credit awarding for dsst question

[zacktwiggins]

I currently have a GED and trying to get into the airfoce since the airforce requires 15 college credits to enlist with a GED. I cannot afford regular classes. So my recruiter suggesting taking and passing some cleps or DSST exams. If I go to a college that administers these tests to the general public and i pass them, they will give me credit right? Because when I searched for colleges that administered them some didn't have the "award credit" icon. I am confused.

[originalbigjim]

i am not sure what that about but some schools give the test but dont accept the credit at their school. you will get credit for the test if you pass it BUT cannot be used in THEIR degree program. this will give you credits to get you in to the air force.

[dingbat]

Any college you go to should be giving you credit hours for attending their school. If they don't then don't go to that school. You deserve better than that.

[cookderosa]

I currently have a GED and trying to get into the airfoce since the airforce requires 15 college credits to enlist with a GED. I cannot afford regular classes. So my recruiter suggesting taking and passing some cleps or DSST exams. If I go to a college that administers these tests to the general public and i pass them, they will give me credit right? Because when I searched for colleges that administered them some didn't have the "award credit" icon. I am confused.

>>


I'll try and help you out, if I confuse you even more, just say so! LOL
CLEP is a test written by a company called The College Board. (the same guys who made the SAT) Since The College Board is a business (not a college) they don't award credit. Now, since most colleges believe that passing a CLEP exam is equal to taking one of their classes, you can get credit from a specific college by passing a CLEP exam. (colleges each can decide which-if any-exams they will award credit for)

Now, here is how it works. You find a CLEP testing center near you. This is probably just a regular testing center located inside a local college. You will pay 2 fees- one to CLEP ($70 per exam) and one to the place you take the test ($15-$20 per test). You DO NOT have to be a student at that college or any college in order to take a CLEP test. They are open to the general public. As soon as you finish your last question, you will get your score. If you pass a test, CLEP will record that information on a transcript for you and hold it for 20 years. If within the next 20 years you enroll in a college, you have CLEP send them your transcript and the college can award you credit for passing the exam.

A few key points- you can find out how to study for your exam here, but you will need to do your own digging to find out how you want to get this credit onto a college transcript for your Air Force requirement. An easy first choice is to look at your local community college. You can check their website or call an advisor and ask if they award credit for passing CLEP exams. If they do, then you simply enroll as a student at that college and your CLEP credit will wind up on that transcript (which you will send to the Air Force). You can earn 15 credits in as little as 3 test, or as many as 5 depending on what you want to study for.

Should you decide to get a degree, you would want to give a little more attention to choosing a college, but for the purpose of simply getting 15+ credits on a transcript- I think any college that awards credit (and is cheap) will work for you. NOTE: This is going to cost you a few bucks- because many colleges charge an enrollment fee, and many charge a fee to record your CLEP score. In all, I would say simply getting yourself set up with a college to accept your credits will cost you $20-$40 and the cost (if there is one) of putting the CLEP on a transcript can be $0 -10 per credit, so figure it could be up to $150.

One last thing that maybe someone will help with- I "think" that instead of using your local college, you can use ACE (a business) to log your credits earned for a grand total of $40. This is something I have no direct experience with, but this would be the EASIEST and CHEAPEST way BY FAR to get your credit on a transcript- and you wouldn't even have to deal with your local college and the application, entrance exams, fees, etc. Maybe someone with experience using ACE can explain how that works.

Also, maybe someone else here can chime in, but can he use FEMA credit to meet the 15 credit requirement?

That's how it works in a nutshell. Welcome to the board!!