As I haven't really given a detailed outline of who I am and what my goals are, I am going to do so now. I'm a 27 year old Soldier, serving at Fort Lee, VA. I joined the Army a year ago, 24 November. Just made PFC! I arrived back at Fort Lee after AIT, got married to my long time girlfriend, and got ready to deploy to Iraq. I was enrolled in "College Student Success" with Fayetteville Technical Community College via EArmyU, since it was the only class that finished before I'd be heading to Iraq. Well in the hustle and bustle of numerous things, my discipline wavered, and I dropped the class by not having internet access and received no credit. Fast forward to now. I'm not going to Iraq, landed what some call a sham job as the battalion clerk. Being on a much more strict 9-5 work schedule, and having some downtime at work with PC access, I am enrolled in two classes for January-March term with FTCC. "Intro to the Old Testament" and "Western Civilization I". They start 11 January. In researching for study guides for the CLEP exams FTCC accepts, which are deemed "easiest" by others, and in areas I am more proficient with, I came across this site and degreeforum.com. Excelsior has struck me as the institution I am ultimately going to seek my degree with, as they accept the most credit for exam work, and because all I need is "credits" for my goal of applying for Army OCS(may try Green to Gold when I hit 60 hours, not 100%). Since I am already enrolled with FTCC, and I want to go ahead and finish these classes, I will take them, but am in the process of enrolling with Excelsior even as we speak. I am going to try and keep a fairly good log of my tests as I take them, and as I get my results back. After mid January or so, I'll be testing at a decent center and won't have to wait two bloody months for results, so then I'll update regularly. I will also maintain a store of all of my study methods and an after action review of them so you can see how effective they were for me. Updates of my interaction with any organization from VA to Excelsior will also be posted regularly.Good luck to everyone on here in their endeavors. Merry Christmas and Gold bless you all!
Good luck soldier. I really envy you being smart enough to start now instead of waiting until you're older. You mention "testing at a decent center". Does the base education office not offer CLEPs/DANTES/etc? Although most bases only offer paper based tests, you can't beat the cost. Good luck with your studies and testing and please keep us informed of your progress. Ryan
Welcome to the forum Soldier. We'll be glad to hear about your progress and to offer any assistance possible. Have a pleasant Winter holiday season. Jack
It offers CLEP and DANTES, but they're the pen and paper variety. I don't mind paying the $15 fee that the center in Richmond charges military members if I can get my results immediately.
Hi and welcome to the boards! Excelsior is a great school to work with. They are always very attentive to my needs and respond the same day to any questions I may have (and I have LOTS!). Were you looking to complete any major in particular, or are you applying for the Bachelor's in Liberal Arts degree? Rhonda
I was thinking a BS in Business - Operations, but really I just want a degree so I can apply for OCS. I am currently awaiting VA approval for any costs that go above and beyond my tuition assistance, and the cost of "non school" materials such as CLEP study guides, etc.
