Going to College as an Adult

TJT

TJT

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Xarpolis said:
If you're able to do 100% of all GE classes with CLEP, what type of time reduction would you be for a standard Bachelors degree? (IE: 4-years)
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Knocking out Gen Ed shaves off a year. The problem is the electives. Which are like a third of an undergrad. CLEP can eliminate some of those if you take all the humanities ones so all else being equal you can get 1.5-2 years shaved off. This is not considering taking summer courses (which you should do) and stuff outside of the supposed traditional norm. That being taking 9-12 credit hours or whatever a semester and no summer courses.

It is also much cheaper as you're looking at under $1k to get through what would be a year and thousands in tuition.
 
Xarpolis

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Xarpolis

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I sat down with the university the other day, and it was interesting. They do accept CLEP, but the engineering program is limited entirely by math. If I don't have all of the math done, then I can't advance. And it's a numerical system. You need math 1 to do math 2. And math 2 is a requirement for engineering 1. Then math 3 and engineering 1 are requirements for engineering 2. So realistically, even if you did every CLEP possible, you'd still be 3 1/2 years (at the best) to complete a Civil Engineering degree.

The school in question offers a few various engineering degrees. Construction, which is an offshoot of Civil. Also Environmental and Structural, which are also offshoots of Civil. There's also mechanical and a few others, but Civil sounds like the best choice for me personally. And having a Civil Engineering degree open a whole variety of other doors in Hawaii, which seems to be a civil engineering mecha. So I'm still way down the list at like math -1 or -2. But there's an expedited math class through a community college that will do all of the 1st year shit that the university requires to get into the bread and butter that is the engineering degree. And by going to the community college (and doing CLEP), I'll save a lot of $$.

The curriculum for Civil is as follows:

Freshman. Eng 100, Math 241, Chem 161, Chem 161L, FG, Math 242, Phys 170, Phys 170L, Chem 162, EE160, or ICS 110/111.
Then the Sophomore year requires CEE 270, Math 243, Phys 272/272L, FG, DH or DL, CEE 271, Math 244, CEE 370/370L, BSE and Comg 251.
The Junior year requires CEE 305, CEE 320, CEE 361, Econ 120, Econ 130/131, Math 302, GG 312, CEE 330, CEE 355, CEE 375, CEE 381, and DS.
There's 3 different focuses for the senior year. 1st is a universal civil engineering. 2nd is structural. 3rd is sustainability and innovation.

Anyway, I don't really know what most of those acronyms mean, but I'm sure it's something.

Also, it seems that CLEP will only cover 5, maybe 6 classes total. Oh well. I'm going to the community college shortly to enroll over there and figure out the steps I'll need to take for it to happen.
 
ToeMissile

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Xarpolis said:
I sat down with the university the other day, and it was interesting. They do accept CLEP, but the engineering program is limited entirely by math. If I don't have all of the math done, then I can't advance. And it's a numerical system. You need math 1 to do math 2. And math 2 is a requirement for engineering 1. Then math 3 and engineering 1 are requirements for engineering 2. So realistically, even if you did every CLEP possible, you'd still be 3 1/2 years (at the best) to complete a Civil Engineering degree.

The school in question offers a few various engineering degrees. Construction, which is an offshoot of Civil. Also Environmental and Structural, which are also offshoots of Civil. There's also mechanical and a few others, but Civil sounds like the best choice for me personally. And having a Civil Engineering degree open a whole variety of other doors in Hawaii, which seems to be a civil engineering mecha. So I'm still way down the list at like math -1 or -2. But there's an expedited math class through a community college that will do all of the 1st year shit that the university requires to get into the bread and butter that is the engineering degree. And by going to the community college (and doing CLEP), I'll save a lot of $$.

The curriculum for Civil is as follows:

Freshman. Eng 100, Math 241, Chem 161, Chem 161L, FG, Math 242, Phys 170, Phys 170L, Chem 162, EE160, or ICS 110/111.
Then the Sophomore year requires CEE 270, Math 243, Phys 272/272L, FG, DH or DL, CEE 271, Math 244, CEE 370/370L, BSE and Comg 251.
The Junior year requires CEE 305, CEE 320, CEE 361, Econ 120, Econ 130/131, Math 302, GG 312, CEE 330, CEE 355, CEE 375, CEE 381, and DS.
There's 3 different focuses for the senior year. 1st is a universal civil engineering. 2nd is structural. 3rd is sustainability and innovation.

Anyway, I don't really know what most of those acronyms mean, but I'm sure it's something.

Also, it seems that CLEP will only cover 5, maybe 6 classes total. Oh well. I'm going to the community college shortly to enroll over there and figure out the steps I'll need to take for it to happen.
Click to expand...
Once upon a time I was going to school for undergrad ME. Make sure you have a good hold on the math.
 
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TheBeagle

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Xarpolis said:
I sat down with the university the other day, and it was interesting. They do accept CLEP, but the engineering program is limited entirely by math. If I don't have all of the math done, then I can't advance. And it's a numerical system. You need math 1 to do math 2. And math 2 is a requirement for engineering 1. Then math 3 and engineering 1 are requirements for engineering 2. So realistically, even if you did every CLEP possible, you'd still be 3 1/2 years (at the best) to complete a Civil Engineering degree.

The school in question offers a few various engineering degrees. Construction, which is an offshoot of Civil. Also Environmental and Structural, which are also offshoots of Civil. There's also mechanical and a few others, but Civil sounds like the best choice for me personally. And having a Civil Engineering degree open a whole variety of other doors in Hawaii, which seems to be a civil engineering mecha. So I'm still way down the list at like math -1 or -2. But there's an expedited math class through a community college that will do all of the 1st year shit that the university requires to get into the bread and butter that is the engineering degree. And by going to the community college (and doing CLEP), I'll save a lot of $$.

The curriculum for Civil is as follows:

Freshman. Eng 100, Math 241, Chem 161, Chem 161L, FG, Math 242, Phys 170, Phys 170L, Chem 162, EE160, or ICS 110/111.
Then the Sophomore year requires CEE 270, Math 243, Phys 272/272L, FG, DH or DL, CEE 271, Math 244, CEE 370/370L, BSE and Comg 251.
The Junior year requires CEE 305, CEE 320, CEE 361, Econ 120, Econ 130/131, Math 302, GG 312, CEE 330, CEE 355, CEE 375, CEE 381, and DS.
There's 3 different focuses for the senior year. 1st is a universal civil engineering. 2nd is structural. 3rd is sustainability and innovation.

Anyway, I don't really know what most of those acronyms mean, but I'm sure it's something.

Also, it seems that CLEP will only cover 5, maybe 6 classes total. Oh well. I'm going to the community college shortly to enroll over there and figure out the steps I'll need to take for it to happen.
Click to expand...
Make sure to look up all available transfer scholarships from CC to that university: GPA and total hrs required. If clepping out of too many classes makes you ineligible for those transfer scholarships you might end up screwing yourself out of thousands of free dollars.

When I did it I think it was like 48hrs and a GPA of 3.0+. Ended up getting $2k per semester for 4 semesters.
 
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Noodleface

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Engineer here that did a fuckload of math.

I took pre-calc (some call it algebra 3) in community college when I went back to college as an adult. It was the best decision I could make. It set me up to have a really strong algebra base for Calc 1-3, which use a LOT of algebra skills. The university will list their policy on transfer credits somewhere, but don't be afraid to call either. You'll want to make sure whatever you take actually does transfer. A lot of people get boned by this.

If you have any questions about going back to school for engineering as an adult I don't mind answering them. I did do a slightly different path with Computer Engineering, but the first one to two years are almost identical for every program.

I will just stress that math and in turn physics are the two huge barriers for entry for a lot of students. The drop out rate for engineers is really high. My undergrad class of CompE's started in the 90s and in the end 8 of us graduated.
 
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wormie

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Just to echo what Noodle said and to steal a popular math professor saying:

"Calculus is the first chance that students get to fail Algebra."

So review that stuff well before starting.

Yay for math :D:D:D:D
 
Noodleface

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wormie said:
Just to echo what Noodle said and to steal a popular math professor saying:

"Calculus is the first chance that students get to fail Algebra."

So review that stuff well before starting.

Yay for math :D:D:D:D
Click to expand...
Man that's true. Calc 1 is a kick in the nuts for a lot of students. I've probably said it before elsewhere but when I took Calc 2 I kept getting >100 on every test and the class average was somewhere between 30-50 (she curved hard in the end, it was real fuckin dumb). I attributed everything to first of all studying my dick off, but second just being a "God" at Algebra.

Also another thing to say. No one ever finishes an engineering degree and says it's easy - it's actually the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I worked full-time nights pursuing a degree during the day while engaged living in my wife's parent's basement. I typically got home from school and work around 11PM and did homework until 3-4AM most nights. A lot of nights I didn't sleep at all. Sometimes I didn't sleep for two whole days.

100% worth it, but engineering is really hard.
 
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TJT

TJT

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Xarpolis said:
I sat down with the university the other day, and it was interesting. They do accept CLEP, but the engineering program is limited entirely by math. If I don't have all of the math done, then I can't advance. And it's a numerical system. You need math 1 to do math 2. And math 2 is a requirement for engineering 1. Then math 3 and engineering 1 are requirements for engineering 2. So realistically, even if you did every CLEP possible, you'd still be 3 1/2 years (at the best) to complete a Civil Engineering degree.

The school in question offers a few various engineering degrees. Construction, which is an offshoot of Civil. Also Environmental and Structural, which are also offshoots of Civil. There's also mechanical and a few others, but Civil sounds like the best choice for me personally. And having a Civil Engineering degree open a whole variety of other doors in Hawaii, which seems to be a civil engineering mecha. So I'm still way down the list at like math -1 or -2. But there's an expedited math class through a community college that will do all of the 1st year shit that the university requires to get into the bread and butter that is the engineering degree. And by going to the community college (and doing CLEP), I'll save a lot of $$.

The curriculum for Civil is as follows:

Freshman. Eng 100, Math 241, Chem 161, Chem 161L, FG, Math 242, Phys 170, Phys 170L, Chem 162, EE160, or ICS 110/111.
Then the Sophomore year requires CEE 270, Math 243, Phys 272/272L, FG, DH or DL, CEE 271, Math 244, CEE 370/370L, BSE and Comg 251.
The Junior year requires CEE 305, CEE 320, CEE 361, Econ 120, Econ 130/131, Math 302, GG 312, CEE 330, CEE 355, CEE 375, CEE 381, and DS.
There's 3 different focuses for the senior year. 1st is a universal civil engineering. 2nd is structural. 3rd is sustainability and innovation.

Anyway, I don't really know what most of those acronyms mean, but I'm sure it's something.

Also, it seems that CLEP will only cover 5, maybe 6 classes total. Oh well. I'm going to the community college shortly to enroll over there and figure out the steps I'll need to take for it to happen.
Click to expand...

Not sure about the elective requirements there but even CLEP that do not apply directly to your degree track DO apply to your elective requirement. At least when I was doing them.
 
moonarchia

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Xarpolis said:
I sat down with the university the other day, and it was interesting. They do accept CLEP, but the engineering program is limited entirely by math. If I don't have all of the math done, then I can't advance. And it's a numerical system. You need math 1 to do math 2. And math 2 is a requirement for engineering 1. Then math 3 and engineering 1 are requirements for engineering 2. So realistically, even if you did every CLEP possible, you'd still be 3 1/2 years (at the best) to complete a Civil Engineering degree.

The school in question offers a few various engineering degrees. Construction, which is an offshoot of Civil. Also Environmental and Structural, which are also offshoots of Civil. There's also mechanical and a few others, but Civil sounds like the best choice for me personally. And having a Civil Engineering degree open a whole variety of other doors in Hawaii, which seems to be a civil engineering mecha. So I'm still way down the list at like math -1 or -2. But there's an expedited math class through a community college that will do all of the 1st year shit that the university requires to get into the bread and butter that is the engineering degree. And by going to the community college (and doing CLEP), I'll save a lot of $$.

The curriculum for Civil is as follows:

Freshman. Eng 100, Math 241, Chem 161, Chem 161L, FG, Math 242, Phys 170, Phys 170L, Chem 162, EE160, or ICS 110/111.
Then the Sophomore year requires CEE 270, Math 243, Phys 272/272L, FG, DH or DL, CEE 271, Math 244, CEE 370/370L, BSE and Comg 251.
The Junior year requires CEE 305, CEE 320, CEE 361, Econ 120, Econ 130/131, Math 302, GG 312, CEE 330, CEE 355, CEE 375, CEE 381, and DS.
There's 3 different focuses for the senior year. 1st is a universal civil engineering. 2nd is structural. 3rd is sustainability and innovation.

Anyway, I don't really know what most of those acronyms mean, but I'm sure it's something.

Also, it seems that CLEP will only cover 5, maybe 6 classes total. Oh well. I'm going to the community college shortly to enroll over there and figure out the steps I'll need to take for it to happen.
Click to expand...
Get as many credits done at CC as you can. You should be able to get almost all of your Freshman and Sophomore stuff out of the way. Also, CLEP can fuck right off. The basic stuff should directly transfer over. I did Calc 1 and 2 at CC and just transferred those directly in as Calc 1 and 2 at the university.
 
Noodleface

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moonarchia said:
Get as many credits done at CC as you can. You should be able to get almost all of your Freshman and Sophomore stuff out of the way. Also, CLEP can fuck right off. The basic stuff should directly transfer over. I did Calc 1 and 2 at CC and just transferred those directly in as Calc 1 and 2 at the university.
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Only caveat with engineering, at my University they had the curriculum set up so that a lot of courses had prereqs dating a full 4 years. So even doing a full CC course load your have to technically attend all 4 years
 
TJT

TJT

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Well if you play your cards right and your last semester is doing one or two classes because of their dumb requirements whatever.
 
Lendarios

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Xarpolis said:
I sat down with the university the other day, and it was interesting. They do accept CLEP, but the engineering program is limited entirely by math. If I don't have all of the math done, then I can't advance. And it's a numerical system. You need math 1 to do math 2. And math 2 is a requirement for engineering 1. Then math 3 and engineering 1 are requirements for engineering 2. So realistically, even if you did every CLEP possible, you'd still be 3 1/2 years (at the best) to complete a Civil Engineering degree.

The school in question offers a few various engineering degrees. Construction, which is an offshoot of Civil. Also Environmental and Structural, which are also offshoots of Civil. There's also mechanical and a few others, but Civil sounds like the best choice for me personally. And having a Civil Engineering degree open a whole variety of other doors in Hawaii, which seems to be a civil engineering mecha. So I'm still way down the list at like math -1 or -2. But there's an expedited math class through a community college that will do all of the 1st year shit that the university requires to get into the bread and butter that is the engineering degree. And by going to the community college (and doing CLEP), I'll save a lot of $$.

The curriculum for Civil is as follows:

Freshman. Eng 100, Math 241, Chem 161, Chem 161L, FG, Math 242, Phys 170, Phys 170L, Chem 162, EE160, or ICS 110/111.
Then the Sophomore year requires CEE 270, Math 243, Phys 272/272L, FG, DH or DL, CEE 271, Math 244, CEE 370/370L, BSE and Comg 251.
The Junior year requires CEE 305, CEE 320, CEE 361, Econ 120, Econ 130/131, Math 302, GG 312, CEE 330, CEE 355, CEE 375, CEE 381, and DS.
There's 3 different focuses for the senior year. 1st is a universal civil engineering. 2nd is structural. 3rd is sustainability and innovation.

Anyway, I don't really know what most of those acronyms mean, but I'm sure it's something.

Also, it seems that CLEP will only cover 5, maybe 6 classes total. Oh well. I'm going to the community college shortly to enroll over there and figure out the steps I'll need to take for it to happen.
Click to expand...
Most college courses are labeled by either subject and number or school / number. It is just a way of naming them. For example CEE 270 means civil engendering something something, and the number is usually structured with first digit being the year, and the second 2 Digits the course itself. Sometimes the letters means which sub-college offers the class,
so cee 270 means a course in the second year of a civil engine’er class.
 
alavaz

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I've been eyeballing GA Tech's online MSCS. It's crazy cheap (my company will cover all of it) and having GA Tech on the resume would look pretty nice.

I also want to keep playing classic WoW though... so maybe after Naxx.
 
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moonarchia

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alavaz said:
I've been eyeballing GA Tech's online MSCS. It's crazy cheap (my company will cover all of it) and having GA Tech on the resume would look pretty nice.

I also want to keep playing classic WoW though... so maybe after Naxx.
Click to expand...
 
Noodleface

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I've thought about going for a masters too, but at this point I'm not sure. I was actually doing the paperwork for it at Raytheon before I left.
 
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