BS degree through testing out- still prepared for M.S?

Hi everyone,

Has anyone here earned their undergraduate degree from one of the Big Three (through mostly testing out of degree requirements) and found difficulty keeping up with their graduate work? If so, what do you think is inhibiting your success? Did you feel prepared for Graduate school after your undergraduate experience?

I feel I may need some remedial coursework after my B.S degree and I plan on taking several writing intensive courses (I'm afraid my research and writing skills won't be up to par). I am also my own worst critic and deathly afraid of failure, so I'm sure that doesn't help any!

Rhonda

 

I completed more than half of my BS through CLEP's. I was in a pretty writing intensive grad program (TUI) and did not have any problems.

 

Rhonda, I've had exactly the same doubts and trepidations about grad school - a good number of my lower division credits were CLEPS and other testing as well.

Chin up, and go for it! I immersed myself in an upper division degree program that was very writing intensive, and plowed through it by sheer practice. As long as you're motivated (and I can tell by your postings that you are), you should by completely prepared for grad school.

Dave

 

The program I am in at Illinois would be very difficult with simply an Excelsior BSCIS. There are a couple of required courses that require a significant amount of math maturity and/or a significant theoretical CS background. I had some upper-level undergraduate math from my first attempt at college in the early 90's and I prepared myself for graduate CS work by studying for and taking the CS GRE subject test. So I'm surviving. But the Excelsior BSCIS alone wouldn't have cut it.

So that's the long answer. The short answer - it depends heavily on the program. Of course good programs shouldn't admit those that haven't demonstrated that they are prepared.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone!

In reply to Jeff's post, I am working toward my B.S. in Liberal Studies from Excelsior and then moving on to the M.S. in Human Relations and Business or the M.S. in Management from Amberton. I am well read in both Business and Psychology as they are an interest of mine. I just have reservations about my ability conduct adequate research and then formulate that research into a paper! As I mentioned earlier though, I'm sure a few 300-400 level courses will help me overcome that fear!

Rhonda

 

Rhonda,

You bring up an excellent topic. This is something that I have often thought of myself. Actually, I decided against attending one of the "big three" schools (and clep'ing out of my courses) for this very reason. Essentially, I was not convinced that I would be properly prepared for Graduate School by primarily testing out of my degree. That's not to say that I'm the dullest knife in the drawer (or the sharpest for that matter!). Rather, it's an indication of WHY people attend undergrad classes (either in person or DL) at the undergraduate level to begin with - TO LEARN SOMETHING (and often to prepare for even HIGHER learning)! Of course, there are people who can learn something from taking a CLEP or DANTES test. I'm not doubting that. Even now, I still second guess my decision, mainly due to the fact that I'm impatient. Now considering, that I'm attending a school (National University) that offers 4 week courses, you can see actually HOW impatient I really am!

I think that it's wise for some students who primarily test out of a degree to take a couple of writing intensive courses and possibly a Math course as well (if necessary). Regardless of whether or not one plans to attend Graduate School, having a good handle on proper writing techniques will allow for a lifetime of effective communication - in Academia or the "real world".

With that said, I may end up CLEP'ing a few lower division courses applicable to my gen. ed. requirements, just to reduce my time to graduation by a few months.

- Tom

 

Hi Rhonda,

With an interest in both Psychology and Business, you may want to take a Statistics course. This will help you out greatly in either subject. I have a stats course coming up in Jan. '06.

Cheers! (as my Kiwi Prof. is apt to say)
- Tom

 

Ah, a fellow impatient student! That is one of the main reasons I am testing out of a large portion of my degree requirements. I simply cannot handle the 16 week semester! I usually end up losing interest in the course around week 8, so I think that is my limit to how long a course can be. I just like to go at a very fast pace because it feels like I am making more progress that way! Does National University offer Master's Degrees too? I think I would very much like the 4 week format.

Rhonda

 

National university does offer Master degrees. I for the first time in some time have taken courses in a 16 week format and I can say everyone gets worn at about the 8th week. Yet, somehow we get by.

 

Yes, National U. does offer Master's degrees online. AND, their graduate courses also follow the 4-week course format. Occasionally, you will see a course that is 8 weeks long, but that is very rare.

http://www.nu.edu

Online Programs
http://www.nu.edu/Academics/OnlineEducation/OnlineDegreesandProg.html

- Tom

 

Tom,

Could you give me a breakdown of what those 4 weeks are like? I'm assuming you take only one course every 4 weeks...How many hours a week do you spend on studying, reading material, projects, papers etc? Do you take proctored exams? What components is your grade comprised of?

Thanks

Rhonda

 

Hi Rhonda,

Well, I just started my second class last week, so my experiences with National U. are limited thus far. My first class was an "Intro to Communications - COM100" course. Here is a breakdown of what occured during the span of the course:

Weeks 1-4:
- Online Class Discussion - 1 1/2 hours long (mandatory).
- On Messageboard - Post reponse to an assigned question from the Professor. Respond to three posts made by other students.
- Submit a short 2-3 paragraph "journal entry" to the Prof., detailing various comments regarding the Media.

In addition, there was both a Mid-Term and Final exam (which focused mainly on the textbook AND of course being online, was open book) Also, there was a five page paper due at the end of the course.

The fact that the tests were online, unproctored and open book, made the course fairly easy. The mid-term and final were both multiple choice, however there was a set time limit (mid-term 30 questions in 1 hour, final 50 questions in 2 hours).

WARNING - RANT AHEAD:

My second course is an upper-level Geography course (Geography: Mapping the World - SCI300). Thus far, the class has been very unorganized. The NU online bookstore sent everyone the wrong textbook, except for me apparently, since I found cheaper books on Amazon.com. Didn't matter though, since the Prof. decided to just use the textbooks that the Universities bookstore sent everyone BUT me, forcing me to either a) drop the class OR b) suck it up and buy the new textbook. I went for option "b" since I was able to locate an inexpensive copy of the text (once again on Amazon.com).

Then, to rub salt in the wound even more, the Prof decided to drop one of the two required essays from the course, since supposedly the accompanying book "the story of mesa verde" is apparently becoming "hard to find" and is no longer available electronically. FUNNY, I was able to find a used SIGNED copy of the book on Amazon.com (there was at least a dozen other, unsigned copies available as well! Of course, (trying to be less of a procrastinator then usual), I decided to read half of the book to prepare for the exam... No point in that now huh! Guess I should go back to being a procrastinator! lol

Yes, I'm a bit frustrated with the course thus far. In all fairness, the Prof. was out of the country when the course first started (although he did communicate via satellite phone to internet hookup). Also, he did drop the Unit 1 test from the syllabus since "no one" had their textbooks during the first week.

I thought about dropping the course and picking it up later, however I just want to get it over with and move on. The sad thing is that I'm actually MUCH MORE interested in Geography than I am Communications! LOL.

</end rant>

Keep in mind that this is just my experience with one of NU's courses. I cannot say at the present time if this is indicative of the majority of their courses. If it is though, I will be out the (virtual) door quick then you can say "shazam"...

- Tom

 

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately I have had similar online experiences. I once attempted Accounting I through a community college online...the professor did not answer ANY of our questions. He didn't show up online when he was supposed to, never answered phone calls. Before I knew it, it was time for the mid-term and I had no idea what was going on in the course. I, along with about 5 other students, wrote a letter to the administation demanding a full refund...and we got it.

I took a look at National U's website. It seems like they have a lot of great master's programs. I like the look of the Master of Science Organizational Leadership, Master of Arts Human Behavior, and the Master of Arts Management. It seems like these courses could be quite rigorous given their condensed formats. Would you consider it "doable"?

Rhonda

 

I did 100% testing and am currently in a rigorous MBA program at IU - so far so good.

I find that the people who initially have a slight disadvantage are those who competed their BS years ago and who are now back in school after a 5+ year hiatus.

Whether you're testing out or not, you're still absorbing the material. As long as your written and analytical skills are up to par you should be able to cope. Needless to say, it's graduate work, not undergrad - it's a different game now.

Cheers,
Mark

 

No, thank you Rhonda!

After you inquired about the quality of the coursework at National University and my subsuquent rant, I decided to drop the Geography course. It's a joke and I'm not wasting my time on it any longer. I have another course coming up in a week and a half, so the momentum has not been lost.

To answer your question about a NU Master's program being "doable", I cannot answer that. It would appear that one could complete the program (and I'm sure many have). If you're willing to put in the time (and put up with the hassle of taking classes online), then go for it!

May I ask what you are intending on doing with a Master's degree in one of these subjects? This would be the one piece of advice that I can offer to you - make sure that whatever Master's program you decide on, that it will meet your educational and employment goals. If your only entertaining the thought of Graduate School "for the fun of it", then ignore the part about employment!

I'm actually in a conundrum myself right now regarding Grad school. Obviously, I have a lot of time to think about it (unless I say "f" it, and enroll at Excelsior!). However, right now I'm torn between pursuing a MPH (Master's in Public Health) OR pursuing a MA/Ph.D. in Psychology. It's a tough decision, but like I said - I have some time!

Good luck!

- Tom

 

I, too, am in a conundrum! I have always envisioned myself going on to get a Master's in Psychology (or Sociology). It's what interests me the most, so I know I would have the heart and drive to finish the program and not have it feel like 'work'. However, and this is a big however, my company will pay for my courses IF they are related to my current employment....Right now I am a Corporate Financial Analyst, so as you can see, they would not pony up the cash for a Psych degree That is why I think I will settle for a "Human Relations/ Business/ Leadership/ Management" type degree . Let me tell you one more thing...it's a lot of fun (to me at least) studying for and taking CLEP, DANTES, and ECE exams. That's not to say I won't take a few courses to bring my writing skills up to par Good luck! Let me know how your next course goes...BTW, which course are you taking next?

Rhonda

 

Oh, as for what I intend to do with my degree once finished...I would like to either move into my company's Human Resources Department, teach at a community college or teach at an online college. I realize how competitive teaching positions are however, so I'm not counting on it!