With 2,900 colleges and universities accepting credits from CLEP exams, why wouldn’t you test out of college courses? Some of us are completely testing out of four-year bachelor degrees at the Big 3 schools: Thomas Edison State University, Excelsior, and Charter Oak State College.
The average cost per credit hour is between $100 and $125. The cost for a CLEP exam is $80 plus an average $20 testing fee. If you’re active duty military personnel, you can take them for free! And some exams, Analyzing Interpreting Literature for example, are worth six credits. And that exam, if you’re a native English speaker, can be passed with little to no study at all, and it will meet some of your humanities or free elective credit requirements. That’s not the only exam that can be taken cold, though I recommend at least a little study time, there is the Principles of Management and Principles of Marketing CLEPs.
Think about the time involved in attending class. The usual three credit hour course is around three hours per week, over 15 weeks, usually 45 to 48 hours total. Then think about the time commuting to and from that class, and then there’s the homework. Let’s take the US History 1, for example, most of us can study 10 hours for the CLEP, arrive at the testing center, and pass the exam in an hour. Many of us, with resources like Instant Cert’s flash cards, can pass with much less study time than that. And depending on your age and life experience, much of what a classroom setting might cover could be what you already know. Why waste your time like that? Some of us don’t need a classroom setting to learn. Give us a book and a test. Your time is your most valuable resource. You’re not getting any younger.
You probably like money too. The average yearly tuition at a private college, as of this year, is $32,405; $9,410 for state colleges and $2,076 at community college. The average cost of testing out of a bachelor’s at one of the Big 3 schools mentioned — $6,000. I’m not saying everyone should completely test out of college at one of those schools, I’m only calling attention to how much money can be saved by taking these exams. You could knock out all of your general educations courses with tests and then pursue your higher learning in the classroom.
Testing out of a course involves no writing unless it’s a test like the College Composition CLEP, which is two meager essays. The exams are multiple choice. In other words, they’re easy. There is no critical thinking involved. The right answer is given to you and you only have to recognize it. And I’ve found that just being confident in half of my answers on the test is enough to pass. I’ve never failed an exam.
More of us should test out of college courses, especially mothers, full-time workers, high school students, and military personnel.
If I’d known about this as a high school student, if I wasn’t so apathetic, I would have had my bachelor’s degree upon graduating high school. Then I would’ve went straight into master’s program.
It’s amazing how many don’t know this well-kept secret. Many student’s only turn to CLEPs when they’ve already failed the course in the classroom. Contact your college and find out if they accept CLEP exams for credit – they most likely do – and start testing out of courses now!
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