Disappointment

[Katterina]

College credit is required to join the army these days? :willynilly:

For GED applicants, according to a recruiter friend of mine. I don't think it is required for those with traditional high school diplomas.

[cookderosa]

I think our OP is gone anyway.

[CLEP101]

Don't be disappointed. Let me help you.

First, congrats to your son!!! His investment of $300 was a good one. You just have to know what CLEP is and what it isn't and how to use it properly.

Ok, so CLEP is a brand name of test offered by The College Board. The College Board is a private company, not a college. Now, as you know, MANY colleges will award credit for completing a CLEP test.

So, how do you turn a good score on a CLEP into college credit? The recruiter is right, it needs to be done by a college. The College Board doesn't have the authority to grant credit, remember they just deliver the test. But, don't worry.

The easiest thing to do (which you did) is start close to home. Your local college. You found that while they offer the tests, it appears as if they don't award credit for those exams. Bummer, but no biggie. You can use the internet to start looking at every community college in your city/state and you'll be able to find a college before tomorrow. Alternate idea- people here can give you the name of a dozen or so without even looking

Your son needs to enroll in college. Now, he doesn't need to "do" anything, only enroll. He doesn't need to take classes or work on a degree, or even plan on graduating- he just needs to enroll. I DO NOT recommend Thomas Edison or Excelsior because they charge enrollment fees. No reason to throw away money. Many colleges (most) charge a fee for the application process, that is what he will have to pay. Expect an application fee of about $50. *if you want to invest the time, you can narrow down your list to schools without application fees, various schools waive fees from time to time, so it could happen.

Next, once he applies to college, he needs to send his official transcripts from prior college. Now, this is when you have to send his College Board (CLEP) transcript to them. This will cost $20. They will then "evaluate his credits" toward the completion of the degree he is applying for. Once his credit has been evaluated, he can request a copy of his transcript, and his CLEP credits will be listed as credit. It's like money laundering, but you are laundering credits. Credits on CLEP transcript are not credit until they appear on a college transcript.

My number one suggestion is that he complete this process through American Military University. This is also called APUS because it is a combo American Military University and American Public University in one school. These guys are military rock stars. Working with military is WHAT THEY DO. American Public University System When his service is over, he can use his GI Bill money there too, and they have a history of charging only the cost he is given (which is less than most colleges). Anyway, I believe he can be 100% honest and upfront with APSU admissions and an advisor and explain to them what he has done and what he hopes to do. They, of course, will be happy to have him take classes (online) or log other CLEP credits that he may complete. CLEP credits are good for 20 years, so he can likely earn an associate's degree very quickly if he uses CLEP, DSST, and AMU classes. Certainly in less than 2 years. But, in any event, even if he takes 1-2 exams per year (for free once he is enlisted), he'll be well on his way to earning his associates degree! Plus, they have the coolest majors for military men- THE coolest! No, I don't work for them lol.

:iagree:
Couldn't have said it better myself.

[CLEP101]

Hi, and congrats to your son for putting forth the effort to do something for himself.
As an Ex-Recruiter, College hours are required for GED applicants when the GED category is closed and the minimum education level to enlist is a Highschool diploma.
(GED + 15 college SH = HS Diploma) Certain times of the year GED "only" grads can enroll without having any college hours.
Everything Cookderosa said is true, CLEPs/DSSTs are accepted by the Army but they have to be transcribed on an official college/university transcript.
Keep in mind that if he gets a few more college hours via CLEP, he can join at a higher rank and get paid more from the start. I believe the magic number is 24 semester hours. If he can get 30 or more SH, he might even qualify for Bonus Money.
You can google Army Regulation (AR 601-210) and read chapter 2 which covers the basic enlistment requirements.

[Lyanne]

Your son needs to enroll in college. Now, he doesn't need to "do" anything, only enroll. He doesn't need to take classes or work on a degree, or even plan on graduating- he just needs to enroll.




Just want to jump in here, and suggest that you check to make sure this is all he has to do. My community college would not apply CLEP or DSST tests to my transcript unless I was currently registered for a class. I am currently looking to open a credit bank at TESC because of this.
I apologize if this has been addressed already, I have not yet read every response to this question.

[Lyanne]

That's not what she said. Her community college didn't award CLEP credit for the tests he took, so if he enrolled there, once his transcripts were evaluated he'd have zero credit. A waste of time. He needs to enroll somewhere that awards CLEP credit and have his transcripts evaluated by them. IF this testing center were in a community college that ALSO accepted CLEP, he could have simply filled out an application, had his credit evaluated and he would be holding a transcript today. A "testing center" is a service offered by a college, so your transcripts are never held by that college "just because" you tested there. It's about the same as saying you ate lunch in the cafeteria or shopped the bookstore --> therefor you are a student. Using the service DOES NOT make you a student. Also, offering the services to the public does not mean that college accepts CLEP. Also, many colleges accept CLEP and do not offer the testing center services. You have to keep them separate in your mind.

Yes, you can go down and enroll at your local community college and never take a class. You can do this at some colleges for free, many charge a fee. BUT only do this when you know they accept CLEP. You can use The College Board's data base as a good tool for searching. They allow you to filter for "accepts CLEP credit" vs "is a testing center." HTH

P.S. I'm not going to go through all the reasons I think credit banks are a waste of money *bordering on scam* unless the op has questions.

Cookderosa, I am not the op, but I would love to know your opinions on credit banks as I am considering opening one. Thanks!

[cookderosa]

Cookderosa, I am not the op, but I would love to know your opinions on credit banks as I am considering opening one. Thanks!

A credit bank isn't what you think- it's not buying a cumulative transcript. TESC simply is listing your "potential" credit. So, suppose you attend 2 colleges and take 2 types of exams. You have 4 credit sources, and so it seems neat and organized to pay for a credit bank transcript. You send official transcripts TESC ($$$ paying each school for this of course) and you get a notice that your credit bank transcript is ready. So, you take this transcript and forward it to ___whoever__ for __whatever__. Whoever and whatever will not accept this as an official transcript. (why? Because you are not a student at TESC) This type of transcript is likely *there could be exceptions* going to be viewed as a "third party" transcript.

So- you paid for each of your first 4 transcripts to be sent to TESC $$$$
You paid for the credit bank fee $$$$
You bought an (un)official transcript of your credit bank $$$$
and now the whoever/whatever just asked for your 4 official transcripts.
So, you get to return to step 1 and request 4 new official transcripts and do it the way it should have been done in the first place.

Are there exceptions? Maybe. How much does it cost to find out??

Lastly, just because there is credit (potential credit) on a credit bank transcript, do not confuse that with ACTUAL credit earned. The whoever/wherever still gets to decide if they accept the classes/exams you took.

I'm sooo sleepy, I hope that it makes sense. Let me know if it's clear as mud.

[Lyanne]

I think I get it, thanks. :-)

[cowgirl]

I am honored that so many of you took the time to reply and help us resolve or issues.
Thanks you!
I do now have a better understanding of how the system works.
My son was excited to be able to get the credits to satisfy the recruiters request, only to be a let down by the college.
Thanks again to ever one.
(my son only needed college credits because he had a GED)
It is my understanding they prefer diplomas.

[rickyjo]

Wait, the credit bank transcripts aren't official college transcripts? I knew credit banking was often useless but I was unaware of this particular issue. I thought military was the best (if only) proper use for credit banks....

If credit banking doesn't work you can still knock out the FEMA classes anyway and send them through FCC at about $65 (or something close to that)/credit. You should be able to do FEMA at the rate of 1 or 2 per day. You can hit that 24 credit mark in a few weeks of steady work, alternatively, 15 will be a breeze, less than two weeks, easy(ish).