Just starting - Help with CLEP please

[MISin08]

Hello - I am just beginning this long process at Excelsior, and would appreciate some help with the CLEP tests I need to take. I am entering the Bach of Business program there, and I am wondering - should I begin with the 90-minute "General" CLEP tests (Humanities, Social Sciences and History, ect.)? I understand that passing these qualify for 6 credits each, but exactly which classes do they replace? I notice that Excelsior no longer accepts the English Comp CLEP (you need to take their ECE for that) - do the rest of the "General" CLEP tests still qualify? I don't see any of the General tests listed on their Business Program list. If they do qualify - are the "General" tests the best way to begin? Thanks for any help!

Stephen Blackburn

Welcome to the forum. I'm about 5 classes out from completing my BS in Business at EC.

The 6-credit General CLEPs each replace 2 semesters of courses usually offered at the "100 level". They do not fill any of the specific requirements (economics, for example, or Math or Statistics) associated with the Business degree, but they fill in the General Ed categories real quick.
The general tests may be the the best start for you, or not. For me I did better completing a few of the 3-credit tests first. The general tests I have taken didn't go very deep, but they covered a lot of ground, so having the experience of preparing for other tests was beneficial for me. The Instantcert product -- the sponsors of the forum -- do not have cards for all the 6-credit exams, you are on your own for some. The specific exam feedback forum on this site is full of the experiences of others who took these.

Analyzing and Interpreting Literature -- if you can read fiction and poetry from a variety of periods, with understanding of conventional interpretations, this is a snap.
Natural Sciences -- 50% Biology, 50% other sciences like Chemistry, Physics. I am the sort who reads science books for fun, but I would guess that unless you hate science, this is very doable. The version of the exam I took had no math on it.
Humanities -- I have not taken
Social Sciences and History -- several people recommend taking this after you take the associated exams -- Economics, Sociology, Psychology.
College Math -- a Business major at Excelsior takes College Algebra or higher, so College Math is extra.

All the other posts above are right on. If you haven't already, you will notice on this site that "how easy is _____" comes up quite a lot. Everyone has their own opinion, I've worked out a system for it that works for me, but ultimately, a motivated adult can knock most of these out in half the time or less than the equivalent class. Sometimes much less.
If you know a subject already (management can be very approachable if you already work as a manager, for example) that is a good choice. Otherwise, I can recommend Sociology, Psychology, Management, & Marketing as good starters. In about that order. If you know computers, Information Systems and Computer Applications is also very confidence-building.

Phillip

[MISin08]

Hello - I am just beginning this long process at Excelsior, and would appreciate some help with the CLEP tests I need to take. I am entering the Bach of Business program there...

Stephen Blackburn

By the way, most folks on this forum would agree it's best to wait to enroll 'til you are about a year from graduation to avoid paying some of the fees Excelsior charges. If you are bringing in prior credits that are fairly "normal", it's pretty easy to chart your course without their help

Phillip

[starr]

I have read other posts on here about waiting until later to enroll at Excelsior, and just take the tests now. But don't I need to let the testing center know where to send the test results? Do I just need to apply to the college to send them the results (and have test results applied later when I do enroll)?

[Chebasaz]

Nope, don't send the results anywhere right now. When you're ready to apply you can get a transcript sent to Excelsior with all of your exam results at once. It'll cost you (I think it's $20 these days?) but it beats paying Excelsior when you don't need to.

[bllyshrs]

Nope, don't send the results anywhere right now. When you're ready to apply you can get a transcript sent to Excelsior with all of your exam results at once. It'll cost you (I think it's $20 these days?) but it beats paying Excelsior when you don't need to.

Ok, I am just starting out myself, and I've seen a lot of advise such as the one above. I have two tests scheduled for Friday, and next week I have several others scheduled. My dilema is this: I am trying to complete as many "core" tests as possible before March 1. Why? Because March 1 is the start of the EC capstone course "Business Strategy" which is a must have from EC to earn a BSB. Unfortunately, they require most core classes completed before enrolling. I have seen others convince their advisor to let them in showing that they have taken quite a few courses/tests recently, but I am starting from scratch here and need to build up rather quickly. The next Business Strategy class starts in May and ends in August. I don't have that kind of time.

So my question is this. Though I am not officially enrolled yet (I applied two weeks ago and they are reviewing my old transcripts), I know that I will be enrolling very soon. Should I just ask CLEP to send my results to Excelsior anyway? Any harm in doing that?

btw.. I realize that I am cutting things awful close with the timing and all, but that's how I roll. Being that I have never taken a CLEP before, I don't want to do the wrong thing and have my scores stuck in limbo land while miss out on the timing of the capstone class. anyone with some advise: please help!

[NAP]

Ok, I am just starting out myself, and I've seen a lot of advise such as the one above. I have two tests scheduled for Friday, and next week I have several others scheduled. My dilema is this: I am trying to complete as many "core" tests as possible before March 1. Why? Because March 1 is the start of the EC capstone course "Business Strategy" which is a must have from EC to earn a BSB. Unfortunately, they require most core classes completed before enrolling. I have seen others convince their advisor to let them in showing that they have taken quite a few courses/tests recently, but I am starting from scratch here and need to build up rather quickly. The next Business Strategy class starts in May and ends in August. I don't have that kind of time.

So my question is this. Though I am not officially enrolled yet (I applied two weeks ago and they are reviewing my old transcripts), I know that I will be enrolling very soon. Should I just ask CLEP to send my results to Excelsior anyway? Any harm in doing that?

btw.. I realize that I am cutting things awful close with the timing and all, but that's how I roll. Being that I have never taken a CLEP before, I don't want to do the wrong thing and have my scores stuck in limbo land while miss out on the timing of the capstone class. anyone with some advise: please help!

Since you need them to see your completed credits in order to sign-up for the course, I can't think of a reason not to send them the scores as you are taking the exams. (It took 10 days for mine to get there.) Anyone have a different thought?