Need some advice!

[PrettyGirl123]

Hi all, this is my first post on this site. I have been reading quite a bit of the threads and it has shed some light on my questions about CLEPs. I considered it my first year of college, but I wasn't very motivated to do them at that time. I recently transferred from one B&M school(traditional classroom setting) so I can finish my degree online at another B&M school. The first school's traditional setting just wasn't the best fit for me fresh out of high school at all. So I'll be starting again in January at another B&M school and finishing online. Just wanted to give everyone a little background

What I need advice on: I'm trying to graduate in December 2015. I have 48 credits from my first B&M school. Here's the breakdown of what I have left in my degree:

Core- All classes but Intro to Sociology completed(which I can CLEP out of).
Major courses- 30 credits(will be starting in January)- The way my online degree works, all of the courses are 8 week accelerated courses, and I will be taking 3 of them every 8 weeks, so this spring, I will complete 18 credits in the Spring semester then 12 in the Fall semester.
Major supplement courses-9 credits- Principles of Accounting(I know CLEP calls it Financial accounting), Principles of Macro Economics, and American National Government(Political Science).
Minor courses- 15 credits(which I plan to take during the summer).
Electives- My advisor said I need 15 credits to get to 120.

My question is, should I try CLEP out of Intro to Sociology, Principles of Accounting(My school counts it as 6 credits, Acct. 2010 and 2020 if you pass, so I would have an additional 3 hours to go towards electives), Macro, and American National government, and try to take some random Cleps for for those last 12 hours? I asked and he said it doesn't matter where the electives come from and that I am allowed to CLEP out of them. What CLEPS did everyone find particularly easy just for elective credits? Does this sound like a good plan? I know I can only take a CLEP once every 6 months, and I would have to take 6 or 7 of them in a year in order to graduate on time in December. Is it doable in your opinion? Any feedback would be great!

[BGSU_Alum_86]

I am sure you will have some great responses from folks wanting to help. I want to ask you why you think you can only take a CLEP once every 6 months. You do realize that there is no limit to how often you can take a CLEP exam as long as they are not the same test (due to not achieving a passing score), right? If you do not get a passing score, you have to wait only 3 months before trying again (recently changed from the old 6 month requirement). Maybe this is where you came up with "6 months"?

Does your new university accept just CLEP or do they also accept DSST exams? Any others? Are you willing to share the name of your school? Have you verified the maximum units your school will grant for "credit by exam" (CBE)? Any strange requirements in regards to the timing of taking CLEP exams (like having to take them before you have earned a certain number of units from your school, not taking them in the senior year, etc.)?

Good luck to you! I can't wait to hear how you are progressing as you move towards graduating by next December.

[PrettyGirl123]

I thought that was the retesting policy. I meant to retake a test, not one subject every 6 months. I planned on taking my tests in May and trying to retake them in November if I don't pass the first time. I read online that if you use the retest policy of 3 months, you would have to have an academic dean or someone send a letter to clep? Can you provide me with the link for the new retesting policy? My advisor didn't say anything about a maximum. I'll make sure to ask him and double check with the registrars office about those policies and DSSTs. I asked about that(we were speaking through email) and never got a response on my question about DSST credits. Thank you for giving me the heads up on that. And Austin Peay State University in Tennessee is where I'll be attending in the Spring.

Thank you for your encouragement!

[cookderosa]

Hi all, this is my first post on this site. I have been reading quite a bit of the threads and it has shed some light on my questions about CLEPs. I considered it my first year of college, but I wasn't very motivated to do them at that time. I recently transferred from one B&M school(traditional classroom setting) so I can finish my degree online at another B&M school. The first school's traditional setting just wasn't the best fit for me fresh out of high school at all. So I'll be starting again in January at another B&M school and finishing online. Just wanted to give everyone a little background

What I need advice on: I'm trying to graduate in December 2015. I have 48 credits from my first B&M school. Here's the breakdown of what I have left in my degree:

Core- All classes but Intro to Sociology completed(which I can CLEP out of).
Major courses- 30 credits(will be starting in January)- The way my online degree works, all of the courses are 8 week accelerated courses, and I will be taking 3 of them every 8 weeks, so this spring, I will complete 18 credits in the Spring semester then 12 in the Fall semester.
Major supplement courses-9 credits- Principles of Accounting(I know CLEP calls it Financial accounting), Principles of Macro Economics, and American National Government(Political Science).
Minor courses- 15 credits(which I plan to take during the summer).
Electives- My advisor said I need 15 credits to get to 120.

My question is, should I try CLEP out of Intro to Sociology, Principles of Accounting(My school counts it as 6 credits, Acct. 2010 and 2020 if you pass, so I would have an additional 3 hours to go towards electives), Macro, and American National government, and try to take some random Cleps for for those last 12 hours? I asked and he said it doesn't matter where the electives come from and that I am allowed to CLEP out of them. What CLEPS did everyone find particularly easy just for elective credits? Does this sound like a good plan? I know I can only take a CLEP once every 6 months, and I would have to take 6 or 7 of them in a year in order to graduate on time in December. Is it doable in your opinion? Any feedback would be great!

First find out how many CLEP exams you are allowed to use in your degree, and if they are all acceptable (and for what amount of credit?) There may be a cap at a certain number, that would be a limiting factor. Linking to your college's CLEP policy would be most helpful.
If you wouldn't mind saying what your major is in, that would be helpful, and not knowing what your other 48 credits are in makes it hard to guess what you could take.

Also, you can take as many CLEP exams as you want, not 1 per 6 months. The old policy stated that you can only RETAKE a failed exam once per 6 months (it's now 3 months) but you could sit an exam every week if you wanted.

[cookderosa]

I thought that was the retesting policy. I meant to retake a test, not one subject every 6 months. I planned on taking my tests in May and trying to retake them in November if I don't pass the first time. I read online that if you use the retest policy of 3 months, you would have to have an academic dean or someone send a letter to clep? Can you provide me with the link for the new retesting policy? My advisor didn't say anything about a maximum. I'll make sure to ask him and double check with the registrars office about those policies and DSSTs. I asked about that(we were speaking through email) and never got a response on my question about DSST credits. Thank you for giving me the heads up on that. And Austin Peay State University in Tennessee is where I'll be attending in the Spring.

Thank you for your encouragement!

I should have read ahead .

No, you don't need to send a letter. If you were to fail, and retest inside of the 3 months, CLEP would just void your score and you'd lose your money. If you are outside the 3 months, you get a score.
Also, what your advisor says isn't important, please - please - please have them direct you to the written policy you need. Whether it's test out max, or something else. Your school DOES have it written down, it's either on their website or in a college document, in any event, you need to have it.

So, to answer some of my own questions, this is your college's policy page Austin Peay State University : CLEP - College Level Examination ProgramÂ

If your home college doesn't have good testing center hours, you can take the exam at ANY testing center you want. Your school has a good fee of only $15, many schools charge more.

Your college does accept DSST/DANTES Austin Peay State University : DSST - DANTES (Defense Activities for Non-Traditional Support) Subject Standardized Tests

[BGSU_Alum_86]

The "letter" you are referring to is from the old 6-month policy for retakes. Certain colleges would allow a 3-month retake period but had to go through certain steps for this to happen before candidates could retake their exam (one step is a letter from the college to CLEP Services). I have not heard anything about this with the new policy, and probably won't since CLEP has always said that 3 months is their absolute minimum retake period.

According to APSU's website:
"The total amount of credit earned by a non-traditional method, including correspondence and extension credit, which is acceptable to apply toward a degree is limited to one-half the total number of credits required for the degree sought."

This is a good starting point in regards to the limit of CLEP exams. I saw no mention of the DSST program on APSU's website, but they are listed on DSST's listing (awards DSST credit and delivers DSST exams) so definitely something to check on.

[PrettyGirl123]

Thanks everyone. I'm a Public Management major. The option through the Fort Campbell center online is the one I'm doing. I just saw the "Retest policy" about the 3 months thing now. I'm going to call the Registrar on Monday and ask about the DSSTs and how many CLEP credits I'm allowed to use towards my degree. If I am allowed to take all of those exams and get credit for them, which one would everyone suggest studying for first?

[clep3705]

As Jennifer said, get them to point you to the written guidelines. What they tell you does not count - only the written guidelines do. What should you take first? Find out what you're eligible to take first and then post the list here.

What is right for one person is not universally right for everybody else. Having said that, taking a test in something that interests you is probably a better idea than taking something you can't stand.

[cookderosa]

Thanks everyone. I'm a Public Management major. The option through the Fort Campbell center online is the one I'm doing. I just saw the "Retest policy" about the 3 months thing now. I'm going to call the Registrar on Monday and ask about the DSSTs and how many CLEP credits I'm allowed to use towards my degree. If I am allowed to take all of those exams and get credit for them, which one would everyone suggest studying for first?

You'll need to provide more info for the best advice. If you type out what you already have credit in, and then type in what you need, and provide the exams they accept, people here are happy to plug it in for you. Randomly taking exams that may or may not count is a bad plan (doesn't look like you can test out of English 101/102 at your school). You can't duplicate credit ever, so that's why it's important to know what you already have completed. For instance, if you've already taken College Algebra as a course, you can't take that exam even if your college awards credit for that exam. Also, often there are many options to meet the same requirements. For instance, English Lit and American Lit are typically 6 credit exams, but I notice your college awards 6 for English Lit but only 3 for American Lit... so for me, I'd suggest using English Lit if you have a lit requirement. If you only needed 3 credits, those extra 3 may overflow into your electives, which is a bonus.

Hope that helps!

[PrettyGirl123]

I already have credit in English 1010, English 1020, English 2030, Fundamentals of Communication(Speech), Psychology 1010, Health and Wellness, History 2010, History 2030, Biology 2010(A&P I), Biology 2020(A&P II), Math 1530(Statistics), Music 1030, and Philosophy 1030. Those all meet my general education requirements according to my advisor. I also have elective credits in Medical Terminology and Physical science + lab.