Jasmine Baucham and College Plus

[Witsec7]

I think Voddie is gonna let her 'work outside the home', she doesn't have many marriage prospects.

[lilwriter85]

That whole posting was a fucking joke. She isn't and will never be a college girl. Actual college girls aren't fucking coached to take CLEP tests. There is nothing wrong with getting some credits through CLEP testing, I got 6 hours through CLEP. Accredited colleges will only accept a certain amount of CLEP tests. I have a cousin who is 21 and she is a college girl. She takes most of her classes on a campus and does the occasional online class. Jasmine isn't going to learn certain skills through CollegeMinus and I agree with starfish she will end up teaching a fundie homeschooling co-op.

[DifferentGurl]

I'm so happy for her, that CollegePlus has taught her how to take a test. However, there was an essay portion when I took the GRE. No amount of test taking skill helped me with that. No, it was having taken several (like 5) Comp and Lit courses that helped with that.

(And GRE ain't everything. I had one of the highest GRE scores in the application pool at MUSC when I applied to nursing school in 2007, and I still got waitlisted)

If you want to learn how to take a test, get a book that would cost 50 dollars at the most or even rent one from the library for free! Don't spend thousands of dollars on learning how to take a test and test out of classes. Testing out of classes won't actually help you learn the skills you need in the field of work.

[DifferentGurl]

I'm 99% certain that Oxbridge have offices in the US (New York, maybe?) where they conduct interviews of North American students.

In other words, Oxford accepts the cream of the crop. Unless the person from College Plus is really really good, it'd be hard for her to get into Oxford.

[kb2]

This thing is such a scam. As a recent college graduate in the process of evaluating/being nostalgic about my college experience, the whole philosophy behind College Minus makes me sad, because it totally ignores the purpose of college. But, of course, the worst thing about it, is that it charges money to teach people how to get themselves a sub-par worthless education. Can't people figure out how to do that all by themselves? Why are they paying for it?

This. I tested out of a bunch of classes before I started college for free. You can go talk to a college advisor who can tell you what classes you need credit in for a degree...for free. You can find review books geared towards CLEP tests on your own, and decide whether you prefer Princeton Review or Barron's or Kaplan or another review book company, you can ask an advisor what textbooks are used in the classes you're hoping to test out of if you'd rather just learn everything in a textbook...and this is all cheaper than College Plus.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

This. I tested out of a bunch of classes before I started college for free. You can go talk to a college advisor who can tell you what classes you need credit in for a degree...for free. You can find review books geared towards CLEP tests on your own, and decide whether you prefer Princeton Review or Barron's or Kaplan or another review book company, you can ask an advisor what textbooks are used in the classes you're hoping to test out of if you'd rather just learn everything in a textbook...and this is all cheaper than College Plus.

Yeah, but what College Plus! is selling is the the reassurance that what you're doing is Biblically okay. It's the same thing with the Maxwells' homeschooling guides - there is a bit of information in there on making a schedule, but the main thing they're selling is reassurance to moms that it's okay to use textbooks - because so much of the homeschooling material out on the internet looks down on teaching from textbooks.

If you pay someone else, you can have some (at least imagined) security that they're looking out for you, if something goes wrong, there's someone to blame. People will pay good money for that, and so yeah, there's businesses sprung up to fill that market niche.

[lilwriter85]

This. I tested out of a bunch of classes before I started college for free. You can go talk to a college advisor who can tell you what classes you need credit in for a degree...for free. You can find review books geared towards CLEP tests on your own, and decide whether you prefer Princeton Review or Barron's or Kaplan or another review book company, you can ask an advisor what textbooks are used in the classes you're hoping to test out of if you'd rather just learn everything in a textbook...and this is all cheaper than College Plus.

Some of these posts are bringing back memories for me, of using Barron's and Kaplan books to study for Spanish and College Alegbra CLEP tests. I agree anyone can prepare and take CLEP tests for a small cost compaped to College Minus. Fundies are idiots about these things and they will never know they got gouged. I still laugh at Josiah Duggar's statement on CollegeMinus about how he will be ahead of other teenagers when it comes to college credits. I laughed at him because he doesn't realize a lot of public and private school teens do CLEP, AP or concurrent classes to get college credits before starting college.

[guidedbybobafett]

I kinda like Jasmine. She seems pretty intelligent and capable of looking outside herself. I honestly hope she escapes one day.

[Peas n carrots]

I think Voddie is gonna let her 'work outside the home', she doesn't have many marriage prospects.

One of her April blog comments was interesting...someone asked if her parents never preached to make her career be a wife/mother:

“Did they not say from the very beginning of your life that you were going to grow up and be a wife and mother with no other careers that take you outside of your home?â€

No.

My mom was a public school teacher at the very beginning of my life. Even after she came home, I was in private school until we moved to the UK when I was 10. My formative years were spent being taught that the home was an incredibly important aspect of society, but I think my dad is pretty clear in his book, “Family Driven Faith,†that our understanding of family life has evolved over the years. Also, my parents have never been the only influencers over my life: I managed to be a headstrong individual growing up, and I remain one today. My parents taught me the gospel, in season and out of season, applying its truth to every bump in the road –my headstrongness included.

And, as an aside, even with the evolution, I can’t see my parents promising either of their daughters that they “would grow up to be a wife or mother,†(for all they know, both or one of us could end up single for the rest of our lives) or assuming that any career that takes a woman outside of her home at any given time would automatically hinder the calling of motherhood.Those were not the kind of blanket statements I grew up hearing, nor the ones that I hear or propagate now.

Pretty interesting statement.

Overall, despite the C- she seems Ike a very intelligent woman, and it would be a shame for her to be trapped in the fundie lifestyle. She also comes across more worldly...of the SAHDs we see on this forum, my bet is on this girl being the most likely to leave fundiedom.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

I've been following her on Pinterest. I think we've discussed it here before, but it gives a good idea of just how worldly she is. And she has great taste - honestly, at least 15% of my re-Pins are hers. I do have some hope for her, but it's hard to get past some of the stuff that her dad has said. Despite what she claims, there's no getting around the fact that she was in "Return of the Daughters", etc. If she wants to have a bigger life, I have trouble believing that it will truly be with her parents' blessing.

[Peas n carrots]

I've been following her on Pinterest. I think we've discussed it here before, but it gives a good idea of just how worldly she is. And she has great taste - honestly, at least 15% of my re-Pins are hers. I do have some hope for her, but it's hard to get past some of the stuff that her dad has said. Despite what she claims, there's no getting around the fact that she was in "Return of the Daughters", etc. If she wants to have a bigger life, I have trouble believing that it will truly be with her parents' blessing.

I'm just getting into the VF stuff, so you probably have more background than I do. It's hard to imagine though, a young woman who is obviously intelligent and somewhat worldly will not make a break someday. Maybe not now, or in 5 years, but I can see there being a tipping point. As mentioned elsewhere, she will have a hard time finding a headship - therefore she might not be trapped with 5 kids by the time she is 30 and will have the freedom to be able to leave if she wants to.

[LucySnowe]

In other words, Oxford accepts the cream of the crop. Unless the person from College Plus is really really good, it'd be hard for her to get into Oxford.

Absolutely. But the sort of thing I'm thinking of is, there was a Rhodes Scholar several years ago who was homeschooled, so she could theoretically be used by the homeschool movement to say 'look! She's brilliant and she was homeschooled, so this is proof that homeschooling is just as good!' Except that her parents had no problems with the public school system; it was BECAUSE their daughter was so brilliant and out-of-the-mold that they had to create a curriculum to accommodate her.

It's possible that someone with an astonishing natural aptitude could come through a sub-standard degree program and somehow, through other means, prove they were good enough for Oxford. But I really want to know the details, and I also want to know whether 'Oxford' means the actual university, or if it means Continuing Education:

http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/index.php

It's also possible that they, like a friend of mine, was some kind of visiting graduate student, which means being accepted by a college but not the university itself.

[Kate]

I have a hard time believing there was a College Minus grad who was accepted into a grad program at Oxford...

University of Mississippi is in Oxford :whistle:

(yeah, I know that's not what it sounded like, but what's really more likely here?)

[uber frau]

Or maybe they used C-Minus as a cheaper alternative for some basic 101 or bridging units required for a undergrad course at a real uni and went on to do post-grad study at Oxford.

[Daenerys]

I feel sorry for the fundy girls you see who clearly have that 'spark' of intelligence and desire to learn that will never be realised because they have received such a sub-standard education and are continually repressed by their idiot fathers.

[LucySnowe]

I just checked out the College Plus web page, and in the student testimonies section, under 'students who went to grad school', there are four:

- MA in Diplomacy from Norwich University [NB this is an online degree program]

- second year of law school where I have a full scholarship

- MBA at a local university [Texas]

- a top-tier law school

I think if anyone had actually gone to Oxford that would be listed here.

Also, I don't get what the whole excitement is about finishing your degree far more quickly than in a real university. You don't win just because you finish first!

[Black Aliss]

I kinda like Jasmine. She seems pretty intelligent and capable of looking outside herself. I honestly hope she escapes one day.

Yup. I see Jasmine as someone who has made the most of the limited opportunities that she's been permitted. In one way, she's given herself a better education than some traditional college students who partied for four years and just squeaked by, gradewise. And any fundie who reads and finds the humor in XKCD is a cut above the ordinary, in my opinion.

[alba]

I just checked out the College Plus web page, and in the student testimonies section, under 'students who went to grad school', there are four:

- MA in Diplomacy from Norwich University [NB this is an online degree program]

- second year of law school where I have a full scholarship

- MBA at a local university [Texas]

- a top-tier law school

I think if anyone had actually gone to Oxford that would be listed here.

Also, I don't get what the whole excitement is about finishing your degree far more quickly than in a real university. You don't win just because you finish first!

If it's really a top-tier law school, why not say what uni it is? I suspect CollegeMinus has inflated the quality of said school.

[starfish]

What a shame that Voddie and bedridden Mom deny Jasmine the opportunites they both

enjoyed.

Jasmine is bright. She's years ahead of the Robotkins. She ought to be hanging out over in Rice Village instead of

potty training her parent's adopted children which they can't be bothered to take care of. If they want to be child collectors instead

of parents, they can just hire a nanny.

I'm sure ole Voddie is using the summer to fine-tune his tired old message about how evil, EVIL the public schools

are. He can't really be bothered to write new articles etc about it so he just recycles his old stuff.

[Witsec7]

What a shame that Voddie and bedridden Mom deny Jasmine the opportunites they both

enjoyed.

Jasmine is bright. She's years ahead of the Robotkins. She ought to be hanging out over in Rice Village instead of

potty training her parent's adopted children which they can't be bothered to take care of. If they want to be child collectors instead

of parents, they can just hire a nanny.

I'm sure ole Voddie is using the summer to fine-tune his tired old message about how evil, EVIL the public schools

are. He can't really be bothered to write new articles etc about it so he just recycles his old stuff.

I think Jasmine is doomed. Who knows if her father and mother will be 'called' to adopt another just so Jasmine can have the duty of raising it. With her mother's illness, she has no other choice but to be the keeper of the home. Voddie can't risk marrying her off, since there will be no one left to care for the kids.

[lilwriter85]

If it's really a top-tier law school, why not say what uni it is? I suspect CollegeMinus has inflated the quality of said school.

There was a young woman who used CollegeMinus and was accepted into the College of William and Mary law school. I don't know if that law school is top tier. The student testimony could be from that same person. There is also a video testimonial online of CollegeMinus guy who attended Ave Maria School of Law at age 18 and graduated at 21. Ave Maria is ABA approved but horribly ranked. I know someone who attended that school and hated it.

[lilwriter85]

I just checked out the College Plus web page, and in the student testimonies section, under 'students who went to grad school', there are four:

- MA in Diplomacy from Norwich University [NB this is an online degree program]

- second year of law school where I have a full scholarship

- MBA at a local university [Texas]

- a top-tier law school

I think if anyone had actually gone to Oxford that would be listed here.

Also, I don't get what the whole excitement is about finishing your degree far more quickly than in a real university. You don't win just because you finish first!

I think the only excitement that comes out of it is the bragging which never makes the CollegeMinus grads better than others. A person who finishes college in two years isn't any better than a person who spends 4-6 years years finishing a degree. I have a friend who is 26 and he finished his college degree last year. There were periods in which he had to attend part-time or take time off due to issues with an ill parent. He told me there were times he felt like shit for not finishing college in four years. He is over that now and he is happy with how his education and the timing turned out.

I have a feeling that a complaint site dedicated to College Minus will pop up someday. Last year, there was a poster on IMDB 19kac boards, who said he worked at tutoring center at public university. He never said the name of the school. He said he tutored another guy who used CollegeMinus for credits and then enrolled in the public university. The guy said some of the CollegeMinus alum's CLEP credits weren't accepted by the university. There are probably some CollegeMinus alums who might have been rejected by grad schools or that they might have issues with getting credits accepted to schools outside of TESC. Eventually some of those alums will go public and talk about how CollegeMinus is a scam. University of Phoenix, Full Sail University, and similar schools have been exposed several times. When CollegeMinus gets exposed, there will of course be people defending it. There are still people who defend U of Phoenix all the time. CollegeMinus and the people behind it have succeeded in taking advantage of fundie families simply by preying on certain fears.

[masagoroll]

A side note--do those "potty train your kid in one day" programs really work? I've done a lot of potty training when I was one of the teachers in a 2-year-old classroom, and no one got it in just one day! Sometimes they do get it very quick if they're ready, though. I just always think those "do it in one day!" things sound fake!

[Loveday]

There was a young woman who used CollegeMinus and was accepted into the College of William and Mary law school. I don't know if that law school is top tier. The student testimony could be from that same person. There is also a video testimonial online of CollegeMinus guy who attended Ave Maria School of Law at age 18 and graduated at 21. Ave Maria is ABA approved but horribly ranked. I know someone who attended that school and hated it.

I don't know if it's 'top' tier, but it's a pretty damned good one. Good enough that I'm really surprised anyone from CollegeMinus was accepted there! :shock:

[acheronbeach]

Here in Canada, law schools don't really look at WHERE your good grades came from, just your GPA and your LSAT. Are there different weights given to different undergrad schools when you're applying to an American law school?