Unixman's CLEP Oddysey :)

Great recap unixman

Excellent research on the clep Alg w/ Trig.

I'm sure you will do well on the Principles of Finance one. Instantcert's guide wasn't too great for this one, although the webmaster told me a few months back that they were going to address the complaints that they received about a couple of their guides. So by now the Finance one may have been updated with fresher material.

 

Good Job!

Good job Unixman!!



Abner

 

Great job! I am finally about to start taking my first exams. Since I am enrolled in a traditional brick-n-mortar school, I really needed to wait until I have some down time. I think I am going to try the Natural Sciences CLEP first, since it seems like 6th grade science class... And then I may move on to Micro/Macroeconomics. I want to do the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, but the class would be cake too, and it is only a five week class at my school... could be a nice GPA booster. Of course, I really need to get as many classes out of the way through tests so I can graduate in the spring. I also found out that I can test out of one of my fine arts classes. The only thing that is holding me back is marketing. I have already taken the course, but the instructor did not grade my final, so I got a D. I could test out, but I will still have that D on my transcript, which will not look good for my MBA enrollment. So, I have to take it again, but the five-week version is taught by the same guy, and I do not want to take his course again.

Anyhow, great job, you have been an inspiration to many.

 

DUS10:
"I could test out, but I will still have that D on my transcript"

I did not find that to be true at least in my case anyway.I tested out a few times to replace lower grade at a traditional school and course was was taken off transcript. COSC does give letter grades for a few CLEP exams BTW.

 

That D should be replaced by a "pass" or "fail" grade when you take the exam. Double-check with an academic advisor on what exactly the school policy will be on taking an equivilant course over. It seems like from what you are saying, they you HAVE to re-take the course at the school in order to change the grade. Again, I would double-check on that.

Also, I would have a talk with that professor and even work up the chain a little bit to his boss. I don't know how long it has been since you took the class, but that is unacceptable for him to just not grade your final like that. I don't know all the circumstances that surrounded the incident, but I wouldn't have just taken it lying down.

 

Unfortunately, I have double and triple checked. I spoke with my acedemic advisor, showed little sympathy. She brought up that she had just completed her masters a very liberal seminary, and that she had a lot to put up with there, but she had to just grin and bear it.

I even spoke with the dean, and it didn't matter.

The professor claims that he did not receive my final (he requires all work be sent via email, and will take it in paper form, but will not consider it for a grade, or even to verify that the work was completed... so I hardly see the point). We had been having email problems throughout the entire semester, and I started emailing him from four different accounts on at least three different computers... and he still says he did not receive it. It really pisses me off. That was the second class that I had with the professor, and from how the first course went, I expected that class to go well, but he seemed like he was out to get me. He was always taking jabs at me during class (I took them in jest, at the time). Heck, we even cut the class from five weeks to four, and I had the final turned in to him before the fifth class would have been held.

My school will only replace grades from courses with actual retakes of the courses. My school is not COSC, it is the University of Indianapolis. And they do not even give grades for tests... you just get credit for completing the work.

 

Well, I just got back from taking the DANTES Principles of Finance exam. My gut feel says I passed it, but as it is a pencil/paper-based exam, I won't know my score for a few weeks or so.

Things to definitely study:

- Time value of money (present value/PV, future value/FV)
- Annuities/Perpetuities
- Ratios (current ratio, quick ratio)
- NPV (net present value)
- IRR (internal rate of return)
- Basics of financial statements (balance sheets, cash flow statements, income statements)
- Basics of bonds, bond yields, yield-to-maturity, etc.
- Basics of stock splits, common vs. preferred, etc.
- Basics of inventory and costs, EOQ (Economic order quantity), etc.
- I had one question where I had to use the Gordon Growth formula to calculate the price of a stock.

Those were the highlights. To study, I mostly used:

- Barron's Guide to Financial Management
- www.teachmefinance.com
- www.studyfinance.com (fantastic site, with audio lectures!)
- www.quickmba.com

I am absolutely, 100% convinced that half of the battle with this exam is knowing how to use your financial calculator! If you know how to work your calc, many of the problems are very easy to solve.

Assuming I pass this thing, I will have two courses remaining (Business Policy and Business in Society). Both of which I will be attempting via TECEP in the coming weeks.

Cheers.

 

I am surprized to see that it's very similar to the Financial/managerial accounting topics I studied to do the CLEP accounting exam...

 

There is a small degree of crossover that is invariable - balance sheets, ratios, etc. But the other stuff was not covered in detail on the accounting exam ....

 

I just created a plan at degreetracker.com.... very cool, a few kinks but mostly really, really easy to figure out.

 

Looks good!


Abner

 

Another update: I just got back from taking the TECEP Business Policy exam. My initial thoughts:

• If you use the suggested textbooks, you should be fine. Don't get bogged down in all the case studies - focus on the key points for each chapter. The smaller "Wheelan" book is a great ready - quick - easy to digest. I read that one cover-to-cover, then skimmed the larger text (Thompson) to reinforce.
• 30 multiple choice (x1 point each)
• 5 short answer questions (x5 points each)
• 3 essays (x15 points each)
• Need 60 points to pass.
• My plan was to get 20/30 on the multiple choice, and then get at least 2 essays and 2 short answer2 (or some other such combo).
• Know: mission vs. vision
• Know: Porter's 5 forces model
• Know: 5 main competitive strategies
• Know: difference between multinational, multidomestic, etc.
• There is no one single correct answer for the essays and short-answer questions. As long as you provide a well-thought out answer, and it ties back to the material, my guess is you will be fine.

God I hate waiting for TECEP scores .... lol.

Keep in mind, of course, that I don't know if I passed or not - won't know for a few weeks. But my gut feel says I did OK.

Next up, hopefully my final exam: TECEP Business in Society (ethics)

Cheers.

 

Amazing!

Just wild.

Congrats, and that diploma's just around the corner!

Starkman

 

Unixman,

Thanks for all of the motivation!!
I am taking the same exact degree program as you are at TESC, and I have 97 credits so far.

I am now totally stressed out on the Algebra/Trig Exam, I am taking it next week. I checked out your recent post on the exam and I appreciate the insight. One question, did you use the CLEP Official Study Guide and if so did it have the same difficulty level as the exam?

I feel like the more I study the less I know, I keep filling up my brain and overwriting the original knowledge, FIFO!!

How did you do on the time on this exam? I can usually figure out the answers with enough time, but 1.5 minutes per question may kill me.

Thanks again for the motivation and good luck with the rest of your studies. I am hoping to walk in the TESC graduation next June.

MBAbound

 

I would say the CLEP study guide was pretty close to the real CLEP - perhaps a little more difficult even.

I surprisingly did OK - but I was scared to death of the timer. I felt the same way - give me enough time, and I can almost always get the answer. I think there were 5 or 6 that I just had to throw out wild guesses - but the rest were pretty straightforward.

The biggest thing that helped me was doing my "brain dump" onto scratch paper before I clicked the "start" button for the test. I wrote out the Trig identity wheel, and some other formulas, and referred to it throughout.

Cheers, and good luck!

 

Thanks!! I'll post how I do next week.

 

What is or has been the study methods you have been employing for the Algebra/Trig test? Any specific books? I like Unixman's idea about writing out a brain dump before hitting the start button.

 

I've been using multiple books - including the Schaums series and Barron's EZ books. I am using the Idiots and Dummies books (Alg. & Trig). I bought the Standard Deviants Algebra DVD's.

I basically read and work on this stuff around the clock and every time I study a concept I try to write down the rules and stuff, then when I reread it I refer to my notes. It seems to be slowly sinking in.

I am really studying to the CLEP book, looking at the problems and working through them trying to see what rules they are stressing.

I'm hoping to get 2 out of 3 algebra questions correct and 1 out of 3 trig questions correct in order to pass, this is my goal. So I am studying 2/3 of my time on Algebra.

I really like Unixman's tip about the brain dump prior to hitting the start button. I will use this method. I am taking the test on Monday so I'll be doing the big push this weekend.

MBAbound

 

Good luck! You sound like you've got your act together in terms of studying, I'm sure you'll crush the test.

When you're done with the test on Monday and before celebrating let me know if you'd be interested in unloading that Algebra/Trig study material as I'll be taking the test in about a month.

 

Update: I received my DANTES Principles of Finance score in the mail today. Scored a 65 scaled (out of 80, I assume). ACE requires a minimum score of 46, so woohoo! Three more credits to the pot!

My test notes for this exam are up above a few posts.

All I have left now is:

• Awaiting my score for TECEP Business Policy (a few weeks more maybe, who knows)
• Studying for the TECEP Business in Society exam

... and I'll have my BS in Business - woot!

Cheers.