Apr. 26 - I Passed!

A month ago, if you were to ask Oliver and I if I were going to graduate this May, we would have said, "Probably not."  A month ago, I had a ton of hoops to jump through in order to graduate, including two CLEP tests worth 6 credit hours a piece, College Math and Analyzing and Interpreting Literature.  I took and passed the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP a week and a half ago, after which the only thing left standing between me and graduation was the College Math CLEP.  I began (and didn't even bother finishing) a practice test, which was like taking a test in a foreign language.  I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I didn't realize how much I had forgotten in the 10 years since my last math class...That's right:  10 years!  So, I did a bit of research online and found a website that had created a curriculum specifically for the College Math CLEP, complete with 100 individual video lessons, 5 practice questions and 5 practice test questions for each lesson, etc.  I subscribed to the website and spent every waking free moment pouring over these lessons for the next week, staying up until 1am each night.  The Saturday night before the exam, I took a practice test to see what I needed to review...and FAILED.  Failed.  The program I had subscribed to online had absolutely not prepared me in the least for the types of questions nor the actual content/topics covered in the actual CLEP.  So, I was back to square one with hardly any time left.  And that's when I remembered a prof's advice to ask for help from a fellow senior at CIU, who had tutored many to success with the Math CLEP.  She happens to go to our church, and I was able to ask her about it after Easter Sunday service.  She told me about a certain study book called Cracking the CLEP that she has used to prepare many people for the test.  So, I called around whatever places were open Easter Sunday to find that book; one store said they had it but the lady couldn't find it on the shelf.  I drove there anyway, on my last hope (the test was originally scheduled for Monday, but got moved to Tuesday) and actually found it tucked behind another book!  After a few hours of studying that book, I passed a practice test!  That book is incredible.  When today came, I was terribly nervous.  There was just so much riding on this test...  6 credit hours (worth thousands of dollars), May graduation with Oliver, getting out of having to take 2 additional courses, etc. etc.  The test turned out to be quite a bit easier than the practice tests were, and I scored a 73 (CLEP tests are scored strangely, but can range from 20 to 80, 50 being a passing score).  And I'M GRADUATING!  I went to the bookstore to see about a cap and gown, and they had just had an extra box of duplicates accidentally sent to them.  So, she just so happened to have a cap and gown package for someone 5'10'' to sell me!  I am elated.  Praise God!