If you are looking for a new way to reduce your college costs, you have come to the right place. Today, I will review how you can take CLEP exams to "CLEP out" of college classes and save money.
What is CLEP?
The College Board administers the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). Students can earn college credits for CLEP exams by testing in subject areas they already know. Anyone who has taken advanced level high school courses or has in-depth knowledge of a subject is a good candidate for these tests.
The CLEP, a multiple-choice exam lasting 90-120 minutes, is offered at over 2,000 test centers. The cost is $89 per exam, plus a service fee charged by most test centers.
Additionally, over 2,900 colleges and universities in the US offer college credits for CLEP.
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Which tests are offered through CLEP?
The program offers thirty four (34) introductory-level college subject exams. You can register for any one of these CLEP exams and purchase study materials online.
In fact, the 34 exams fall under the following categories:
- Composition and Literature
- World Languages
- History and Social Sciences
- Science and Mathematics
- Business
What are the Benefits of taking these tests?
Some of the benefits of taking these tests include cost savings and shorter time to a degree.
For example, students can skip general introductory courses and move on to more advanced classes if they score well on the exam (please check each college's policy). Taking less college courses towards your degree could reduce your overall college costs.
Also, a person "who earns 15 CLEP credits to apply toward a degree could save nearly $5,000 at the average public 4-year institution and more than $17,000 at the average private nonprofit institution", according to the College Board.
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How do you receive College Credits?
To receive credits, you must send your CLEP scores to the college you plan to attend. Each test could net you three or more college credits.
However, each college has their own policy of how many credits they will award for a specific test score. To learn more about each college's CLEP exam policy, please visit the College Board's website.
To send your scores to colleges, free of charge, you must select the colleges when you register for the exam. In most cases (essays are an exception), your score will appear on the computer immediately following the exam. In addition, you will get the option to cancel sending your score to colleges you previously selected if you are not happy with your score.
Keep in Mind
To sum it all up, if you want to save time and money in college, then consider the CLEP exams. As a reminder though, check each college's policy before you run off and register for these tests.
What steps are you taking to reduce your college costs? Share in the comments below.
