New and confused

[daniellevine]

I am signed up for InstantCert. Originally I found out about CLEP because I was looking into going to a small private Law School in my town and the admission requirements are either an AS or completion of three CLEP tests, one of them being English Comp. I decided I'd start there and see if I could do it. I started doing some of the questions on InstantCert and was wondering if there is something else I should be doing. Are the questions the same as the flashcards everyone is talking about? When will I know I am ready to test? I have to be really ready because if I fail it will be hard for me to get the confidence up to try again.

Thanks for replying! I really want to do this, but I am shocked at how scary it is to me!

Well, I've been there before, and I mean I have been there before. I originally signed up for the exact same reason. Last June, I decided to try law school and needed to study for the 3 CLEP exams (worth 6 credits each, for a total of 18 credits.) Before I go further, I just want to ask you which state you reside. And, do you plan to become an attorney? I live in California and the rules are kind of lax; in 47-48 states you need to graduate from the an ABA-approved school in order to sit for the bar exam. Just want to make sure your school is giving you all the information you need...

Your level of ability depends on your past experience in the subject. Do you feel like you have a good grasp of the language, grammar, and sentences? It is probably best to do the InstantCert flashcards until you know them cold. You might also find some other resources; go to the main page of this message board, go to the "Specific Exam Feedback" section, and find the English Composition CLEP exam (you might have to go through a few pages). Lots of people have/had similar concerns that you have right now, and you can read about suggestions from people who have already taken the exam.

Don't worry about a failed test; it happens. But if your law school is being specific about the test you need to pass, be aware that there's a six-month waiting period to re-take the CLEP if you do fail it. So it's best to be safe and make sure you've put in your studying time; you might want to take some practice exams also (you can find that on the CLEP webpage.)