College Prep/College Plus experience?

[SoCal Sandra]

I am planning ahead for high school. Has anyone used College Prep or College Plus? If so, please tell me as much as you can about these programs. TIA.

[smillard00]

:lurk5:

[sunflowerlady]

We may use these programs later on for dd. I have not seen many positive opinions on these boards for them. That's okay because different families have different needs and goals.

 

I first learned about this approach in the books "College Without Compromise" and "Accelerated Distance Learning." I believe the author of the "Accelerated Distance Learning" started up the College Plus program.

 

I know it can be done without them and it would save money, but I can also see where having the guidance , support and direction could be very helpful. Not to mention, they would have someone guiding them along who isn't Mom.:001_smile: I think for teens, that might be a plus.

 

I signed up for their email list and "liked" them on Facebook, so I get articles and such from them. It gives me a bit more insight into their program and so far I like what I see.

 

Dd probably will not be doing this for a couple more years because she is only 13. I am just looking ahead.

[Mom22ns]

I'll link you to this thread. In it Lori links you to three more.

 

There are many discussions of College Plus. What it boils down to is that College Plus is a service. Most people on these boards feel negatively about them because the service is expensive and unnecessary. There is nothing they do that you can't do for yourself. However, some appreciate the organization and hand-holding they bring to the process.

[Lori D.]

Thanks for linking that past post of mine, Debbie! :)

 

I will add that the young lady I know who completed the College Plus program with a BA degree a year ago (simultaneously with the last 2 years of high school) has said the service that College Plus was NOT unnecessary -- she said she absolutely needed that weekly mentor/counselor time to get her through the program (one class that was especially tough), and just in general because you are all alone in doing this program -- you have no one else doing it alongside you, and no classroom or real-life face time with a real-life teacher for accountability. One other thing the cost covers is that they teach you how to speed read and special memorization skills, which are critical to being able to move so quickly through so many classes and to score well on the tests.

 

As for expensive, well, I believe our friend said that about $3000 of the the $12,000-$13,000 pays for that guidance counselor; the rest is for all the CLEP test fees (about $100 per class, for about 40+ classes), to College Plus for coordination of the classes, and to the college which awards the degree.

 

If the parent has the time and ability to put in all the work to coordinate that and to give the time/effort to be there as support for the student, then great! You've saved about half the cost. But after watching our friend go through the program, and now seeing another teen friend do it (she is halfway done right now), I don't think it is at all realistic to expect the student to be able to do ANY of the administrative coordination -- nor to expect the student to pull off that much distance learning and CLEP testing without a support system. And frankly, both the moms of these two young women are extremely intelligent, organized, able-to-research-well, and capable homeschoolers (one is a former military engineer), and they would be the first to say "no way" would they be able to pull off organizing all this themselves.

 

I guess I also am thinking $12,000-$13,000 total for a 4-year degree (completed in 2 years) sounds extremely reasonable, compared to the $40,000+ it would cost to do that same degree in 4 years at any of our state public universities... :(

 

Final thought: only a small segment of students will do well with this type of learning/testing to get a degree in this way. You have to be very self-disciplined and very motivated. You need to be a good textbook learner, and do well learning independently. And the *student* really needs to be emotionally mature, and be the one with the vision for doing this kind of program, because it gets grueling -- you keep grinding through year-round, solidly, for 2 full years. whew!

 

Just based on what I've seen with 2 students... BEST of luck, whatever you decide! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited June 16, 2012 by Lori D.

[sunflowerlady]

Thanks for the links to the other posts. I must have missed those somehow. It was helpful to see some positive stories for College Plus.:)

[sdobis]

My 15 year old son is working toward his bachelor's using credit by exam. He is not using any services. I am working my tail off to make sure I know the ins and outs of earning a degree in this manner. He has 15 credits so far. My thought is that if he decides to take a different direction, I will have a lot to back up my "mom diploma" and hopefully he'll be able to take some credits with him to his chosen school.

[Excelsior! Academy]

It wasn't a fit for my oldest. She wants to be a nurse and they no longer work with nursing students. It just isn't practical.

 

My next dd might start prep soon. I plan on having my oldest listen in on the mentoring sessions and we will have her do the work my younger dd is doing as long as it makes sense for her.

 

We personally know one person whose son is doing CP and she says it is absolutely worth it. I know the prep program is much cheaper, so consider that if your child is of the right age. You can always jump into the full program later.

[Excelsior! Academy]

 

I just got a call back from them. The College Prep starts at age 14yrs and child should've finished Biology and Algebra 1. However, if the child is motivated and a self-starter with those classes behind them at 13yrs old they will work with them. The information they sent seemed viable and the one reason I would want to use it is to help me navigate my way and my daughter will have a 3rd party to motivate her. However, if your student wants to attend college, live on campus, chat with other kids while going to class and they are not interested in focusing their coursework or constant study for standardized test, save your money. I think what we will do is have her study extensively for a few weeks and CLEP on the subjects she finished and then see if she wants to go that road.

 

BTW this is a great book I found online that has actual Lesson Plans for CLEPs,

 

CLEPs Lesson Plans by Tricia McQuarrie http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/clepprep-lesson-plans-tricia-mcquarrie/1105701843?ean=9781257164677

If you have a younger child who hasn't finished bio and alg they have an assessment test the child can take.