September Semester RESULTS

Another semester has come and gone. This time my wrap up is coming to you rather late. I got caught up in the new semester and haven’t had the time to sit down and write this one. This was my 2nd term at SNHU and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at this college. This term was less stressful, but more rewarding. The 1st term was just so much pressure. The 2nd term went by a lot smoother with less stressing by me. I think the only time that I panicked was the second to last week when I needed to write all of my body paragraphs, because I couldn’t stop at just three. I ended up going one page over on my History 200 class. All of my IT papers I was able to keep at the maximum of 2 pages.

HIS 200: Applied History

I was able to achieve a perfect score in this class. 1,000/1,000 point. I got a perfect A and I am so excited about it! There is nothing like maintaining a 4.0 in college. It feels even better than getting pretty close to it in high school. I had two big projects for this class. One was a writing plan and the other was the actual essay. I wish we spent more time on writing the essay rather than the plan. I feel like I could have benefited from one more week crafting the essay and one less week on the writing plan. I really enjoyed this class a lot and the only annoying part was having discussions twice a week instead of once. It was really hard to keep up with.

IT 140: Introduction to Scripting

I got 1,000/1,000 in this class as well. So, I ended the term with a 4.0. At Pine Manor College, I ended my time there with a 3.97. Now, I have a child and working full time AND I am doing even better?! It doesn’t make sense! I am super proud of myself. There were 4 reflection papers and honestly, I wrote most of them on the fly on Saturday. The most challenging aspect of this class were the challenge questions every week. Even the project were MUCH easier than the challenges. The challenges were horrible! Some of them, I really had to research online to see how I would attempt to answer them. I found a really helpful Youtube channel that were run by IT teachers at SNHU and they broke down the project and challenges and answered them. It was a gold mine.

Here’s to the next semester being just as great!

With Love,

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July Semester RESULTS

I am glad that this semester is over and now, I have my final grades to share with all of you. Just a disclaimer, this isn’t to brag, but to show to others that you can achieve anything as long as you put your mind to it and have a supportive social network that wants you to succeed in life. I plan on telling you about the good and the bad of all of my classes and what I would do differently next time. This is a learning experience and I don’t want anyone to walk away from my blog feeling discouraged.

My History 100 class, Perspectives in History, was a challenging class, because of the way the course was laid out and how topics were introduced (not really in a cohesive order). I got As in all of my assignments and an A- on one quiz. Overall, I ended the class with a 4.0 (At my last college, the lowest grade I had received was a B+ in Organic Chemistry) and I am very proud of myself. I only struggled with one assignment. It was a Powerpoint presentation, but with the help of my professor, I was able to achieve a perfect score on the final grade. I utilized the ungraded progress checks on my presentation and I was very happy for that opportunity. Progress checks really allow you as an online student to see where you stand in relation to the project. I had misinterpreted the presentation in my first progress check and was able to redo it for the second one within the assignment guidelines. Always as your professor if you have questions on the project or any assignment you are completing.

My Social Science 200 class, Applied Social Science, was the class that I enjoyed the most. It was the easiest class, because I loved it. I got As on all of my assignments; therefore, my final grade was a 4.0. I chose the topic “The Influences of Gender-Specific Toys on Children” as my research paper topic and I also developed a PowerPoint Presentation for it (with speaker notes!). It was hard doing two presentations at once, because History wanted all the text on the slides, and this class wanted it clean looking with very little text. It was a challenge, but I enjoyed this project more. I had a personal connection to it with my son. I even put his pictures in the presentation.

I am very happy about my first semester here at SNHU and I would recommend this university to anyone who wants to go to college online and not commute. I have joined a Data Analytics club and a special needs parenting club. I chat with my classmates and I don’t feel like I am losing out on anything. I wish that I would have done this in the first place and that online college was talked about more. I never heard of it just a few years ago. Now, it is everywhere and I hope people hear about it more.

With Love,

September Semester Classes

I am back with my two September-October Semester Classes. I cannot believe that the last semester has gone by so fast. I am enjoying my week break while starting to work on this semesters classes to get ready for my first week back on Labor Day. Last semester classes were tough in the beginning, because I didn’t know what to expect. This semester, I think that the classes will go smoother and I will find my balance a lot faster this time around. I have already planned out what I am doing school-wise for the next 8 weeks, so I have a rough sketch of what I want my weeks to look like. I am excited to share my classes and this time, I actually have a book that I can do a review on at the end.

History 200: Applied History

This history classes uses the same application as my Social Science 200 class called Mind Edge. I know already that there will be a lot of reading and embedded work throughout the week. I also see two discussion posts for some weeks, but I think those are really easy. I only have two projects, which I see as one this course. I have my Essay Plan and my Essay. I am guessing that the first one is an outline and the second is the actual essay or research paper. I am totally happy about this, since I want to murder PowerPoint right now. I know this class will be work, but I also think it will be a lot of fun based on my experience with SS200. Hopefully, my professor is a good one, because that makes a difference. So, far, every class I have a new professor.

IT 140: Introduction To Scripting

Okay, this is the class that I am worried about. I have never done anything like this before besides HTML coding in high school, which is really old school now. I have 4 different scripting projects, a book to read (seven chapters), discussion posts usually once a week, and coding challenges that can take 1 to 2 hours depending on how fast you get it. I like that there isn’t really any papers or much writing. You are basically coding, so it will even out with the work for my history class. I’m nervous about the coding part though, because I’ve never done it. It is totally new to me and its scary. I signed up for both webinars for history and for this class. I think that I will REALLY need it for this class to keep me sane. I think the coding challenges are part of your coding project, but I might be mistaken. I looked over the class and it seems like the challenges are connected to the coding projects. It will be work for me for sure, but I think less work than history.

I am really excited about both of these classes and I look forward to sharing my thoughts at the end of the term with all of you. I am really enjoying these school related posts. I hope everyone enjoys these posts as much as me and can relate on some level. This will be my second semester of my Junior year and next summer will be my Senior year. I just cannot wait to get my BA already and have a better life for my son. I am making sure to love the journey though. I don’t want to miss the present by looking towards the future.

With Love,

BS Data Analytics Program Evaluation

So, continuing with my college talk. I am thinking after this post that I will next share my supplies like a little haul of essentials that one needs for online college. For now, let’s get on to the details on my degree and life. I said it before, but I will say it again. I went to college for 3 years, so I had 101 credits from my time there. You can only transfer up to 90 for each BA/ BS degree. My degree is a BS in Data Analytics. I want to be a data analysts and eventually, a statistician. I was always good at math, but high school math kinda ruined kit for me. Our teach assigned 50 problems a night. It was a nightmare. I recently took a Data Analytics course from The Institutes and I found that I really liked the math. It wasn’t all problem solving, but building algorithms and fault trees. It was exciting and now, it is something that I am very interested in pursuing as a career. Big data is the future, you know.

For a BA/BS, you need 120 credits. My anticipated graduation date is 7/02/2022, but that is based off of zero credits in a four year program. I will be done by Spring of 2020. I was able to transfer 59 credits into my program, leaving me 69 to earn. Every class is a three credit class, so that is 23 classes. You can have 2 classes every semester and there are six semesters in a year. So, I will earn the degree in roughly 2 years, but I am starting July 2nd with my first two classes.

I am going to tell you the areas that I have already completing for my degree, which is mainly all of my general courses. For the general courses, I completed: English (2 courses), Math (1 course), Fine Arts and Humanities (3 Courses), SNHU (I got to substitute a free elective here), IDS-100 (another free elective), a free elective class, and the 8 class free electives section.

The 23 classes that I need to take to get my degree are as follows: Applied Social Sciences, Precalculus, Applied Statistics for STEM, Perspectives in History, Applied History, Introduction to Scripting, Calc I: Single-Variable Calculus, Applied Stats II: Reg Analysis, Management Science through Spreadsheets, Into to Data and Info Management, Foundation of Data Analytics, Database Design, Fundamentals of Data Mining, Data Analytics I, Project Management in Information Technology, Data Analytics II, Decision Support Presentation, Capstone in Data Analytics, 4 Data Analytics Elective courses TBD, and a Senior Thesis Class (a term paper in order to graduate).

I like the sound of all of these courses, although some of them I won’t know what they are until that time when I am given a few options of what is available. You only know what is available two terms ahead. I am already booked for the two terms in July and September. So, once September is around the corner, my adviser will give me options for October and January. I will be taking 3 terms this year. I was slotted for the May term, but I was only notified in April and it was too hurried for me. I didn’t have my shit together for the May term. I was still getting used to the idea.

So, I changed my mind. I think my next college post will be about the classes that I am taking for the next two terms THEN the haulish post. I think about that I will share my thoughts on BrightSpace (the online college platform) and my Orientation class. I have a webinar for that class coming up in June. I can do a whole separate post on that experience. I am happy to be sharing my journey with all of you. My blog is my happy, positive space and I love writing and reading all of your blogs. If you are new to my blog, leave a comment so I can check yours out. I love to binge read on a lazy morning, afternoon, evening, middle of the night, you get the drill.

With Love,

The End Of My 5 Year Hiatus

I am going to University. I can finally say it, even though it is a British thing. I am going to Southern New Hampshire University. Well….not going per say, but attending the COCE online university. But I am getting ahead of myself here. Let’s start at the beginning. I attended three years at Pine Manor College in Boston, MA. I was a double major in English and Biology and had tons of grants and scholarships. I was a straight A student for most classes (DAMN YOU ORGANIC CHEMISTRY! My only B+) and had a fun time in my classes getting to know my professors. I was building confidence. About a month into the summer, I knew that I was never going back. My childhood home was foreclosed on. I needed to get a job to move into an apartment with my dad. I started at Kmart in September and moved out in January.

We lived in that shit hole apartment for three years. After a year, I got a job at my current insurance company MAPFRE in the Remittance department as a rep I. On my 23rd birthday, I found out that I was pregnant and my fiance left me. We were doing the long distance thing, since I left college. He lived in Boston. My high school sweetheart and all. That December, I got a promotion to Senior Rep and had a baby boy.

I came back from Maternity Leave and decided that I needed to get my shit together, so I worked for about a year and got my associate degree in Information Technology from The Institutes which is an Insurance based accelerated college program supported by my work. Still have yet to hang up the degree yet. Anyways, in Feb of 2017, I left Remittance for my current job as Senior Rep in the paper processing claims unit. I am really doing great at my current job, learning new stuff, working part of the time from home, and being a SME (Subject Matter Expert) again.

Last September though, I decided that I needed to get my degree to become someone and get a better living wage to support my autistic son and his needs. So, I heard the radio and tv talk about SNHU. I decided to go on the website and send in my inquiry. Jessica got in touch with me quickly and soon enough, I was filling out a FASA and waiting for my transcripts to arrive. I was originally going for a BA in Environmental Science, but my work would not support that degree. They reimburse through Edcore up to $5,250 a year and going through Edcore gives you a 10% discount on Tuition at qualifying institutions. Mine is one of them.

So, I switched to a BS in Data Analytics, since my end goal is to be a Statistician. I will probably pursue a Masters for it, once I am getting a good salary to pay for it. In the mean time, I got my Degree Audit and had to fight a bit to get one of my college composition courses recognized for what it was. That was all settled in February, when SNHU was finally satisfied with the original syllabus from 2012.

SNHU made it a breeze to apply and start college again. The financial aid team is great and I am signed up for 5 semesters (I was one semester late for the 2018-2019 school year). Generally, there are 6 online semesters. They are 8 weeks long each and you can take up to two classes. I am very happy with my financial aid package and between that and work, I am looking at contributing about $200 a year myself. Mainly interest and fees for the student loans. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

There is so much more to say, but I am ending this blog post here. I will talk about my adviser and orientation and everything in the next blog post. If you have any specific questions or requests, please comment them down below and I will answer them. I am very happy that I chose SNHU. They call me often to see how I am doing. They are invested in me as a person and not just a paycheck. It is really refreshing. Oh, and in case you where wondering, I will be finishing in the Spring of 2020.

With Love,

Insurance Course & Blog Update

I am taking an insurance education course to get my Associates degree in Information Technology. I am currently taking AIT 131 and have to take three more courses after that for the certificate of completion. My work is paying for my courses and all of the fees. I have to pass or I have 60 days to pay them back. I scheduled my test for December 9th at 2:30 pm, but I have to be there at 2 for check in. It is at a business center that is certified to give the test, which is 84 multiple choice questions that you answer on the computer. This is my first test that won’t be on pen and paper.

My plan is to do at least a chapter a week. So, that gives me 11 weeks for going through the book and study guide and about 3 weeks of studying for the test. Before I get into my books and materials, I wanted to make a little announcement. Working full time, taking an insurance course, and raising an almost nine month old full time is no joke. These are my priorities in order to make a better life for my family. This means that my blog will be on the back burner for when I have time for it. I’m not going to sacrifice my studies for my blog. If I have time, I’ll blog. I’ll have a post up tomorrow as well. Next week? I might just have one. It depends on how much of my work on Chapter 2 that I get done. I hope you guys understand.

This is my textbook Using Information Technology by The Institutes. The Institutes is my Insurance Education college. As you can see, the book is thick, but there is another chapter missing from it. It’s missing chapter 11, which I was sent as a separate little blue book. What I like to do, is read a two page spread and highlight as I go along: pink for title headers, blue for the text underneath of what the section is about, orange for any vocab that is bold and underlined, and yellow for any important information in the sections.

After reading, I’ll take notes in my Hot Chocolate notebook. I love the gold accents! I’ll just write down whatever I highlighted in different colors. I like to color code and it helps me to recognize different sections of my notes. Every chapter is a different set of pen colors, so I can also recognize when I flip into a different chapter.

I love the Papermate Ink Joy pens. They write the smoothest and really are effortless. I also bought some new Sharpie highlighters. I already had an assortment of page flags and sticky pads. I like using the sticky ads to write down what I want to get accomplished that day. There is a certain satisfaction to completing it and throwing it out.

Above is the extra chapter that I was taking about. I haven’t looked at this yet, since I am not there yet. At least, it isn’t an actual “assignment”. lol

This is the workbook that came with my textbook. I don’t have to hand this in or anything, but it is a great study aid to do after reading the chapter and taking notes. It comes with an outline for each chapter that I record in a separate Kate Spade notebook. I answer all the questions and do the vocab in the book. I check my answers with the answers page to make sure I understand the material. If I get it wrong, I highlight the answer, so I know that I need to work on it. This even comes with a practice exam for when the time comes.

I love the gold accents and it matches my other notebook perfectly! I love the saying on the front and it perfect for what I wanted it for. I used up my remaining Birchbox points for this guy and I love it!

I got the hair tie as a freebie from Birchbox. I wanted to compare my two notebooks for you and I had to stick that sticker on my planner spread. So cute. Until next time!

With Love,