clep scores reported on transcript?

[Johanna]

I have a question for someone who's already registered at Excelsior - with all the pass/fail cleps, does it truly not matter what your score is or will the actual clep score be reflected on your transcript upon graduation/transfer (as in pass-50 or pass-79)?
I would not keep studying as long if I knew it made no difference whatsoever, but right now it is keeping me from starting the cleps that I am sure I could pass, just not sure I could ace. So you could also say I am asking for a swift kick in the you know what !

[tcc]

I'm enrolled at Excelsior, and all CLEP scores are noted on my transcript. That includes the tests for which there's no grade, just pass/fail. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone out there has information on how relevant these are, individually. Because unless someone is looking to get into grad school, it just seems to me that overall gradepoint is going to be the issue. Another question: do employers really look at transcripts if you're over 25 years old?

[MagicATC]

I wouldn't worry about the score. Pass is a pass. Nobody cares how well you did on a CLEP that I have ever heard of. GPA is what usually counts and a P exists with the ABCs.
I wouldn't want to get a job anywhere that put clep scores above my resume and personal qualities anyway.

[snazzlefrag]

I'm enrolled at Excelsior, and all CLEP scores are noted on my transcript. That includes the tests for which there's no grade, just pass/fail. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone out there has information on how relevant these are, individually. Because unless someone is looking to get into grad school, it just seems to me that overall gradepoint is going to be the issue. Another question: do employers really look at transcripts if you're over 25 years old?

Nobody is going to be concerned about what score you got in the long run. If anything, it's the grade that counts.

Employers usually just want to make sure you have a legitimate degree. They might also ask for your GPA. I would imagine that they would only require your actual transcript if you were applying for a job with very specific requirements in certain subjects. For example, if you applied for a job working with children in California, they might want to see your transcript to ensure that you passed Human Growth & Development.

It's certainly not the norm for employers to ask to see your transcript.

Hope that helps,
Snazzlefrag

[Johanna]

Sorry - I should have clarified: I intend to go to grad school so I was concerned that low clep scores on pass/fail exams would still reflect poorly even if my gpa on graded exams was high. Anyone know if I should be concerned? Thanks. .

[rome]

I have a question for someone who's already registered at Excelsior - with all the pass/fail cleps, does it truly not matter what your score is or will the actual clep score be reflected on your transcript upon graduation/transfer (as in pass-50 or pass-79)?
I would not keep studying as long if I knew it made no difference whatsoever, but right now it is keeping me from starting the cleps that I am sure I could pass, just not sure I could ace. So you could also say I am asking for a swift kick in the you know what !

Hello Johanna-
I've been enrolled in Excelsior College since Feb. and though I am not entirely sure what comes up on the actual transcript I do know what's on my student status report when Excelsior sends it over email. For the CLEPs I have taken-all of which were pass/fail-the names are listed and right next to that are my scores (64, 60, etc.) but under the grade box it just says P (pass).

My assumption is that something similar may be recorded on the transcript.
Don't know if this helps, just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

[snazzlefrag]

Sorry - I should have clarified: I intend to go to grad school so I was concerned that low clep scores on pass/fail exams would still reflect poorly even if my gpa on graded exams was high. Anyone know if I should be concerned? Thanks. .

Hi Johanna,

If you passed a CLEP, by definition you DIDN'T get a "low score" (even if it 'feels' low to you); and if you failed a CLEP, it won't appear on your transcript at all. So I wouldn't be overly concerned.

Remember, these are scaled scores. A "50" on a CLEP is not, in any way, the same as scoring "50%" on a final exam for a course.

Graduate Admission personnel are not looking at individual scores for each subject on your transcript. They are only looking at your overall GPA, your individual grades, and whether or not you studied the necessary subjects to meet the requirements for entry into a graduate program.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. But if you are nervous about it, there are two things you can do:

1) Try to score as high as you can on every exam.
2) Contact your intended grad school, and ask them about it.

Hope that helps,
Snazzlefrag

[Librevore]

Sorry - I should have clarified: I intend to go to grad school so I was concerned that low clep scores on pass/fail exams would still reflect poorly even if my gpa on graded exams was high. Anyone know if I should be concerned? Thanks. .

Hello Johanna,

I am not enrolled anywhere yet but I have contacted admissions of the school that I intend to apply to after graduating from Excelsior. One of the prereqs for the program I am interested in could be done as a pass/fail Clep. I was uneasy that a required course might not qualify without an actual grade so I specifically inquired if this would be alright. She told me that their only concern was that I had taken it and passed it. It's a box to check off.

The 3 concerns total for my future university were: that my degree is from a properly accredited college, my GPA and that I have the prereqs completed. Calling the school you will eventually be going to can really put your mind at ease!

Librevore

[Johanna]

You guys are so amazingly helpful and willing to share your experiences. I so appreciate the encouragement and motivation of this board. I will get this done, I will, I will . . .

[Braylen]

Not to beat a dead horse, but my personal philosophy has been I'm only concerned with the letter grade. If it's pass/fail, then I wasn't sweating what I get, as long as I pass. My personal goal for preparing is knowing I'm getting the minimum score required for an A on whatever practice tests I'm using, which has resulted in getting an A on all of mine (conventional wisdom being the good practice tests are usually harder than the actuals).

While I think it's possible some grad school review person might look at the actual score of a pass/fail, my guess is that such a person is going to be even more dismissive of the fact that it's a CLEP and not an actual class. Many schools are very snobby about testing out - many colleges (for their programs) only allow up to 30 (or fewer) CLEP or Dantes semester hours.

I wouldn't sweat the scores unless they confer a grade (only 7 of the CLEPs, but all of the Dantes).