hi everyone,i am new here. due to many problems i have not been able to do my graduation and would like to now.i read about excelsior and i am very much interested. i was initially interested in B.S in GENERAL BUSINESS,but i am very bad at math and accounting...so now i am looking at B.S in Liberal arts major in BIOLOGY. I have only 3 credits,that is i gave the clep natural sciences exam thatz how. so i am starting from scratch. once i enroll in excelsior which i pln to do this monday,they will take some time to evaluate i believe. i want to start giving exams instead of waiting for them for so long.i have lots of financial probs hence i cannot wait so much. friends i want to know from you'll if anyone has majored in biology from excelsior or if u have any idea wot exams i must give so that by the time they contact me i have some more credits.i want to complete it entire by examination,as u can see. please help me i have nowhere to turn to thanks saby
Biology is going to be very difficult to do entirely by exam unless you already have a very strong knowledge of advanced biology. Too, you say you are not very good at math. Some upper-level biology is going to assume more than a little calculus and/or trig. knowledge. You'll need 30 hours for the major with 15 upper level. 2 courses must include a lab and one of those must be upper level. I'm not sure it's all that easy to exam out of a lab course. I'd expect that you will need to plan a few DL courses as well as some exams to meet that major requirement. With that said; the Excelsior core requirement (non-major portion of studies) is up to 90 hours. That's equal to 30 three sh exams if done entirely by exam. I'd start with the CLEP General Exams understanding that the CLEP English will not meet the Excelsior written english requirement. Then attempt a few of the easier subject exams. That'd put you over 30 semester hours and give you a solid understanding of the nature of testing and also the way Excelsior works. You don't say where you are in your post. If you're in the US stateside, I'd suggest you go to the local community/technical college and take 2 semesters of transfer level composition courses (Eng 101/102) -- if you're outside the states, then maybe take a DL composition course from BYU or LSU. There is no requirement at Ecelsior that you wait for your evaluations before you begin other exams or courses. You might benefit though from speaking with an academic advisor before you proceed. good luck
Hi Saby - You may want to do a thorough read of this website: http://bain4weeks.com Also, you may want to put in a bit of practice with proper capitalization and spelling, it's held in fairly high regard at most universities. Good luck. Jack
thanks Thanks a lot CoachTurner and Jack, CoachTurner you have given me quite a lot of info,thanks again. i live in Seattle so going to a college for courses should'nt be a problem,the only problem in my case would be the finacial aspect.i will surely try to look for cheaper courses though. Can u give me a rough idea of what subjects to expect if i want to major in Biology? Do u think i will be able to complete the entire degree by dec end if i work hard? i am not an American so some subjects related to American history etc would be really difficult for me. Thanks Jack ,i have already been on this website(bain4weeks)and found it helpful but the author takes so much time to anwer questions... also on this site i could not find the subjects i will need to sit...i saw the complete listing for B.S in General Business but not Biology. Can u help me find it if itz already there in the text? thanks for the help Sabina
If you find that you need to take classes rather than exams, try LSU. They are very affordable (compared to other schools) at only $73 per hour. Good luck. Pug
Completing the equivalent of 40 three hour classes before December of this year would be a challenge if you had exceptional skills in all subject areas -- with weaknesses is some, it will be an incredible challenge. The BA in 4 weeks model is a good model to show what can be done but is not a realistic model for many folks. Now, you say money is an issue. Excelsior is often the least expensive of the options we generally discuss here but it is often the case that a local technical college is even less expensive. It may be that you need to resolve that financial problem as your primary issue and work on a BS as a secondary concern. I have no information about your employablity so can offer no advise but, there are some occupational areas that require very short preparation with very good return on investment. These often are also in high need of workers. It may be held in high regard but it remains in short supply. Especially so when the subject is writing in a secondary or tertiary language.
I don't know very much about Excelsior, but I'm a former biology major at a B&M school (Cal Poly SLO). Coach Turner is right. Doing a biology major isn't easy, especially by DL. Biology requires not only a bunch of lab classes in the major itself (they vary depending on your specialization), we also had to take the introductory physics and chemistry sequences, with labs, plus introductory organic chemistry and biochemistry, again with labs. (Chemistry is very important in biology and you can't slough it off.) They also wanted us to take introductory calculus. I'd guess that probably the best way to approach it would be to take as many of the lower-division lab classes as you can at a local community college. Then transfer them into Excelsior if that's the way you want to go. Or transfer them into a local B&M school and do the degree in person, which might actually be easier. There is NO WAY that you can do an entire biology major by December (let alone in 4 weeks). That just isn't realistic.
I should add that if your real problem is money, then go talk to a counselor in the financial aid office at your local community college. They can tell you about any grants that are available. (Those are usually pretty scarce.) But there are often on-campus jobs available. What's more, most colleges have listings of part-time jobs out in the community. You could work part-time and go to school part-time. (I did that, so I know that it's not only possible, it's even fun if you like your job.) If you can find a job related to your major, it looks great on a resume too, and makes you more employable when you graduate. I'd only use loans as a last resort, because it's no fun at all to have big-time debt looming over you.
May I throw in my two cents' worth? I'm always troubled when someone says, "I'm no good at math." That's like saying, "I can't play basketball so I'm no good at sports." Math comes in many, many forms and is taught in many, many different ways. Allowing oneself to have a "math block" for life is a luxury no college student can afford. I myself reached the "I'm no good at math" stage, rather later than Saby, and I know the feeling well. I reached the standard class in elementary linear differential equations, generally a 200 or 300 level course. The "C" was a genuine gift. THIRTY years later, I became curious about a particular law in electricity and wondered whether it could be proven easily by me rather than taking it on faith. I did solve it, using differential equations (to my intense surprise!). For the FIRST TIME since I took that class, I understood what "diffyques" was about because for the FIRST time I could actually SEE the problem. Interestingly, when I compared my solution to the one I found in a standard engineering reference, the proofs were identical. Don't give up on math! If one teaching approach doesn't work, try another. If one teacher isn't helping, get a tutor or try another teacher! You cannot AFFORD to be "no good at math".
how to be a maths eejit I can too. Very small salary. Write very few cheques. Never balance chequebook. Lots of change for turnpike. Rarely use credit card. Simple. It better be. On the other hand, I do not recommend this for anybody younger than, well, whatever, or with half a brain.
Well, there is a way but it'd be extremely challenging and would require a very strong present knowledge that most people don't have unless they already have a degree. Simply put -- * Take the CLEP general exams for 30 hours of core requirements. * Take 6-10 CLEP subject exams at the "intro" level in liberal arts content for the remainder of the core requirement to 60 hours. * Take 6-10 CLEP/DANTES exams that allow "upper level" credit in any subject to meet and exceed the "upper level" requirement. Total now 90 hours. * Take and pass one of the CLEP languages for 6-12 hours of language credit just to do it and add hours. * Take and pass the GRE subject exam in Biology for 30 hours (complete major less lab requirement) * Take 3 courses at local tech college including 2 biology courses with lab and one to meet written English requirement. * Meet the information literacy requirement. This plan would present a very solid 135-145 semester hour completion plan with a solid major and (as far as I can tell) a complete program of study. The testing schedule here would be intense and would only be acceptable if the student was already well versed in ALL of the content. The 4-week model is exceeded by the three courses at local college but summer session courses are generally very fast and just about 4-weeks in session (though some are 8-16 weeks). The student could sit the CLEP general exams and then transfer those into local community college thereby allowing advanced standing. Then, he/she could complete the remainder or portions of the core requirement at local community college with a 1 year (12 month) full time program allowing as much as 45 semester hours. That would bring the credit total to 75 semester hours. He/she could use that year to prepare for the GRE subject exam of choice (to fulfill a major requirement) which could bring the total at the end of 12 months to 105 hours. That would put a student within 1 full-time semester of coursework of completion of a 4-year degree. Those requirements could be completed by testing or by DL or by classroom. A 1-year model is more realistic for a start-to-finish plan than the 4-week model.
Here's what my old school is requiring these days for a BS in general biology. http://www.calpoly.edu/%7Eacadprog/2003depts/csm/bio_dept/bio.html Lower division: Bio 151, 152, 153 The Intro to Biology sequence. All three include labs. Micro 224 Intro to Microbiology. Includes labs. Chem 127, 128, 129 The General Chemistry sequence. Includes labs. Math 161, 162 Calculus for Life Sciences Phys 121, 122, 123 The introductory Physics sequence. Includes labs. Stat 218 Appl. Stats for Life Sciences Plus all the general ed. Upper division: Bio 351 Genetics Bio 414 Evolution. Includes an "activity". (I don't know what that is, it wasn't required when I took it.) Bio 431 General and Cellular Physiology. Includes labs. Bio 452 Cell Biology. Includes labs. Ecology._ BIO 325 or BOT 326 Both include labs. Botany. Select one course from: BOT 313, 323, 333, 335 They all include labs. Zoology. Select one course from: ZOO 321, 322, 323, 329, 335, 336, 341, 425 They all include labs. ********************* Plus, everyone has to choose an elective concentration, from among Anatomy and Physiology, Biology (a general concentration) and Molecular and Cellular Biology. The general Biology concentration adds: Biology Concentration Select one course from each of the following areas. A course cannot fulfill requirements for both the Major and the Concentration. Botany BOT 313, 323, 333, 334, 335, 437 Zoology ZOO 321, 322, 323, 329, 335, 336, 341, 425 Anatomy/Physiology BIO 432, 433, 434, 435; BOT 335; MCRO 424; ZOO 331, 332 Organic Chemistry CHEM 312 or CHEM 316 & 317 Biochemistry CHEM 313 or CHEM 371 & 372 _ Adviser approved electives: Two additional classes. Every one of the classes listed in the concentration includes labs. Some of them are field classes. The course descriptions are here: http://www.calpoly.edu/%7Eacadprog/coursedescr2003-05.html I dunno. I guess that if you can earn a biology bachelors degree by passing a GRE and taking two lower division lab classes, then we aren't really talking about the same thing.
First, keep in mind that the OP is talking about a BS in Biology from Excelsior. Excelsior has specific degree requirements as well. So, in the sense that the OP isn't seeking a BS in General Biology from Cal Poly, we are indeed not talking about exactly the same thing. Second, I haven't taken the GRE in biology so I can't attest to whether it covers the content of the program you give. It is generally accepted though that the GRE subject exam covers the material of the related major and it is known that Excelsior accepts that as a basis for the major. You seem to be challenging the notion that the GRE is a valid indicator of preparation in the major. Whether it is or is not isn't really a material point in this discussion but would make an interesting new thread for discussion. There are indeed very few schools that allow the GRE as validation of the major -- though some B&M schools use the GRE Subject as a capstone in their programs and many graduate programs require GRE subject scores for admission. Excelsior requires the following of a biology major (not including the core education requirement of all majors): -- simplified for this post, contact Excelsior for specifics. 30 hours of major work -- 15 hours at upper level in the major. Min 2 courses with lab component. math, chemistry, and physics are suggested as part of the common core. They'll be required as pre-requisite to some of the following courses. I. a. Intro sequence b. Cell Biology c. Biodiversity II. a. Genetics b. History of Science c. Systems Biology d. Ecology e. Developmental Biology III. a. Major electives. Where your example from Cal Poly provides for a very specific sequence of courses, the Excelsior model allows for a more generalized and less specific sequence while still specifying the core content they expect covered. The Excelsior degree could be either a BA or a BS. The distinction is not in the major -- the BS allows for more applied/professional credit while the BA is primarily liberal arts.
I would agree that in near all cases that would be a matter of a "block." There are probably a good number in your profession who believe they have no ability for math despite having survived the complexities of law. Go figure.
decimon, Yes, there are. Trouble is, basic business math and accounting is essential to a lawyer in any sort of civil practice. Indeed, in divorce, now, a reasonable understanding of tax consequences is ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED. Even criminal law types MUST understand business math and SHOULD have a basic understanding of hard science as well. You CANNOT cross examine an expert without this basic knowledge.
Re: thanks I say if you are really intimidated by math, you change your major to Liberal Arts degree in General Studies or BS in Psychology or Sociology. This may be a lighter load as there would be MUCH less math. You can most likely test out of more degree requirements, too.
