What are the easiest Dantes tests?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Giancarlo, Mar 5, 2002.

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  1. Giancarlo

    Giancarlo New Member

    I have 23 credits to go to earn my BA in Liberal Arts at Excelsior and I am quite decided to test all of them through Dantes.
    9 credits must be in math and science, so I plan to take:
    - Fundamentals of College Algebra;
    - Astronomy;
    - Environmental Science.
    (I am actually enrolled in a DL algebra course from the University of Texas at Austin, but it seems to be much more demanding and lengthy than the equivalent Dantes test.)
    What other exams do you suggest to take? In other words: what are the easiest Dantes tests around?
    Because of my background and interest I am considering:
    - Contemporary Western Europe: 1946-1990;
    - An Introduction to the Modern Middle East;
    - Human/Cultural Geography;
    - Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union;
    - A History of the Vietnam War;
    - Introduction to World Religions.
    I am open to suggestions. And by the way: is anybody able to suggest some good “Cracking the Dantes”-like book? Browsing around I found a site (http://www.passbooks.com/dantes.htm) which sells study-guides for every single Dantes test published by the National Learning Corporation. Does anybody know those books? They are quite too expensive ($20 each) just to order without any reference.

    Thank you in advance,

    Giancarlo
     
  2. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Congratulations!

    Insulting question, but I gotta ask: Are you sure your 23 remaining hours are all lower-level? It matters, because that's how the majority of DANTES exams are classified.

    Not too difficult.

    Fairly difficult.

    Didn't take it.

    Hey, don't look at me; my 6 hours of (lower-level) math credit were the DANTES exams in algebra and business mathematics.

    Very difficult, unless you happen to know a great deal about the subject.

    Moderately difficult.

    Extremely easy.

    Moderately difficult.

    Moderately difficult.

    Tougher than it looks.

    My three easiest DANTES exams were Here's to Your Health, Human/Cultural Geography, and Business Mathematics.

    Wish I could, dude; in my day ("Where I walked ten miles in the snow to the proctor's office, uphill down and back..."), there weren't really any to speak of. I just used textbooks and supplementary reading.

    Good luck!

    You might also consider some CLEP general exams; they can be worth a huge chunk of credit (8+ hours).


    Cheers,
     
  3. Orson

    Orson New Member

    Easy and hard DANTES

    I found Human/Cultural Geography quite
    easy, too--DON'T bother reading a whole textbook, as I did.

    And yes, I agree with the above estimate of
    Contemporary Europe as moderately difficult--
    Gernal Anthropology was in between those two
    (one does benefit from some textbook review for it)!

    Finally, I found World Religions quite difficult!
    This, despite reading one recommended text (along withlots of exposure through historical study and reading in the philosophy of religion).
    Why? About every third to fifth question was multi-part. E.g. A question followed by branches
    I, II, III, and then multiple choice answers
    A. I only; B. II and III; C. all except III --
    you get the idea!
    It also demanded a high level of specific knowlegde of religious doctrine, combined with a high-level of generalization.
    Taking it was the only time I've needed extra time
    (maybe 2 hours--at least 90 minutes--to complete a DANTES exam; typically 60 minutes of less is fine).
    In fact, this was harder than any multiple choice exam I've taken,including four CLEP subject exams, except the GRE Subject Psych.
    Yet, with time and thorough gloss of one textbook
    by Hopfe, I managed a 72.

    Do others find it hard? If so, why would it be (do lots of people study religion, therefore requiring it to be on a higher level than other intro equivalency tests)?
     
  4. Giancarlo

    Giancarlo New Member

    Thank you for your reply. Your comments are very useful to me. Just for a start I ruled out taking the World Religions test.
    Following your suggestions and several useful hints from Lawrie’s BA in 4 weeks guide, I think I will try to avoid Astronomy, and I will take Human/Cultural Geography instead (I have to check with Excelsior to be sure that it fulfills the science requirement).
    Now, Tom, let me ask you a question. When you say that Business Math is quite easy, what exactly do you mean? Are you some kind of math wiz? Personally, I deal much better with history, humanities and the like. By the way, so far I have 44 upper level credits, so my point is strictly to take the easiest exams around. I am going to apply for a MA, and I need to get my BA asap.

    Giancarlo
     
  5. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Not really; I just knew how to calculate taxes, interest, and so forth, and could do it without a calculator or scrap paper.


    Cheers,
     
  6. Charles

    Charles New Member

  7. Lawrie Miller

    Lawrie Miller New Member

    See the BA in 4 Weeks exam difficulty index for a ranking of DANTES, CLEP, ECE, and GRE subject, relative individual exam difficulty.
    http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks/examdifficultytables.html

    Lawrie Miller
    BA in 4 Weeks

    .
     
  8. Lawrie Miller

    Lawrie Miller New Member


    Hmm . . .

    See my take on their ACT/PEP exam prep books at the bottom of the page under "Caution" at:
    http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks/books.html
     
  9. Orson

    Orson New Member

    Hey, how's Giancarlo...

    Say, how's Giancarlo doing with his exams?

    CONGRATULATIONs on that world cup victory!
    (Does Brazil own it or what! As we say in American
    idom, "next time they can just mail it in!")

    --Orson
     
  10. Giancarlo

    Giancarlo New Member

    Well, Orson, to tell you the truth, so far I didn't take a single Dantes exam. I was studying for College Algebra and Middle East History (the suggested bibliography for the latter is really quite good), but I started a new job and I'm currently too busy...
    About Brazil's victory, the folks down here were euphoric. Me, not that much: I don't particularly love soccer and since I am Italian I didn't have anything at all to celebrate (Italy's team lost against South Corea - what a shame).

    Bests,

    Giancarlo
     
  11. Orson

    Orson New Member

    DID you already take...?

    Dear giancarlo--

    I understand--and Europe almost pushed aside entirely....:(

    Yet I wonder why the much touted (elsewhere on the board)"easiest" DANTES "Here's To Your Health" goes unmentioned in this thread?

    I took it a few weeks ago and just got my results--a 61.
    Parts are harder than the sample questions make it appear (which seem to represent the median level of difficulty); every fifth or sixth question is multi-part, as if just to make up tougher questions that require some depth and detail of knowledge.

    But did I study? I spent a few leisurely hours looking up unfamiliar terms and conditions (e.g., rhuematoid versus osteo-arthritis) mentioned in the outline in an easy book-- "The complete book of men's health: the definitive, illustrated guide to healthy living, exercise, and sex," by the editors of Men's Health Books [Publisher Rodale Press, c1999, 279 p.]--and no more.

    If you decide in advance that there will be a proportion of tough ones you won't know and forget about it, getting a pass or better ought to be easy!

    Best wishes.

    --Orson
     

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