CLEP EXAM Overview

(College Level Examination Program)

*You can use these today, without the grind and workload of an Advanced Placement High School Class & Test

(If that’s not your thing).

*I have asked This ONE question over and over

TO MANY STUDENTS throughout the years.

“Why would you want to take all those High School General
Education classes over again in College?”

ex. 2 Maths, 2 Sciences, 2 Social Studies, 2 English Comps, & 2 Humanities.

It seems like an obvious answer.

Almost no one wants to--but VERY FEW do anything about it.

Did you know if you could “test out for credit” on just those subjects above, it would knock off 1 year of school---but perhaps even more impressively, it would save about $15.000-$30,000 in just tuition (State vs Private School).

And guess what? You can start taking them now.

(along w/ about 65 other "Credit by Exam" Subjects we'll cover)

CLEP Tests (College Level Examination Program)
*Provided by CollegeBoard.org

Why are we starting with CLEP?

Well, only about 10% of students have ever taken one…& I (Brian), along with MANY OF OUR
“MENTEEs” have knocked off a Semester or Two MINIMUM with just these tests.

(*Oh yeah---and they did this at about a 75-80% Pass Rate)

So, What is a CLEP Exam?

It is typically a 90-120 min test where 1 passed test = 1 college class DONE.
34 Different Tests ex. English Comp, Marketing, Algebra, Microeconomics, Management (But, 70+ Tests total once you add in DSST Tests - next section)
Multiple Choice (or Multiple Guess)---- w/ 5 possible answers usually.
Individual Pass rates vary---but generally, in that 50-80% range depending on subject. The score you need is typically a “50” based on American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations, but a few schools have theirs set slightly higher.
What percentage score does that equate to? Most sources say 60-70% correct answers (so about a C- or D-)--FEELING CONFIDENT YET?
The score DOES NOT affect GPA. It’s pass or fail. Full course credit or none.
You can take them at a test site or AT HOME with a live or virtual Proctor online.
BIG TIME BENEFIT---You get IMMEDIATE RESULTS on almost all exams
The cost is typically about $100 per test, plus a Proctor fee (as compared to $1500+ for most Public Univ. classes---JUST FOR TUITION).
There are multiple study sites DEDICATED to passing these tests. Don’t be cheap, look at sites like www.study.com, www.petersons.com, & www.modernstates.org. (These can be found at the bottom section of the site, along with some other tips)

Basically, you are looking at $40-$60 a month (stop whenever). Modern States is free
(you’ll probably want to add another), but it has ONE AWESOME BENEFIT we just
learned about in 2024. If you do all the lessons in one subject, they’ll give you a code for a
free test! And not just one…

So, let’s sum it up:

1-2 hours testing vs. 15 weeks in a classroom.
AREN’T YOU GLAD YOU STOPPED BY?

*Now Pay Attention. If that impressed you, this might just blow you away!

Some tests can actually give you credit for TWO CLASSES,

(like my 60k per year Alma Mater).

KEY: This is based on either your test title OR your score:

Here are some of those tests:

* College Composition: 6 Semester Hours

* Social Sciences & History: 6 Semester Hours

* Natural Sciences: 6 Semester Hours

* Humanities: 6 Semester Hours

* College Mathematics: 6 Semester Hours

* Spanish, French, or German: 6-16 Semester Hours

(Yep, 16 in some schools---that’s ½ a year of credits!)
* Biology, Chemistry, & Calculus are also some that numerous schools give 2 classes

So, just a few schools that we checked briefly on were:
-Campell University (Brian’s school)
-University of Florida
-University of Arizona
-Coastal Carolina University

*All gave “multiple classes” for some. Even if they just accept 2 or 3 subjects for "2 Classes", it’s a MAJOR WIN FOR YOU.

**IMPORTANT: Just make sure the Colleges you’re looking at:

A. Accept them
B. List which ones they take (or at least get it in writing)
C. Tell you which passing scores they use (ACE or higher?)
D. Clearly tell you which course (or courses) they’ll count for at their school

Here’s where to find all the CLEP information on College Board:
https://clep.collegeboard.org/clep-exams

*One quick note from CollegeDawg: Moving forward, we'll reference the time required to complete

these tests as 60-90 mins. That's just keeping it real--MOST STUDENTS we've worked with didn't

need anywhere near 120 min.

*Anyway----as you can see CLEPs are AWESOME. They used to be our RUN-AWAY favorite to

speed things up. Now, depending on your situation they can fall anywhere between 1st-3rd

in the hierarchy of CollegeDawg's STRATEGERY. That should tell you all you need to know!

You'll hear about THE OTHERS shortly...

So, to wrap up this section---roughly 60-90 minutes saves you 1 class & about

$1500 for Tuition (& probably another $1500 in Room & Board expenses). The tests are actually "VERY DO-ABLE" IF YOU FOLLOW A BASIC STRATEGY similar to the example below.

* Check out recent Pass Rates percentages in our "Data Hub" section (remember---roughly 60-70% correct answers = pass). NOTE: There are a lot of CLEP Exams with pass rates in the 50-90% range. BUT, don't be dissuaded by subjects with pass rates in the 35-50% range---a lot of people did not study at all, or tried to prepare in a few hours with inferior FREE resources.

Why? Well, they're free to the Military & some Governmental Agencies/Organizations. So, free can = why not give it a shot?

* List out all the Exams you want to take, then put them in order. Perhaps start with a couple you're familiar with, or those subjects based on definitions, dates, concepts, notable people etc.. These are far easier to memorize for the short term.

* PREPARE. Use professional sites like those we recommend to take Practice Exams, complete Section Quizes, Watch included videos on any gaps you have on the subject...VERY VERY Easy Plan.

* We recommend "prepping" for 12-20 hours depending on your test taking skills and current familiarity with the subject. Many Mentees have used the 3-4 hours per night 4-5 days in a row, to great success. THEN TAKE IT IMMEDIATELY.

Bonus: One great feature of these professional sites is parents can usually see all activity & practice exam scores in order.

* Sign up for the Tests about 10 days out. Often you can't get a spot if you wait until the last minute. Also, if you take it online at home or wherever----they have a few special rules about the space. So, make sure you read those & are setup OK. They'll make you spin around to give a 360 deg view of the room---& may ask you to put your dirty socks away. Alright it's not quite that bad.

* Make sure you read the Real-Life "Origin Story" at the end of this section (if you need to build more confidence). It basically outlines the experience of one AVERAGE student who took a ton of these exams. And "average" is being kind.

*LASTLY---Our prep suggestion of 4-5 days IN A ROW is meant to ensure ALL SECTIONS are fresh in your mind.

Yeah, we know it's cramming. We didn't say you'd learn the subject---just demonstrate basic knowledge & exposure.

There are a few other tactics...but that's probably thorough enough! (for now)

You now have all the info you need to easily save $10k+ just using THIS STRATEGY. Imagine what you can save with a few more suggestions! Let's move on to DSST tests---which are basically EXACTLY like the CLEP tests---just with a few more advantages!

*But first, just in case you need it:

A REAL-LIFE example from an "almost" average student

Click Here For:

An Origin Story:

A Lackluster Student, an Indifference Toward College, 20 Specific CLEPs, and

THE MANY REASONS You Should Be Extremely Confident!

If I didn't see it first-hand---I wouldn't believe it!