Resources for those trying to complete their degree

More years ago than I want to think about, I found that I had accumulated almost 3 years of college credits and had nothing to show for it. I had gone to college a year before running out of money; because of the draft, I went in the military. After discharge, I had to travel frequently for work. As a result, my credits were from all over the place (Los Angeles City College, the University of Virginia, Southern Cal - just to mention a few.) Then, of course, there was no option of completing a degree online. Even with that option today, you may want to look at another (perhaps less expensive) alternative to getting an Associate's and/or Bachelor's degree.

At the time I decided to pursue at least an Associates, I was working as a computer consultant and was able to find work with or without the degree. I wanted to complete it mainly because I have always been an advocate of education and lifetime learning, but also because of the way some of my cohorts would look down their noses because I was non-degreed.

So, at the time it was not that important, but you never know what the future will bring. If I did not have the Bachelor's today, I would be in a homeless shelter or living in a card board box. That is NOT an exagggeration. The only thing keeping me above water is a part-time teaching position that I could not have without the B.S. plus experience. I do not want to go into that further here, but you may want to read this editorial if the reasons why interest you.

Back on subject, what really got me going was a book. I don't remember how I found out about it, but the book was, if I remember correctly, called Dr. John Bear's Guide to Non-Traditional Degree Programs.Well, fortunately for us adults in search of educational options Dr. Bear has kept the book updated.

cover Click here to read about Dr. Bear's latest update at Amazon.com

Through his book, I found out about the Regeants College Program at the University of the State of New York. (They have since changed their name to Excelsior College.) I was able to get an A.S. almost immediately and later received a B.S. with a double-major in Business and Psychology; more on that later.

They charge a very reasonable fee to evaluate your transcripts and other possible sources of credit. (For example, if you have career-related certifications they may be worth semester hours.)

I already had enough hours for the A.S. but still was a ways from the B.S. I got lazy. (Actually, I was travelling six days a week, making good money, and figured, "Why make the effort?") In 1991, I met a gentleman while working on one of many contracts for Hewlett-Packard. We were the same age and he was finishing his degree in night school. Plus, Hewlett-Packard only hired college grads. Wanting to keep my options open, I decided to get another eval done.

With the courses I had taken, and some certifications, I only needed a little over a year to complete the four-year degree. I had taken at least one graduate-level course and many upper-division (Junior and Senior level) classes, so I could use the CLEP tests to get credits. CLEP stands for College Level Proficiency Exams. They are given by the same people that do the SAT's. You can take CLEP exams in many different areas to get 3 or more semester hours for what you have learned in life. I did not need any study guides to pass the exams I took; I have included books below for those of you who do not have an interest in things like history and the arts, and may need to prepare for the tests. I picked up about a semester's worth of credits doing this. USNY will also give you credit for attaining a satisfactory score on Graduate Record Exams. GRE's are taken by people who want to attend grad school and it shows their competency in their college major. If you get a high enough score, which I did on the psych exam, then you have proven yourself to have acquired the knowledge through whatever means. I had taken some psych courses and done a lot of reading, so I did OK. That was worth 30 semester hours - an entire year and a second major.

I now had well over 120 semester hours, including two majors, but needed 9 hours in Arts and Humanities. I went to Dr. Bear's book, and found schools that offered the necessary courses via correspondence. (It would be so much easier today with the Internet!) I spent every night during the week working on the courses. I remember the last course I took was in Political Science at the University of North Carolina; I had to drive three hours each way to take the mid-term and final, but it was worth it. I finally had my degree after 20 years of effort!

Good luck to you and I hope Dr. Bear's book and the resources below help you. Please, please let me know your suggestions so I can pass them on!

Sincerely,
The Lone Wolf of Vegas
(Originally published 2004)

Contact information for Excelsior College, University of the State of New York:

Web site
Snail Mail:
7 Columbia Circle
Albany, NY 12203-5159

Kaplan GMAT 2009, Premier Program (CD-ROM) - FREE BUDGET SHIPPING, Our Price: $26.13 (You Save: $15.87)	Kaplan DAT , 5th Ed with CDROM - FREE BUDGET SHIPPING, Our Price: $45.36 (You Save: $34.64)
Kaplan MCAT 2008 Premier Program (W/ CD-ROM) - FREE BUDGET SHIPPING, Our Price: $68.04 (You Save: $51.96)	Kaplan GMAT 800 2008-2009 Eligible for FREE SHIPPING on Orders Over $25 - Our Price: $14.85 (You Save: $10.15)

And another way to learn:

I am more than willing to help you achieve your goals so please email me any questions you have. Let me know if you have purchased one of the books through my site. If you have a lot of questions, please consider going here and contributing to the continued health and growth of this site using Paypal.

Please let me know if this site has helped you in your paper chase at all.

There are other related books (such as certification) elsewhere on the site. Please use the search box below to find more resources.

I'll add more to this page as I find out more information, and hopefully get feedback from others.

Digg This Article Digg Add to Delicious Del.icio.us Seed this article Newsvine Add to Reddit Reddit Add to furl Furl Stumble This Article Stumble Upon