transferring credits multiple times

[allvia]

Unless you were to take actual courses or TECEPs or UEXCELs, at one of the Big3, there's no role for the Big3 to play in your transfer to Penn State. Penn State either will transfer the various alternative credits you take or they won't. You can't get Penn State to take them because one of the Big3 or your community college* did.

* It is possible that Penn State has an articulation agreement with your local community college that would allow courses taken there or alternative credit used in your associate's to transfer when they otherwise wouldn't. I don't know if that's the case for you.

That is the question, I wouldn't be trying to "force" anyone to take the credits.  Penn State has a transfer credit tool on their website where you can look at the classes from the college you're in and see if they will transfer and what the corresponding course at Penn State would be.  Plugging some classes into the tool I can see that some of the higher level courses from the community college will indeed transfer.  But there Is no CLEP exam for those classes.  Thats what I was asking, can I use the big 3 to test out of the higher level courses at the community college, which those will then transfer to Penn State.  I'm not trying to scam my way through just trying to see if there is a way to test out of higher level classes (if I am capable of doing so) to speed up the time frame.

The Big 3 still has no standing in what you're describing.  If you use a CLEP, or other ACE provider course, to earn credit and your CC accepts them to 'replace' one of their courses in a degree program that the CC offers - it is still not a school course.  They will not transfer as anything other than what they were originally (CLEP/ACE credits); they still have their own original transcript source. If you earn a degree from the CC and request the transcript to be sent to Penn (or any other school) you will still need to send Penn the CLEP/ACE transcripts as well if you want credit for those courses - having them appear on a Big 3 school transcript wouldn't change that requirement. What you're describing is what is call credit laundering - and it doesn't work. Not suggesting that your intention is to 'scam', just educating you on what it is called as you described.  More importantly just because the CC accepts the CLEP/ACE credits for a degree does not mean that Penn will accept those same credits to be transferred in as applied to a Penn degree.  

You do not need to be active with any of the Big 3 in order to earn any of the credits we talk about here (in case that is part of your confusion).  You can take all the CLEPs and not be required to send them to any school at the time you take them, same for any of the other college credit providers we mention here (ie Straighterline, Study.com, Saylor).  Credits that you earn from an ACE provider just get added to your ACE transcript, and when you would apply to Penn you would send from ACE transcript (it would include all your ACE credits regardless of provider - excluding CLEP which has their own transcript system).  Also, this all applies if one of the Big 3 had a transfer agreement with Penn - the CLEP/ACE credits will still not counts as Big 3 school credits, even if they appear on the Big 3 school transcript.


Penn does take these alternative credit sources for Adult &/or Military students that transfer to them - however, like any school it does not mean they take all credit courses from all providers.  I provided the Penn specific link in my other post, so it is important that you inquire with Penn prior to earning alternative credits to see how/if they transfer into Penn (since Penn is your goal)

One final comment, you keep mentioning "higher level" course from the CC - CC courses are always LL (lower level).  The only exception to this would be if the CC in question is one of the very few CCs that are now offering 4 year bachelor degrees.   I suspect that the agreement you're referring to as 'higher level' means that Penn will accept the more advanced level (in subject) courses from the CC. In example they may not take a course called "Liberal Arts Math" but they will accept "College Algebra" - or they may not take the CC Chem I but they will accept the CC's Organic Chem I.