Your brain is designed to connect and assimilate new information.  Those connections are called Neural Pathways, or Neural Tracts.  With ‘fill in the blank’ questions, you are forced to think and fire up those synapses to figure out what the answer is.

Multiple-Choice isn’t learning, it’s training you to recognize a certain layout of information!

Let’s take a look at the difference between the Multiple Choice format and the ‘Fill in the Blank’ method.  Multiple Choice questions are created to gauge knowledge that you already have.  But what about when you have no previous knowledge of a subject?  That is where Speedy Prep comes in.  The purpose of our study guides is to educate you in the material in a way that will assure your successful completion of the CLEP test.

Control = Recall

You’ve probably heard about Active and Passive learning methods.  In a nutshell, research has shown that you better learn information when you are in control of the learning process yourself. University of Illinois held a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, where two groups of students studied the same materials. One group watched a presentation while the others used a computer mouse to navigate the different options. The first group simply sat while information was spoon-fed to them, while the second group was challenged to find the answers to problems and look up vocabulary. They were tested, and the group who had control over their learning experience scored much higher than the ones who just watched and listened.

Think about it!  When you’re learning something new, don’t you get more out of it when you are in control?  I do.

Take Advantage of your Brain!

Have you ever felt like this while taking a test:
“Well, there are four options, so one of them has to be right; but they’re all so similar.  Maybe I’ll just pick C, or maybe I’ll choose the longest answer, or maybe eeny-meeny-miny-moe?” If you’re like me, you’ve probably had this feeling at least once in your test taking career. I call this the “pinata” approach! Because there was a switch-up in the arrangement of the questions, you find yourself relegated to blindly swinging away in the hopes that you might luck out and strike the correct answer.

This is because you didn’t actually learn the material!

Learning is what will make the difference as you walk into the testing center, palms sweaty, heart pounding, mind racing.  Because you studied with the ‘fill in the blank’ method, you’ll know the answers and easily be able to identify the correct option, no matter the question arrangement..  Believe me you don’t want to leave your scores up to guesswork.

100% Pass Rate.  That says it all. What this means, is that everyone who has completed our CLEP preparation courses has received a passing score on their exam. (Most of them above average!)

So don’t be distracted by a study format that is a little different than the test.  You’re here to learn.  When you’ve prepared yourself with a solid knowledge base, then take free practice CLEP test from CollegePlus to practice your test taking skills with a mock-up of the actual test. .

I promise you that after you’ve used our method, you’ll be able to walk into your exam confidently, knowing that you didn’t just learn the bare minimum to pass.  No, you mastered a brand new subject and got college credit to show for it.

So happy testing everyone!  Stay tuned for updates and other sage advice from the SpeedyPrep team!

In today’s article, we will explore a few of the many reasons to avoid the college debt trap.

1. Forces Job Compromise

A college degree used to be a golden ticket to a strong career, good money, and, ultimately, a pleasant retirement. No longer is this the case.

As “good” jobs become harder to find, college students often spend a year or more looking for work. When, however, a student is saddled with college loans that must be paid, they are often forced to settle for the first job offered – just to pay the bills. Students who avoided loans, however, have the luxury of more time for job hunting.

2. Habit Forming

Once you have taken on a student loan, you begin to grow familiar with debt in general. Once you have some debt, adding a little more in the form of credit card debt or other loans doesn’t seem so bad.

Although student loans are probably the most “innocent” form of debt, they form the first step down the slippery slope to every other type. When managing your college debt, you could easily become so good at “survival mode” that you stop seeing a need to avoid it.

3. Leaves You Vulnerable

When the economy crashes, even temporarily, those with the most debt are hit the hardest. While others can survive short-term joblessness or lower income, people with student debt need a continual income stream to simply pay the bills.

College loan bills can turn a small downturn into your personal Great Depression and an actual recession into speedy bankruptcy.

4. Unnecessary Stress

If there is one thing modern Americans aren’t lacking for, it’s stress. As we all know, unnecessary stress damages health, productivity, and even life enjoyment. Particularly while you are in the already stressful environment of college, the additional burden of heavy student loan bills hovering in the near future can greatly diminish your productivity.

At a time when you should be giving your full attention to studying and learning, college debt divides your attention and makes college even more difficult.

5. No Way Out

Unlike nearly every other form of debt, student loans are generally irrevocable. Whereas most other debts can be erased through the painful process of bankruptcy, college debt will still be waiting for you on the other side.

Except under a very few exceptions, you can be sure of three things: death, taxes, and college loan bills.

6. Pushes Retirement Out

Although many people don’t start thinking about saving for retirement until their thirties or forties, your early twenties are actually the best time to start saving and, even more crucial, investing. When you are still working to pay off college loans, however, saving for retirement is virtually impossible.

Conclusion

As we can see, college loans are not the free money they can sometimes seem to be. Thankfully, there are other opportunities. Whether through a work-study program, less expensive CLEP tests, or even distance learning, you can greatly diminish the costs of college.

Because this exam is testing your knowledge at a beginning level, you will not be expected to demonstrate a detailed understanding of the topic. On the contrary, this test will focus on the basics of sociology and general theories used in the field. Learning and applying these basic principles will be the key to acing the test successfully.

Institutions (20%)

In this portion of the exam, you will need to study the major sociological institutions that run throughout society.

Economic institutions – such as communism, capitalism, and socialism – are responsible for the flow of money. Educational organizations from grades school to homeschool to grad school control the transfer of information from one generation to another. Familial groups, both nuclear and extended, remind us that “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”.

Medical groups control the way we care for our body while political groups govern our freedoms. Finally, a brief study of the various religious organizations will conclude your study of sociological institutions.

While any of these topics could merit a more detailed study, remember that the test only requires a basic understanding. Feel free to study further, but don’t feel forced to do so.

Social Patterns (15%)

As we begin studying social patterns, you will want to develop a strong understanding of communities and basic demographics. As you progress through these topics, you can look at your own city’s demographics.

Human ecology – or the study of human environments – will complete this part of the test with an emphasis on urban/rural patterns. You might be surprised how recently cities became population centers.

Social Processes (20%)

This part of the test looks at the informal processes that change and shape society. From social movements to social control, you will want to develop a basic understanding of anything related to changes in culture.

While we often think of revolutions and reformations as culture changers, you will likely be surprised how frequently change is much less obvious until after it has happened.

Social Stratification (30%)

Although the caste system of India is probably the most well-known and formal form of social stratification, but many more informal systems exist. As you study the sociological differences between different age groups, races, genders, and professions, you may be surprised by just how deeply rooted these different social groups actually are in every culture.

The Sociological Perspective (15%)

Although this is one of the two smallest portions of the exam, it is the portion that pulls everything else together. Here you will learn of the history of sociology, the various methods used by modern sociologists, and general sociological theories.

Start Studying Now!

Now that you know what topics to study, sign up now to begin studying immediately using our proven system of practice questions.

Although college might feel a bit early to do any financial planning, you will benefit for the rest of your life by taking a few simple steps during your college years. By making a small change in your financial direction now, you can reap a major benefit later in life.

#1 Avoid Misusing Credit Cards

College can be a great time to start building a credit score so that you will be ready when it comes time to buy a house later down the road. Perhaps even more beneficial in the short-term, plastic is much handier than cash when shopping locally and is absolutely necessary when purchasing online.

There are plenty of great free options available for college students, so just remember to go for those instead of one of the paid credit cards. Rather than simply applying for the first card offer you get in the mail, though, take the time to look into the different reward options available to you.

Most of all though, avoid running up a balance on your credit card. If you are even slightly concerned about possibly missing a payment, steer clear of getting a credit card completely.

#2 Borrow, Don’t Buy

You would be surprised how much you can save by simply borrowing rather than buying. Whether you need CLEP study books to supplement your online study or you need textbooks for one of your classes, remember to check the library first. Particularly if older editions are still allowed as replacements for the latest textbook, you can probably save hundreds of dollars by supporting your local library.

#3 Rent, Still Don’t Buy

When borrowing isn’t an option, you can still save substantially by renting your textbooks. Using websites like Campus Book Rentals, you can often save as much as 90% by renting for a semester.

#4 Create A Budget

With the proliferation of online options like Mint and Pear, you really have no excuse for not creating a budget. In just a couple hours, you can easily create a simple budget for your various expenses.

Personally, I use Mint, and the automatic recording of expenses (pulled electronically from my bank account) combined with the email notifications for unusual transactions or overspending definitely make this the perfect solution for today’s busy student.

#5 Save A Little

If you have an income source, no matter how small, start saving. Even if you can only save $25 per month, you will have a small nest egg of $1,200 after four years of college.
By going to the small trouble of opening a savings account now, you will get a head start on everyone who doesn’t start saving until after college.

Conclusion

When people hear the term “managing money”, they automatically think of long, boring processes and tax filing. With the modern tools available online, however, this is no longer the case.

Take a few hours to get your finances in order, and you just might be surprised to find it… fun!

http://www.campusbookrentals.com/

Obviously, since this is a college-level course, studying will still be necessary, but it could be much quicker than normal, depending on your background. For students who enjoy reading and literature, this test should be a breeze, but students who dislike reading or who haven’t done much reading will definitely need to put a fair bit of time into preparation.

Most of this test focuses on more recent literature from Britain and the United States, but you will also want to study Renaissance literature and even some pre-Renaissance writing.

Poetry (35% - 45%)

This was the most difficult portion of the exam for me. If you are used to reading fiction and nonfiction, the rest of the test should be relatively simple, but you could still be tripped up by the poetry section.

You will want to study some of the more famous poems so that you can recognize the author’s names and possibly some of the poem names, but you will do well to focus most of your study time on the formation of poetry. The test will ask you questions about the meter and style of various poems much more than it will require answers to specific questions about authors or famous poems.

If you are like me, you will be surprised to find that poetry is not quite as creative and easy as it seems to the uninitiated. On the contrary, most forms of poetry are more about maintaining creativity while meeting strict requirements.

Memorize the various terms related to writing poetry, and you should be able to conquer this portion of the test.

Prose (35% - 45%)

This is the section of the exam that focuses more on tradition literature: fiction and non-fiction. While it will not hurt to have a strong understanding of major authors and their contributions, this test will not question you much on those topics. Literature itself is actually covered in two different exams (American Literature and British Literature) while this test focuses more on analyzing the actual content of literature.

As with poetry, you should be prepared to analyze passages ranging in age from The Beowulf (ancient British literature) to modern novels. The primary focus, however, will be on literature published within the last two hundred years.

Since I had read quite a bit during high school, this portion of the exam was fairly simple for me. If you think you might be in a similar position, consider taking a practice test before you begin studying to evaluate your starting point.

Drama (15% - 30%)

Although this will likely provide the smallest portion of the exam, it is nonetheless important.

Be prepared to examine and analyze various lines from plays as well as the technical design of dramas. Much like the poetry section, you will want to learn a few of the most famous dramas and playwrights, but you should focus the vast majority of your study time on understanding how to analyze the composition of drama.

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Now that you know what topics to study, sign up now to begin studying immediately using our proven system of practice questions.