Have to take three CLEP exams within 10 days. I'm overwhelmed!

[beastcoast]

I'm supposed to be graduating next month but of course I put off taking three CLEP exams until the very last month. I need 6 humanities credits and 3 social science credits. Here is my school's CLEP policy which shows which exams fulfill which type of credit.
http://greatbay.edu/sites/default/files/...Policy.pdf

My original plan was to take Analyzing Lit (humanities), US History I (social science), and Humanities (self-explanatory). I took the official CLEP practice exam for analyzing lit and scored quite well with no prep. I enjoy history but the practice exam was daunting. I tried my hand at sociology and managed to pass by a point on the practice exam without prep.

I thought I'd spend a little bit of time brushing up for Analyzing Lit, put a few more hours into sociology, then devote the rest of my time towards humanities which I'd probably score 10% on right now. But it turns out that my school is out of essays for Analyzing Lit. and considering the time it takes to mail out for new ones, and the time to score the essay, I would not have the credits in time for graduation. Which really sucks because I was counting that as my easy pass.

I have so much other academic stuff going on right now but my choices led me here. I will stick with sociology, but everything else is subject to change. I'm basically just going through practice exams and seeing what I know the most of already. My historical knowledge is weak in relation to the difficulty of these tests. I also hate rote memorization and I have not been required to do it for so long. I don't even know where to start in preparing for these tests. I bought an instacert membership for 20 bucks which I'm beginning to regret. My school is letting me borrow an REA guide for humanities.

[EI2HCB]

I'm supposed to be graduating next month but of course I put off taking three CLEP exams until the very last month. I need 6 humanities credits and 3 social science credits. Here is my school's CLEP policy which shows which exams fulfill which type of credit.
http://greatbay.edu/sites/default/files/...Policy.pdf

My original plan was to take Analyzing Lit (humanities), US History I (social science), and Humanities (self-explanatory). I took the official CLEP practice exam for analyzing lit and scored quite well with no prep. I enjoy history but the practice exam was daunting. I tried my hand at sociology and managed to pass by a point on the practice exam without prep.

I thought I'd spend a little bit of time brushing up for Analyzing Lit, put a few more hours into sociology, then devote the rest of my time towards humanities which I'd probably score 10% on right now. But it turns out that my school is out of essays for Analyzing Lit. and considering the time it takes to mail out for new ones, and the time to score the essay, I would not have the credits in time for graduation. Which really sucks because I was counting that as my easy pass.

I have so much other academic stuff going on right now but my choices led me here. I will stick with sociology, but everything else is subject to change. I'm basically just going through practice exams and seeing what I know the most of already. My historical knowledge is weak in relation to the difficulty of these tests. I also hate rote memorization and I have not been required to do it for so long. I don't even know where to start in preparing for these tests. I bought an instacert membership for 20 bucks which I'm beginning to regret. My school is letting me borrow an REA guide for humanities.

A&I has an essay section? I wasn't aware of that!!!!!!! https://clep.collegeboard.org/exam/literature

You should call your other local testing center 16 miles from your school. https://clep.collegeboard.org/test-cente...posed_form

see if they can schedule you this week for A&I, by the way I can't see anywhere that A&I has an essay

[sanantone]

Does your school have the essays for the English and American Literature CLEPs? Other than those, your only options are humanities and the two western civilization exams. If you don't like the flashcards, then the two fastest ways to cram are to Google the topics covered by the CLEP (the Specific Exam Feedback forum can help with this) or speed your way through an REA or similar book. There are videos you can watch, but each series is usually 13-26 hours. Some are even over 50 hours.
Resource: American Passages: A Literary Survey
Resource: Literary Visions
Resource: The Western Tradition

[sanantone]

A&I has an essay section? I wasn't aware of that!!!!!!! https://clep.collegeboard.org/exam/literature

You should call your other local testing center 16 miles from your school. https://clep.collegeboard.org/test-cente...posed_form

see if they can schedule you this week for A&I, by the way I can't see anywhere that A&I has an essay

From your link.

Because writing about literary texts is central to the study of literature, some colleges may require candidates to take an optional essay section in addition to the multiple-choice section. The essay section is 90 minutes long and is made up of two 45-minute questions. One question asks candidates to analyze a short poem, the other asks them to apply a given generalization about literature (such as the function of a theme or a technique) to a novel, short story, or play that they have read. The essay section is still administered in a paper-and-pencil format; the essay responses are graded by the institution, not by the College Board.

[EI2HCB]

thanks! ( I guess my speed reading isn't up to scratch) tax season is almost over, I'll begin to see in color again soon!
that means he/she has to take those CLEPs in house too since going somewhere else isn't going to allow their college to grade the paper.

[beastcoast]

Does your school have the essays for the English and American Literature CLEPs? Other than those, your only options are humanities and the two western civilization exams. If you don't like the flashcards, then the two fastest ways to cram are to Google the topics covered by the CLEP (the Specific Exam Feedback forum can help with this) or speed your way through an REA or similar book. There are videos you can watch, but each series is usually 13-26 hours. Some are even over 50 hours.
Resource: American Passages: A Literary Survey
Resource: Literary Visions
Resource: The Western Tradition

They do have the essays for the English and American Lit exams, however, I would have to take one of them before the weekend to even have a shot at receiving credit. I brushed through the American Lit practice exam and much of it was literary history which I flat out did not know. Perhaps I'd be better off taking one of the western civ exams, but much of that is foreign to me as well. All of the subjects I'm interested in I've already maxed out my credits for.

[EI2HCB]

if you don't get these credits in ten days, when is the next-time you can graduate? If you aren't going to graduate due to the college not being able to prepare for the tests in time, do you think your knowledge of World History from 1700 on could assist you in passing Western Civ II ?

[BGSU_Alum_86]

The essays being discussed are labeled as "optional" essays and it is totally dependent on the school as to whether they require them or not. Test centers do not keep extras on-hand of these optional essays - they are ordered at the time that a candidate says they want to take that particular subject exam and their school requires the essays. Some candidates decide to take the multiple-choice test first to see if they pass and then have the test center order the essays (they cost an additional $10 which is charged to the candidate). These essays are a pain because it takes about 2 weeks to receive them (from the time the order is placed).

I realize this candidate will probably not be able to take advantage of any of the lit exams (with optional essays) due to time constraints, but for those who might need to do this in the future, you can still plan to take the exam (and write the essays) at any CLEP test center. No matter what the school intends to do with the handwritten essays, the essay booklet has to be returned to CLEP first! A copy is made to go in storage and the original is mailed to the school with the official score. As you can see, this is not a fast-moving process! If you are testing in California and your school is in California, your handwritten essays are sent by mail back to CLEP (in New Jersey), and then they get them back into first-class mail to your school (back across the country to California). I am glad that not many schools require these optional essays.

By the way, schools that say they "score" these optional essays have their own separate score. It does not have any impact on the score you receive on the traditional multiple-choice part of the exam.

[beastcoast94]

if you don't get these credits in ten days, when is the next-time you can graduate? If you aren't going to graduate due to the college not being able to prepare for the tests in time, do you think your knowledge of World History from 1700 on could assist you in passing Western Civ II ?

That's a good question. If I don't complete these exams within that period then I won't have my credits in time for graduation which is May 16th. That is the commencement ceremony, which I'm not overly concerned with. I just want the degree. I don't know if they would just send it out a few weeks late, or if I'd have to wait until the end of the summer semester (August).

I opted not to take Western Civ in highschool. I'm much better with US history, but of course that does not count for a humanities elective. I'm taking the sociology CLEP this friday. I'm scheduled to take humanities next Thursday. I am going to have do a lot of studying for that one. How long does it take to receive test results? I've only ever taken Comp I, with an essay, and I didn't receive credits until 4 weeks later. If non essay CLEPs are faster, or even instant, than I will push off the Western Civ exam till the following week. Otherwise I'm taking it next Friday. Gulp

The essays being discussed are labeled as "optional" essays and it is totally dependent on the school as to whether they require them or not. Test centers do not keep extras on-hand of these optional essays - they are ordered at the time that a candidate says they want to take that particular subject exam and their school requires the essays. Some candidates decide to take the multiple-choice test first to see if they pass and then have the test center order the essays (they cost an additional $10 which is charged to the candidate). These essays are a pain because it takes about 2 weeks to receive them (from the time the order is placed).

I realize this candidate will probably not be able to take advantage of any of the lit exams (with optional essays) due to time constraints, but for those who might need to do this in the future, you can still plan to take the exam (and write the essays) at any CLEP test center. No matter what the school intends to do with the handwritten essays, the essay booklet has to be returned to CLEP first! A copy is made to go in storage and the original is mailed to the school with the official score. As you can see, this is not a fast-moving process! If you are testing in California and your school is in California, your handwritten essays are sent by mail back to CLEP (in New Jersey), and then they get them back into first-class mail to your school (back across the country to California). I am glad that not many schools require these optional essays.

By the way, schools that say they "score" these optional essays have their own separate score. It does not have any impact on the score you receive on the traditional multiple-choice part of the exam.

I have no idea why my COMMUNITY COLLEGE chooses to require these essays.

[gingerbeefE]

Find out if your school accepts straighter line. 3 of these in 10 days would be no problem. I check the SL website and great bay is not on there, but they might accept the ace credits