What % of people finish?

[vetvso]

For high schoolers, it's up to the parents most of the time to ensure their children get the credit necessary. I always personally was with my children when they met with the school counselor. I always mentioned AP, CLEP, DSST, and others that they could take while in school. Before the last one graduated in the 2018 year I pushed them to be ahead of their peers and it works well.

I have given talks at my kid's school and have even discussed this with students. There is just a general lack of interest and we have UAF and they also accept allot of ACE here. The universities and colleges don't have an incentive at all since they figure they will lose money.

If the parents have not taken the time to learn what has changed and what is available most high schoolers won't even begin to look. This is a culture problem in my opinion and most may think it is too much work. One of my sons and I will test out again next week but I am leading the way and showing them by example. I push, prod and try to motivate them with the idea of tremendous cost savings. they are collecting money and saving for their Masters so this helps me push them. This is coming from a Dad helping and pushing them each and every day.

P.S There are lurkers here that have used this to take action but will never say a word. They have their reasons and I can respect that.

[sanantone]

Most kids' parents have never been to college, so expecting them to know about alternative sources of credit is unrealistic.

[armstrongsubero]

I dont think that will change. Like vetvso said, colleges have no incentive to let you know about these sources of credit, it profits them more to keep you in the dark.

[sanantone]

I dont think that will change. Like vetvso said, colleges have no incentive to let you know about these sources of credit, it profits them more to keep you in the dark.

At colleges, usually only the registrar's office and testing center know what CLEPs are. Considering that my professors didn't even know who accredits our school,  I doubt many of them know about alternative sources of credit other than AP exams. 

Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of schools accept 30-90 transfer credits. Other than quality concerns, it makes no difference if those credits are from another college or from a test company.

[armstrongsubero]

@sanatone you're wrong. I think it does make a difference, colleges price based on prices of other colleges among other things, and also people generally avoid the hassle of doing credits at another school if they are enrolled in a program at their college.

Lets say we have two schools A and B. A is AMU (for-profit online) and B is a reputable brick and motor school I am currently enrolled in.

If I had a choice of paying 810 at A vs paying 3000 a course at the college I am enrolled in school B, I will choose the college I am enrolled in, so my college will not lose and I dont mind since its going to my student loans anyways.

If however you tell me school B also accepts a $49 dollar 3 credit course then I may start to think and school B loses.

It sounds hypothetical but its the reality 99% of the time, if students are accepted into a school it is unlikely they will look somewhere else for credits.

[sanantone]

@sanatone you're wrong. I think it does make a difference, colleges price based on prices of other colleges among other things, and also people generally avoid the hassle of doing credits at another school if they are enrolled in a program at their college.

Lets say we have two schools A and B. A is AMU (for-profit online) and B is a reputable brick and motor school I am currently enrolled in.

If I had a choice of paying 810 at A vs paying 3000 a course at the college I am enrolled in school B, I will choose the college I am enrolled in, so my college will not lose and I dont mind since its going to my student loans anyways.

If however you tell me school B also accepts a $49 dollar 3 credit course then I may start to think and school B loses.

It sounds hypothetical but its the reality 99% of the time, if students are accepted into a school it is unlikely they will look somewhere else for credits.

Many students transfer from cheaper community colleges. Universities don't have to accept their credits or make articulation agreements, but they do. 

CLEP and DSST can help improve on-time graduation rates and overall graduation rates. Low graduation rates are more harmful to a school than CLEP.

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Accepting CLEP is voluntary. If schools were really afraid of CLEP, all they would have to do is stop accepting it. They don't even have to offer it at their testing center.

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I think I've found the answer to why colleges are more accepting of AP exams than CLEPs. I already knew that AP exams are harder, but I think the issue is that CLEPs do not have associating classes. Whether or not you agree that there should be a quality of education concern, it is there. This is why many prestigious schools will accept AP exams and not CLEP or DSST. The passing scores on CLEPs are based on what a "C" student would get after taking a class.

Dawnette Cigrand, the school counseling Program Director at Winona State University, said she can see the appeal of trying to keep college costs down. But she's troubled about what's lost.

"Thinking of education as just credits that they just need to check off their list, that's a little disconcerting to me," she said. "I would argue that just because you can pass the test doesn't mean that you have mastered that subject area."

http://www.startribune.com/tests-allow-a...288161251/

[vetvso]

It's just my opinion but I think all schools work toward you getting financial aid now. When I was paying for my boy's tuition in cash; they were not supportive and the system for me to do so was outdated and it took extra time. So my guess is they the school is addicted to the government money. So I now use the system for how they have it designed and just rotate the government money around and end up spending the same. Everyone is happy and my family no longer stands out as the oddball cash paying customer. We also get more scholarships as well now since we seemed to have been excluded before even though they claim we weren't.

[davewill]

It's just my opinion but I think all schools work toward you getting financial aid now. When I was paying for my boy's tuition in cash; they were not supportive and the system for me to do so was outdated and it took extra time. So my guess is they the school is addicted to the government money. ...

What in the heck are you talking about? My 3 kids went to 6 different schools and not one had the least problem taking my tuition payments. No loans or government aid. Do you mean you showed up at the bursar's office with a wheelbarrow full of $1 bills or something?

[dfrecore]

It's just my opinion but I think all schools work toward you getting financial aid now. When I was paying for my boy's tuition in cash; they were not supportive and the system for me to do so was outdated and it took extra time. So my guess is they the school is addicted to the government money. So I now use the system for how they have it designed and just rotate the government money around and end up spending the same. Everyone is happy and my family no longer stands out as the oddball cash paying customer. We also get more scholarships as well now since we seemed to have been excluded before even though they claim we weren't.

I have always paid for college in cash (debit card, credit card, check, whatever).  There was never any problem.  I just paid for Spring 2019 in cash.  Plenty of people don't qualify for financial aid, and the only way to pay is with cash.

[sanantone]

I pay cash for my dissertation hours and haven't had any problems. There are many schools with a large share of their student bodies receiving no financial aid.