Early Retired, 25-year software engineer now understands the lies he was told

[intercst]

@RedCloud1

After I concluded that they did know the material, I ended up offering a few the option of oral exams. My recollection is that most did quite well.

The Competency Exam at WPI was a 2 day written test where you solved 4 or 5 engineering problems and an oral defense of your work before a committee of 3 professors.

intercst

[AdrianC]

@FCorelli

Yes, I took a ton of Clep and Dantes tests (which btw were so easy they were a joke) but the coup de gras for upper division credits and the BS was the Graduate Record Exams. (which I understand are no longer a thing but were still in use then)

When you were in the military?

Graduate Record Exams are still a thing. People take them to get into graduate school. Friend took it to get into vet school. Maybe you’re thinking of a different test?

Graduate Record Examinations

[VeeEnn]

@AdrianC …you’re English, right? Of an age to have experienced, say, grammar school with “O” and “A” levels prior to university (didn’t call it “uni” back in our day)…like dh and me?. Back then, remember, heading off to college to “read”, say, biology, or chemistry, medicine, vet medicine dentistry etc …even liberal arts…required demonstration of a pretty decent mastery of your subject before your college application even went in. Especially for a popular subject at a decent place. That’s what you might find puzzling…because that’s a whole background in a given subject before you start the coursework that is fairly rare in the US system. The concept of “testing out” of a subject in the context of a college degree is obviously a bit foreign.

By comparison, my daughter’s education through high school…regardless of how well she did…is best described as a mile wide and an inch deep. I have a shrewd idea that the “A” level subjects her dad and I were immersed and tested in prior to med and dental school would possibly have been beyond her. A wonderful eclectic experience at college before vet school, mind…but, still, it’s hard to see it as anything other than an extra 4 years that was an add-on.

[AdrianC]

@VeeEnn

@AdrianC …you’re English, right? Of an age to have experienced, say, grammar school with “O” and “A” levels prior to university (didn’t call it “uni” back in our day)…like dh and me?.

Yes, "O"s and "A"s. Maths, Physics, Chemistry for "A"s. Then degree in Electrical Eng, which was 99% maths, electrical/electronic and programming.

So, a very narrow (but deep?) education. My kids, raised in USA, had a much broader education through high school. I liked that.

@VeeEnn

The concept of “testing out” of a subject in the context of a college degree is obviously a bit foreign.

Well, no. As you know, British Bachelor’s degrees are three years. USA four years, but that first year or so is general stuff and getting everyone up to speed. All my kids tested out of that via high school AP credits. I expect your daughter did the same.

The CLEP and DANTES tests mentioned upthread do a similar thing to the APs.

From Google: CLEP and DANTES (now called DSST) exams generally award lower-level college credit equivalent to freshman and sophomore (100- and 200-level) introductory coursework.

Possibly there was some way to test out of a Bachelor’s degree years ago? Don’t know. Kudos and a tip of the hat to anyone who could.

@VeeEnn

A wonderful eclectic experience at college before vet school, mind…but, still, it’s hard to see it as anything other than an extra 4 years that was an add-on.

You mean she could have gone straight to vet school from high school in a British system? Yes, I believe that’s the way they do it there. Five-year program. Same for med school?

I’m happy all my kids have gone to college. Great experience, as you say. With their AP credits they could all cut it shorter than 4 years, but…have chosen not to. Oldest had a lot of fun and ended up with 2 majors and 2 co-majors, and is still the youngest in her med school class. Middle is doing a concurrent bachelors/masters in 4 years. Youngest has just started, mech eng. We’ll see on that one but he can complete the 5 year coop program in 4 if he wants.

Regarding cost: In-state schools, academic scholarships, 529 plans started when they were babies and invested almost all in stocks. Daughter’s 529 had more in it after 4 years of undergrad than when she started. Burning through it now though!

[pauleckler]

You can often take tests to get credit for required courses. But I dont think you get credit hours for passing test.. You still need 120 credit hrs to graduate. So you get time for more electives and maybe more specialization.

[1poorguy]

@pauleckler

You can often take tests to get credit for required courses.

It’s been 40 years, but as I recall, you still had to pay for those credit hours. However, if you tested out, you did save time.

I tested in Spanish, but only for placement. I didn’t pay to get the credits. It just evaluated where I was, then I took the class (300-level) to get my foreign language requirement out of the way (I only needed one class…in grad school we had to demonstrate proficiency, so you couldn’t take a 101 class and satisfy the requirement like you could in undergrad).