CLEP -- transfers to 4 yrs?

[rockki]

long time lurker, first time poster. I've not taken any CLEPs quite yet but am planning on taking several this summer! Have any of you transferred CLEP or other exam credits from a community college to a four-year university? My situation is as follows:

I'm currently enrolled in a early college program that allows me to get both high school and college credit for college classes, including CLEPs. The community college is part of the Colorado Community College System, which accepts most CLEP exams. I am hoping to transfer my future CLEP credit to CU Anschutz College of Nursing, which accepts significantly fewer credits (according to College Board's tool, at least).

Let's take one specific CLEP for example, College Composition. Within CCCS, a score of 50 will get me 6 credit hours, for courses ENG 1021 and ENG 1022. If these went on my CCCS transcript, they WOULD transfer to CU Anschutz. However, according to the College Board tool, this CLEP isn't accepted at all at CU Anschutz. 

As far as I can see, there's two possibilities here: 
1. the CLEP counts as community college credit, goes on the CC transcript, and therefore will transfer, OR
2. the CLEP holds their own transcript, which counts for the CC but not for the 4 yr, and therefore will not transfer


Anyone been in this situation?

[rachel83az]

Unfortunately, it's almost certainly the second option.

Very, VERY rarely, a university will accept a completed Associate degree as a block credit transfer that satisfies all gen eds, whether or not they'd accept those classes individually. Much more common is for the university to do a course-by-course transfer and deny courses as they normally would.

For the CLEP exams that aren't accepted at CU Anschutz, I would suggest taking the classes elsewhere. Your local CC, TEL Learning, or ASU Universal Learner are all possibilities, depending on time, budget, etc.

[rockki]

Unfortunately, it's almost certainly the second option.

Very, VERY rarely, a university will accept a completed Associate degree as a block credit transfer that satisfies all gen eds, whether or not they'd accept those classes individually. Much more common is for the university to do a course-by-course transfer and deny courses as they normally would.

For the CLEP exams that aren't accepted at CU Anschutz, I would suggest taking the classes elsewhere. Your local CC, TEL Learning, or ASU Universal Learner are all possibilities, depending on time, budget, etc.

That's frustrating, but also that's what I was expecting. I looked more into it and apparently there's two sets of accepted CLEP exams for their nursing program, both of which are outdated, lol. But they accept more than the College Board tool showed, at the very least, so that is nice.

[bjcheung77]

@rockki, take the combination approach... early college for courses you can't transfer in through AP/CLEP and take the AP/CLEP for classes that transfer. You should be able to check with them by speaking with their advisors on a workable plan, indicate to them you're going for the specific entry requirements for Nursing. Create an spreadsheet of the plan for reference and tracking purposes, you want to verify with the receiving institution that particular plan works as well.

[studyingfortests]

Generally speaking, the more selective the school, the less likely they are to accept CLEP credits. There are, of course, exceptions, but it is always worthwhile to check with the specific school you are considering, and to ask specifically what CLEPs they accept, and what they apply toward. For example, some schools will only give 3 credits of English Comp for the CLEP English Comp with Essay exam. Others might accept a CLEP course as an elective, but not as a major course.

I believe it's worth considering your longer-term objectives. if you just want a 4 year degree to check a box, doing one of the degree completion schools like UMPI, TESU, or Excelsior makes a lot of sense. You can do it on the cheap, and move forward to whatever your next goal is.

But if yo want to go to a recognized somewhat selective or selective school, it might pay to shop around as some may be a lot more liberal about accepting CLEP, DTTS, or even Sophia credits. And you can save yourself a lot of time and money if you find a school that gives you the best combination of prestige, degree you want, and alt credits accepted.

[rockki]

Generally speaking, the more selective the school, the less likely they are to accept CLEP credits.  There are, of course, exceptions, but it is always worthwhile to check with the specific school you are considering, and to ask specifically what CLEPs they accept, and what they apply toward.  For example, some schools will only give 3 credits of English Comp for the CLEP English Comp with Essay exam. Others might accept a CLEP course as an elective, but not as a major course.

I believe it's worth considering your longer-term objectives. if you just want a 4 year degree to check a box, doing one of the degree completion schools like UMPI, TESU, or Excelsior makes a lot of sense. You can do it on the cheap, and move forward to whatever your next goal is.

But if yo want to go to a recognized somewhat selective or selective school, it might pay to shop around as some may be a lot more liberal about accepting CLEP, DTTS, or even Sophia credits. And you can save yourself a lot of time and money if you find a school that gives you the best combination of prestige, degree you want, and alt credits accepted.

Thanks for the advice!

It's honestly quite difficult for me to decide if I just want that box ticked, or if I should worry about prestige. A lot of it rides on whether I'll want to go back for a graduate degree (especially for CRNA, since those programs are very selective). If I don't care, of course I'm going to go for the easy, fast, cheap option, but it's not quite such an easy decision for me. I'm going to try to keep my options open as much as I can for now, focusing on the credits that will actually be accepted at all the different schools I'm considering. CU Anschutz definitely has one of the strictest policies I've seen, they accept only 11 CLEPs (really 10, w/ College Comp Modular and College Comp) for the program I'm looking at. 

I wish these things could be simpler! It seems like it's so needlessly complex that certain credits won't transfer to different places.... I guess every college wants things done "their way". Annoying.

[dfrecore]

It does not look like this school does "block" transfer, so you're out of luck. I would "begin with the end in mind." Plan your transfer of CLEP by what CU Anschutz will bring in, and then bring those over to your CC to fill in which requirements those will meet as well. Kind of a backwards transfer process.

[studyingfortests]

Thanks for the advice!

It's honestly quite difficult for me to decide if I just want that box ticked, or if I should worry about prestige. A lot of it rides on whether I'll want to go back for a graduate degree (especially for CRNA, since those programs are very selective). If I don't care, of course I'm going to go for the easy, fast, cheap option, but it's not quite such an easy decision for me. I'm going to try to keep my options open as much as I can for now, focusing on the credits that will actually be accepted at all the different schools I'm considering. CU Anschutz definitely has one of the strictest policies I've seen, they accept only 11 CLEPs (really 10, w/ College Comp Modular and College Comp) for the program I'm looking at. 

I wish these things could be simpler! It seems like it's so needlessly complex that certain credits won't transfer to different places.... I guess every college wants things done "their way". Annoying.

You do have one other option you might not have considered: You can, theoretically at least, earn a degree from one of the degree completion schools, and then, at some later point, go back for a second bachelor's degree from a more selective school. If you do that, your degree from, let's say, TESU should in theory be accepted and recognized as a college degree that will meet the general education requirements, so that you have to complete only the major requirements.

I don't personally know anyone who has tested this with a highly selective school, but I do know people who have gone to Excelsior or TESU and been accepted at highly selective schools for graduate programs.  So it makes sense that if they'd accept the degree to enroll you in grad school, they should also accept it to enroll you in a second degree program.  Perhaps others here have more insight into that.  But it may be one way that you could have your quick degree and, later, the selective one if needed.

[rachel83az]

You'd need to check if the selective school even allows second Bachelor's degrees. A lot of schools only allow a single Bachelor's degree, then shove you into grad school.

[studyingfortests]

You'd need to check if the selective school even allows second Bachelor's degrees. A lot of schools only allow a single Bachelor's degree, then shove you into grad school.

Interesting. A spot check of three Ivys supports your statement; none of them allow a second bachelor's.  However, most of the Univeristy of California schools, including Berkeley, do offer them for at least a handful of majors, and the University of Illinois system seems to allow and perhaps even welcome them at least at some locations.

I suppose the Ivys don't want anyone doing most of their work at another institution and then piggybacking a second degree from their prestigious programs.  But it seems like there are, at least from my tiny, flawed, and likely non-representative sample, plenty of highly respectable schools who would accept a transfer student who has already earned a bachelor's degree.  It will really come down to where the OP wants to go.