CLEP taking questions

[Austin]

Hey guys!

So I just heard about the whole CLEP program and it seems like an easy and effective way to get some easy classes out of the way. What are everyone's thoughts/comments on how hard they are, how to study, if any free resources are available etc? Right now I'm looking into getting out of these classes:

Sociology, Psychology, or Political Science
Natural Science
History 2000
English 2000

The History and English I'm not too worried about, but mostly the first two requirements.. So I guess 1 question is this:

Of the three (Sociology, Psychology, or Political Science), which CLEP should I take? Which would be easier? I have never taken any Psych classes but I am quite interested in the subject, and I am a pretty good student (just finished my freshman year in college with 3.9 GPA). I have taken a political science class, but the sample questions for the sociology test looked a bit too specific and a little hard. Also, the natural science CLEP apparently includes both biological and natural sciences. Kind of a bummer. I never really liked science. I did manage either As or Bs in high school and passed the Bio AP for my college.

Sorry for that rant. I really want to use my free time during the summer to get out of some of these classes. Thank you!

[davewill]

Saylor.org offers all three of those (Sociology, Psychology, and Political Science) for free. You can use the material there to study for the Sociology and Psychology CLEPs, if your school accepts ACE credits, you can get credit by taking a proctored final from Saylor. In the natural science area they also have BIO 101 and Physics 101 and 102 available for ACE credit.

The easiest way to study for the CLEP or DSST has got to be the InstantCert flash cards. However they are not free, and they are not sufficient by themselves. They require that you already have knowledge of the subject. I used them in concert with Saylor when I studied for the Sociology CLEP (Saylor didn't have the ACE option for that course then or I might have done that). I'm a bit of an Astronomy buff, so I found IC cards to be sufficient in themselves for the Astronomy DSST.

http://www.saylor.org/credit/

[jsd]

The Saylor Pysch exam is 2 credits, and the soc exam is 1 credit. Worthless for most schools. Maybe okay to help you study, but it seems like everyone who has used their course structure hates them

[davewill]

The Saylor Pysch exam is 2 credits, and the soc exam is 1 credit. Worthless for most schools. Maybe okay to help you study, but it seems like everyone who has used their course structure hates them

Hate is a strong word. I've done some I thought were really bad, but Sociology was fairly well organized as it mostly relied on a single online textbook.

Sorry, I didn't notice those two had such low credit values.

[jsd]

I haven't tried any of them, but if I needed them I'd probably be willing to suffer through them considering how much I'd save by only coughing up $25 for the exam.

[dfrecore]

First, I'm confused about these, so I need to clarify:

What is the Political Science CLEP? There isn't one with this name that I've seen. There is American Government though.

Second, History 2000 and English 2000 aren't the names of any CLEP exams either. There is College Composition or College Composition Modular for English; and then 5 different history exams you can take: US History I & II, Western Civ I & II, and a general Social Sciences and History exam (worth 6cr).

So really, you need to make sure that you're looking at the correct exams.

The next thing you have to do is see which exams are accepted at your current school (if you plan on continuing there), and which requirements each exam meets. For instance, if your school won't accept the College Comp exam as your English requirement, then you shouldn't take it. If your school won't accept American Government as fulfilling a requirement, then you're going to need to take what they will accept.

So, go to your school and see which exams they will accept; many schools will take some of the CLEP exams, but there's usually a breakdown of which exams they will take, and what requirements will be met by each one. Plan that into your degree.

Last, it's really hard for people to know which exams are easier/harder for other people, because everyone is better in different areas. For example, I passed the Management and Marketing CLEP exams easily, because I had a background in business. But I don't think I would pass the Psychology CLEP without a LOT of study, just because I have no prior knowledge, nor much interest in it. So even if it was considered an "easy" test, it wouldn't be for me.

But, here is a list of the exams, and their levels of difficulty that someone put together: Clep Difficulty List - Free-Clep-Prep.com

[Austin]

First, I'm confused about these, so I need to clarify:

What is the Political Science CLEP? There isn't one with this name that I've seen. There is American Government though.

Second, History 2000 and English 2000 aren't the names of any CLEP exams either. There is College Composition or College Composition Modular for English; and then 5 different history exams you can take: US History I & II, Western Civ I & II, and a general Social Sciences and History exam (worth 6cr).

So really, you need to make sure that you're looking at the correct exams.

The next thing you have to do is see which exams are accepted at your current school (if you plan on continuing there), and which requirements each exam meets. For instance, if your school won't accept the College Comp exam as your English requirement, then you shouldn't take it. If your school won't accept American Government as fulfilling a requirement, then you're going to need to take what they will accept.

So, go to your school and see which exams they will accept; many schools will take some of the CLEP exams, but there's usually a breakdown of which exams they will take, and what requirements will be met by each one. Plan that into your degree.

Last, it's really hard for people to know which exams are easier/harder for other people, because everyone is better in different areas. For example, I passed the Management and Marketing CLEP exams easily, because I had a background in business. But I don't think I would pass the Psychology CLEP without a LOT of study, just because I have no prior knowledge, nor much interest in it. So even if it was considered an "easy" test, it wouldn't be for me.

But, here is a list of the exams, and their levels of difficulty that someone put together: Clep Difficulty List - Free-Clep-Prep.com

I'm sorry! I meant to say that those for the classes that I was hoping to CLEP out of, whatever the corresponding tests are. Should have clarified that. So I would look into either Intro to Psych/Sociology, and whatever English and History CLEPs are adequate. Thank you for your words! I will contact my school and ask which ones they accept.

[Austin]

Saylor.org offers all three of those (Sociology, Psychology, and Political Science) for free. You can use the material there to study for the Sociology and Psychology CLEPs, if your school accepts ACE credits, you can get credit by taking a proctored final from Saylor. In the natural science area they also have BIO 101 and Physics 101 and 102 available for ACE credit.

The easiest way to study for the CLEP or DSST has got to be the InstantCert flash cards. However they are not free, and they are not sufficient by themselves. They require that you already have knowledge of the subject. I used them in concert with Saylor when I studied for the Sociology CLEP (Saylor didn't have the ACE option for that course then or I might have done that). I'm a bit of an Astronomy buff, so I found IC cards to be sufficient in themselves for the Astronomy DSST.

Earn College Credit | Saylor Academy

What exactly is Saylor? Is it a cheaper and lesser known CLEP? If that is the case and you suggest it, I will ask my school and see if they accept it or not. Thank you!

[alzee]

What exactly is Saylor? Is it a cheaper and lesser known CLEP? If that is the case and you suggest it, I will ask my school and see if they accept it or not. Thank you!

saylor.org

They provide the study material for free, you study up, then when you're ready you pay for an inexpensive exam through proctorU (online proctoring).

[dfrecore]

It might be good to ask your school if they accept ACE-approved courses, or ACP-approved courses. If you can't find it in the school catalog, and no one knows about it, then they probably don't accept it, and you'll have to go with CLEP.

You can also ask for DSST/Dantes exams.