How do you know about CLEP?

[sgloer]

I think my parents were reading this book, which talked about how to get your degree faster, cheaper, and from home, but didn't really understand how to do it.

So were you homeschooled, and was it through a homeschooling conference that your parents learned about that book? I'm mainly trying to boil down how people who don't know about CLEP were exposed to the concept...

If Instantcert could ever get all of the ECE exams outlined in the bain4weeks.com plan they could raise their prices!

We'd love to add ECE's and GRE's, and are looking into the possibility. Yes, an 80th percentile would be amazing, and is probably very do-able.

[ViolinGirl]

So were you homeschooled, and was it through a homeschooling conference that your parents learned about that book? I'm mainly trying to boil down how people who don't know about CLEP were exposed to the concept...

Yes, I was homeschooled (still am, technically)...and, yes, it was a homeschooling conference (hosted by ATI) such as this one that my parents picked the book up at. Brad Voeller's (founder of CollegePlus! and GLS) family is/was in ATI, so...I think that's why the book was there. Hope that clarifies stuff...?

[lspahn]

I saw a website somewhere that a guy who was being homeschool had 80+ credits before he left high school. What a great position to be in going into college.

[beckysharp]

Read a book by Brad Voeller called Accelerated Distance Learning where he completed his BA degree in International Business (I think) in six months for less than $5000.00. Google searches filled in the rest.

Thank you so much for adding the Education Forum. I've been asked to prepare a list of resources I use for test preparation at the school where I take my exams. I will definitely include Instacert on that list.

[Sammy]

I enrolled with TESC after my autocad instructor looked at my list of credits and told me I should already have a degree. He told me about online school (which I was already doing for autocad) but the school he recommended didn't look feasible for a quick degree. A month later I was at a leadeship conference at work and a guy gave some info about education benefits through my employer and told us about a school (TESC) that gave 67 credits for my A&P license (Airframe and Powerplant) then listed the remaining classes required for the degree. Based on what he said, it looked like I would only need about 4-5 classes to complete the degree and wouldn't cost me much based upon the amount my employer would pay. So I sent off my transcripts and such and was informed I needed 7 classses. I enrolled and was taking one online course. My Cad instructor mentioned Clep exams and I raise an eyebrow. Then guys at work started telling me to clep out of exams. I was frustrated because I didn't know what materials to use to study and I felt overwhelmed. I started to research Clep online and ran into a bunch of discussion boards, which were extremely encouraging, but still frustrating because I didn't know what resources to use. Then a guy at work told me about instantcert and I went straight home and enrolled and have "been in love" eversince! People on TESC discussion boards also mentioned Clep exams and instantcert. One advisor "hinted" around to the use of Clep to accelerate my degree. So that is my long short story!

[sgloer]

Interesting story, Sammy, and it points to the possibility of certain career fields taking professional certification exams for college credit, instead of just being limited to standard college equivalency exams.

[tampalizard]

I learned about CLEP back in the stone ages, when I started working on my RN Degree from Regents (Excelsior). I did not know about DSST's until this time around. I think whoever said colleges don't tell people is right! I also think this is why so many limit the number of CLEPS they will accept so severely. They don't want you to CLEP they want you to take the classes.

[dhlvrsn]

A silly advisor for a university said that if I was willing to take CLEP tests I could speed up my degree program. Since they only would accept six tests and I have a brain/google...

[spazz]

I talk to people all the time who have never heard of CLEP, and they tell me, "Wow, why didn't anyone tell me about this while I was in college? I could have saved so much time and money!"

AP Exams in high schools have grown exponentially in the last ten years, but CLEP exams have stayed pretty much the same for the last thirty years. Why is that?

The problem is, if you try to tell random people about it on the internet, they think it's too good to be true--it's just another internet gimmick.

How did YOU learn about CLEP?

My theory is, if you could mass-communicate the benefits of CLEP, it would revolutionize the college industry, as students spend time in college focusing on courses relevant to their major instead of having to waste time on all of the general ed requirements.

Most schools in the US only have 1 year of gen ed requirements and the requirements are different for every major. For me, I will only be able to take a couple CLEP tests that would count towards my degree. Which is a lot compared to other schools or majors. I think CLEP is great, but it would be a waste of time for most people if they could only take 1 CLEP test, they would spend atleast a week learning about CLEP and collecting materials. However I think if you learned about CLEP in highschool, it could serve you well.

How I found out about CLEP is my summer schedule got messed up (classes got canceled), so my advisor told me if I wanted to knock out a gen ed class, to try to CLEP it. So here I am.

[sgloer]

Good information, spazz! Welcome to the board.