How to Save College Money Through CLEP

With the rising cost of admission to colleges and universities around the country, the CLEP or College Level Examination Program can be the college student’s best friend. Challenging familiar course material by taking CLEPs not only saves money; it also saves a lot of time and frustration. Why sit in a classroom for Language Arts 101 if you’ve already progressed to writing the Great American Novel? CLEP is the logical step forward for students who are already well versed in the college fundamentals and want to spend time learning things they don’t already know. By successfully completing a CLEP exam in an introductory or intermediate level college course, the student can have a more productive and stimulating educational experience.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• College Course Catalog
• Telephone number of College Admissions Office
• Good memory skills

1. The one most important thing the university student needs know is which courses can be completed through CLEP.
   
   Before signing up to take a CLEP, the student must determine which CLEP exams his or her school will accept.
   CLEPs are offered in 34 categories and touch upon many subject areas.

2. Some colleges and universities restrict the number and topic areas of the College Level Examination Program; others allow students to take a great variety of college level programs through CLEP. As a general rule, a college or university student can expect to find CLEP exams devoted to the type of introductory courses which students are required to take in their first and second years of study.

3. CLEP courses generally fall into five general subject areas:
   
   
   • Literature and Composition
   • Foreign Languages
   • History and Social Sciences
   • Science and Math
   • Business
   
   Use the university course catalogue to find corresponding low numbers which translate to basic or intermediate courses. The courses will not be as plainly titled as the topic areas shown above. The course numbers will indicated whether they are lower-level courses which can be completed through the CLEP process.

4. The number of credits the student receives for successful completion of a CLEP in any subject area is generally the same as would be granted had the challenged course been taken in the conventional way. Most CLEP exams are of 90 minutes in length and, except for the writing exams required in courses like “English Composition,” require multiple choice answers.

5. Some colleges and university provide an easy listing of acceptable CLEP exams; these listings can be obtained from the college admissions office. In such cases, the student is very lucky. It is well worth the student’s while to take the CLEP courses whenever possible. The cost of a typical CLEP exam cost $70.00 in July, 2008, whereas the cost of tuition and fees for the corresponding course can easily be ten times more and higher.

Tips & Warnings

• There is a reason why people seem to be camping out in the college admissions office in the early part of the year. You can save much aggravation by researching the courses you intend to take through CLEP well in advance of the semester.
• You can't hurt yourself by trying a CLEP exam even if you are uncertain of your knowledge in a particular area. Your fallback position is merely to take the course the long and expensive way.