Newbie with questions about UMass Lowell

Background info: I'm an 18 year old who works for a company she loves that happens to have a terrific education reimbursement program.
I scored pretty well on my SATs when I took them (1450 out of 1600, before they changed the scoring system), but high school was hell on earth and so I left early with a GED 2 years ago, deciding not to pursue enrollment into a brick and mortar institution. I only have about 13 credits from MassBay Community College. Naturally, I live in Massachusetts.

Somehow, I stumbled across the Continuing Education division of UMass Lowell, who offer an online-based IT degree.

Can anyone who has any experience with UML online courses tell me anything about the program? Honestly, any information at all would be great: How the classes are set up, how the exams compare to the projects/papers (I test very well so an emphasis on exams is a plus here), do you have actual textbooks are they in PDF form, what's it like getting an education from this school?
I'm also interested in any information you may have about the accelerated classes.

Also, are there other schools I should be considering instead of UMass Lowell? Pros/Cons and all that?

Thanks very much.

 

I attended the off-campus program of UML before the online program debuted, so I can't really comment on that part. I will say that UML is a respected school, and my degree has been very well received.

 

I am also looking at UMass. Any info would be appreciated!

 

If you test very well then you might consider doing some of the CLEP/DANTES/ECE exams and amassing some credit before you decide which school to pursue your degree from.

It's not difficult at all for a good test taker to nail down 30+ hours in a couple months by testing alone. Many people here have tested through 60+ hours in a year.

 

Okay, bearing in mind that I have no experience with CLEP or any other credit-granting exams, my first reaction to this is "Well..yeah...but wouldn't that require me to know something about the subject?" I test well in the sense that if I learn something, I can more easily demonstrate the knowledge by acing an exam than by writing a paper or completing a project, but that doesn't mean I'll necessarily have the knowledge to pass any of these CLEP exams.

Looking at the available CLEP exams on collegeboard.com, the only ones I stand a chance of passing are English-related, and I honestly would rather have the practice and experience of taking those classes than earning the credits through the CLEP exam. What I'm saying here is that I want an education more than a degree.

 

Actually, disregard what I just said. I've looked into CLEP a little more since your recommendation and it seems like it will definitely be worth investing a little more independent study into that material versus taking another semester of biology or chemistry. Thanks for the suggestion!

All other things being equal, UML accepts a maximum of 30 credits earned by CLEP. According to collegeboard.com, these are the CLEP tests and scores currently accepted at the school. http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=489&profileId=6

I've already emailed the advising department (why do I always think of these questions at 3 in the morning on Saturdays!!) but I figured I'd ask anyway: Does a CLEP score impact your GPA or is it more like a "pass/fail" type of deal?

 

UMass

I know nothing about the UMass online program but I know the university is very well respected. My ex-girl friend attended UMass on campus and said the professors are top.