I'm wrong, please someone, correct me. My interest is Psychology. I do know a couple through business and personal relationships (one is a Psychologist, one is a Psychiatrist), but didn't know if you could use someone like that as a proctor. Thank you for the idea of going to a library. I hadn't even thought of that! I've just begun my research, and the help from all of you is appreciated!
Hi Evelyn, First off congratulations on deciding to get back on the horse and earn your degree. You will find Distance learning a great vehicle to do just that. You're age, experience will help you immeasureably! Check out: www.BAin4weeks.com : Lawries terrific site about earning a degree via DL. He too was in middle age, like us, when he went back to earn a degree. He will provide terrific strategies, and insight on how to proceed. check out: http://www.degreeinfo.com/static/forum_archive/1/11949/thread_11949_page_1.html . This was a search I did to learn about PLA/ PA. I earned quite a few credits after I learned how to do it. Dr Levicoff is the unofficial master of PLA/PA (Prior learning assesment/portfolio assesment) He has written a great guide on how to earn credits via this method. I hope that helps. GOod luck
Re: Thank you! As you've worded that, I'd say you are in degree mill territory. Ultimale brings up PLA/PA which is a different thing. Some certifications or qualifications you may have earned may gain you some credit in some programs in some schools.
Evelyn, You might want to take the Intro to Psychology CLEP. This is not difficult and it would give you a chance to get a feel for the CLEP exams. Some people would rather take the course but at my age my recognition is better than my recall and the CLEP works better for me. When I took that exam, I used Ez 101 Psychology and Idiots Guide to Psychology. I also took Introduction to Educational Psychology the same day. My rationale for doing that was there would be enough general psychology on that test along with a llittle common sense would see me through. It worked for me. My wife uses the local community to proctor her exams. There is a fee of 25 dollars but might be another alternative for you. Good Luck!
Hi Evelyn, welcome to the board! Others have pretty much covered your questions, I'd just add in regards to financial aid, check out FinAid.com, which is a sort-of clearing house of scholarships, financial aid, loans, etc. Best of luck, and congratulations on pursuing your education!
