College Level Examination Program Exams, or CLEP exams, are educational exams designed by the College Board, makers of the SAT. Generally, CLEP exams are 90 minutes in length and include multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions, with the exception of the English Composition with Essay exam. The current fee for a CLEP exam is $65, which is a small price to pay considering the cost of tuition these days. I’m testing out of two science courses at my college, so I am saving $1,200 in tuition costs and about $150 in books!

Basically, CLEP exams loosely follow the material offered in entry-level college classes. A CLEP exam may be based on a single  semester course, a two-semester course, or even a two-year course (foreign languages, etc.). Depending on your college (or future college), you may be awarded three, six, or even 12 hours of credit for each CLEP exam.

Nearly 3,000 colleges and universities accept CLEP exams for college credit. Although the American Council on Education recommends minimum scores for awarding credit, it is the institutions themselves that ultimately determine the minimum score for credit to be awarded, as well as the amount of credit granted for each CLEP exam.

CLEP Exams are currently available for the following subjects:

• Business
• Foreign Languages 
• Composition
• Literature
• History
• Social Sciences
• Science
• Math

CLEP Exam Preps 

Important considerations

• Colleges and universities vary in their treatment of CLEP exams. Review your college’s CLEP policies to find out what exams you may take, the scores you must receive, and any applicable deadlines/requirements. 
• Remember that some colleges offer alternative credit for life experience without taking a CLEP exam. For example, if you are a small business owner, you may be able to get management and accounting credit, depending on your institution. If you are a human resources manager, you might be able to receive alternative portfolio credit as well. It will vary by institution. Sometimes, you may just be awarded elective credit for alternative learning, but either way, you are saving time and money!

Related posts:

1. CLEP exams:  How I earned 12 credit hours in one day
2. Life experience and online learning
3. Illustrative example of how online learning credits may be awarded
4. Life experience degrees