CLEP/DSST Frustration

[thejman]

I have taken four cleps/dssts in the past month, and recently discovered this website and found it amazingly helpful. I am working towards my bachelors in envrionmental science, and while my TA pays for my classes, i have been trying to "test" some general education requirements and use my TA for my core/concentration. That being said I passed both "Environment and Humanity" and "Human/Cultural Geography". I recently failed astronomy 47/49 and intro to sociology 49/50. Is it just me or when you guys fail is it by 1 or 2 points EVERY time. Its a huge blow for me cause the tests that suffice for the credits needed are running slim. Any pointers from any experts on this, i mean i have studied, using alot of resources and free-clep-prep, to here. Maybe i am just looking for a little motivation to get back on the horse and finish up these requirements. My next test will be either "general anthropology" or "intro to world religions". Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

John

[OfficerA]

I strongly recommend using the feedback forum, and taking the time to really soak in the material; for the flashcards it's not good enough for me until I'm automatically typing in the answer, as to me that shows that the concept it has is second nature. I also do my best to absorb any study notes people may have.

Is there a reason for the rush to test? I personally study for CLEP/DSSTs like I'm studying for a class, unless the feedback and free-clep-prep says they're easy (like the business courses, which a majority of my degree is in). To me it also means taking time with the material, which I understand is hard enough with how odd hours in the military can be.

[thejman]

True! I may be rushing a bit, but even freeclepprep had both of these rated as a 2 and 3. Maybe i am not giving myself enough time to sit down and soak in the material. Sad thing was i thought i aced that sociology clep today lol. I will give it more time on this next test which will be anthropology. But yeah with the military i am stuck to studying at night, and am taking classes at AMU already. I think i got extra ego boost from passing the first two right off bat, and need to settle down. Thanks a bunch @officerA

[hotelmajor]

True! I may be rushing a bit, but even freeclepprep had both of these rated as a 2 and 3. Maybe i am not giving myself enough time to sit down and soak in the material. Sad thing was i thought i aced that sociology clep today lol. I will give it more time on this next test which will be anthropology. But yeah with the military i am stuck to studying at night, and am taking classes at AMU already. I think i got extra ego boost from passing the first two right off bat, and need to settle down. Thanks a bunch @officerA

I have failed 2 CLEP tests recently and both of them by 2 points each, which is AMAZINGLY frustrating! All of the studying I have done has been on instacert only with the exception of the occasional google search for a more in depth explanation of something. I have been taking the CLEP and DSST tests at a rate of about 3 a month and it's been a tight schedule for me but, I have a goal of graduating before the end of this year so I am sticking to it. I have taken 8 test so far (7 of them since February) and have passed 6 of them so far.

I have taken the World religions DSST back in February and all of the info from Instacert is all you really need to study but make sure that you understand the information that they are presenting and how it all relates to one another. (that goes for all of the tests that I have taken so far) The instacert flash cards might tell you a fact about someone one in one religion but that fact might help you eliminate a wrong answer on the test about a completely different religion.

From my testing history so far make sure you know all of the info on the flashcards about any person that is listed. Don't forget to memorize the explanations as well. It's great if you can fill in the blanks on the flash cards but make sure you are memorizing the information instead of just recognizing the answer and filling it in. Reword the flash cards so the information is new in your mind and has twice the probability of staying there.

Good luck!

[cstock]

Stick with it. I just started taking DSST/CLEP and it can be tough to stay disciplined and self study. Just keep the end goal in mind!

[Gooberman11]

When a test is considered "easy" it doesn't mean you don't have to understand the info completely. It is more like it won't take as many hours to understand the info. The good thing is you can re-take those 2 tests in 6 months and you probably only have to add a bit to your study.

The specific feedback forum is priceless! Make sure you know everything on it because it will usually get you a few extra points that you might have missed otherwise.

Hang in there and good luck on your next tests! Everyone here will be cheering for you--you can do it!!!

[BGSU_Alum_86]

You can retake the Astronomy exam in 3 months and Sociology in 6 months. One bonus with the DSST program is the 3-month retake requirement (6 months for CLEP). You can do this!

[zenurez]

True! I may be rushing a bit, but even freeclepprep had both of these rated as a 2 and 3. Maybe i am not giving myself enough time to sit down and soak in the material. Sad thing was i thought i aced that sociology clep today lol. I will give it more time on this next test which will be anthropology. But yeah with the military i am stuck to studying at night, and am taking classes at AMU already. I think i got extra ego boost from passing the first two right off bat, and need to settle down. Thanks a bunch @officerA

I thought I did great while doing my Sociology test and although I did pass, it ended up being my lowest CLEP score. Since I felt very prepared going into the test, and I didn't use any other study materials, I wondered if perhaps the preparation of the IC flashcards was lacking some key points. In all my tests since, (Macro, Micro) I have used multiple resources that were talked about on this forum for specific exam feedback along with the IC flashcards. They seem to do two things, 1) take my understanding from memorization to comprehension and 2) fill in some areas that perhaps were glossed over in IC.

Personally, I'd do Antrhopology. The feedback on Intro to World Religions is that its pretty hard. When I looked at a study guide someone had posted, it seemed like every term I had to learn was a new word that I couldn't spell and didn't know how to pronounce. I haven't done the test for Anthropology, but I don't remember the subject being very difficult when I was taking at B&M.

Also, as far as free-clep-prep.com ratings, I'd rate the tests differently.
Studying for Sociology seemed very easy but the test seemed to have things I didn't know. I'd rate a 3.
Geology was pretty easy at a 2 or even a 1, especially considering I didn't have IC or a study guide. Of course it helped that I'm fascinated by the subject.
US History I was pretty easy all around so I'd rate 2
MacroEconomics I'd rate a 5 as the hardest test I've had to do so far. However, I enjoyed the topic and put a lot of time into understanding it.
MicroEconomocis is supposed to be very hard, but it was easier than Macro, so I'd put it at a 4.

Good luck studying Anthropology. Make sure to take any free practice tests listed on free-clep-prep.com several times until you get 90% or better, and research this forum for specific exam feedback that could help you. Hope this helps :-)

[cookderosa]

In my opinion, using tried and true study resources is the best bet. Spreading your studying too WIDE is actually a problem sometimes. These are 100/200 level courses with very consistent and targeted requirements, you don't need to know "everything" instead you need to know the basics thoroughly. In fact, if you're studying too WIDE, it doesn't allow you to zero in on the depth of basics, which can be a problem. (I understood this much better after my one and only fail- the Civil War exam- I did exactly what I'm suggesting you don't do. I watched every movie, read wiki like crazy, watched the annenberg series, etc. Too wide. I needed to memorize dates/places/names. Not rocket science)
This forum is not fly-by-night, it's been around a long time, and the pass rate of members here is astonishing- upwards of 90%. No disrespect to free-clep-prep, because I know that person was (is?) a member here, but unless you have the time and money to try a bunch of sources, I'd stick with what works. Just my two cents.

This forum + REA books (if you want more) + Peterson's practice tests (if you want practice tests) = all you need.

[thejman]

Thank you all for your remarks and guidance on these tests. I really appreciate all the information and help from each of you. I too have a goal to be completed with all these general education requirements by october, which i have around 6 more cleps till this is complete. I have signed up for the instacert flashcards/etc. for assitance in the next tests coming up.