CLEP and Excelsior Exams | Distance Learning Systems (DLSI)

Getting College Credit through CLEP

Earning a college credit is helpful for anyone who wishes to finish college early. CLEP is the fast track to your educational future. The College Level Examination Program is one of the examinations that students can take in order to earn college credit from 2,900 colleges that grant it. Each institution awards the credit to students who meet the college’s minimum qualifying score for that exam. Also, each institution determines the exams for which it awards the credit and the amount of credit that will be granted. Make sure to review the college’s or university’s CLEP policy to know this information.

The amount of credit you can earn from a CLEP exam can be up to 12 credits if you pass it. However, the amount of individual CLEP exam you can earn varies with each institution. There are colleges that place a limit on the total amount of credit you can earn while others may grant you exemption but no credit towards your degree.

Minimum qualifying score for earning a CLEP credit may vary from exam to exam. Most colleges publish their required scored for earning CLEP credit in their general catalog or brochure.

There are instances where colleges will not grant credit for a CLEP exam. If you have already attempted a college-level course closely aligned with the exam, some colleges will not grant credit for it. Also, some colleges will not permit you to earn CLEP credit for a course that you failed.

Before repeating a CLEP exam, be sure to wait six months. Repeating a CLEP exam of the same title earlier than six months will make the scores not accepted and test fees will be forfeited. Aside from that, colleges usually award CLEP credit only to their enrolled students.

To be sure if a CLEP credit can be earned, find out from the institution what type of credit you can receive and all other information before taking the CLEP exam.

Advantages of CLEP

CLEP is a good way to earn a college credit saving you time and money. Having a good score on the CLEP test enables you to earn college credit for any course without really needing to spend some time and cash to sign-up and finish it. It offers a superior opportunity to receive credit for things you already know, stuff you learned through on-the-job training, internships, or perhaps personal study.

One of the advantages of CLEP is that students don’t have to spend money on subjects that they don’t need. It helps you to save money by not having to pay the schooling and also the miscellaneous for the subjects that were credited by the CLEP. Students that earn college credit through CLEP exams can graduate in 3 years rather than four, or finish a whole semester early than students who take the traditional classes. That’s an additional year or semester, which gives you more opportunity to earn more courses.

You may also jump straight ahead to higher-level courses if you are able to pass through the required CLEP exams to satisfy your lower-level needs. By doing this, you will not have to spend your time re-learning material when you may be investing that very same time learning something new. You don’t have to spend an hour attending a class you already know. Using CLEP exams to obtain credit for opening courses provides you with a good amount of time to enroll in the courses you really wish to take. This advantage of CLEP exams can make your time and effort in college more meaningful.

About your CLEP Examination Scores

Taking the CLEP exam requires a lot of preparation and focus. There are some who finish and pass without any hustle or retake. However, there are those who don’t pass or score below credit minimum. It’s necessary to know how the scoring works in order to make good test taking strategies for yourself.

Most of the questions are multiple choice. These questions are reviewed and checked by the computer. The essay portions are graded by English professors from different colleges who are specifically picked by the College Board. The score you receive from the essay will be combined with your score on the multiple choice portion. It will then appear as a scaled score in the report.

You’ll notice that there are portions of the exam that are optional. Most of them are essays and are required by specific colleges. The college or university that requires the question will personally check the answers, rather than the College Board.

On the multiple choice questions, you will get one point for each correct answer. When your answer is wrong for a certain item, it will not be deducted from your total score, as well as the unanswered items. It is important to answer every item to get a chance of getting a correct answer than leaving it blank and get no chance. Your totaled scaled score will be shown on your score report. Your score will be in between 20 and 80. If you register for a CLEP exam online, you can name the college or certifying agency that you desire to receive your CLEP test scores. You don’t have to pay for your transcript request; the payment will be included in your exam fee.

Comparison between Dantes, CLEP and Excelsior Exams

If you are not sure which CLEP exams to take and how college credit for the following credit-by-examination applications, then here’s the answer. On these three assessments I obtained a high enough score that the college I was participating granted me to be present to learn about their CLEP plan and Dantes exam policies and which examination matches with what class, how many credit they take, or if they take CLEP or Dantes exam credit at all. The second way to play the gap designed by the credit examinations there would actually be a way to move forward quicker.

There are many choices to select from when it comes to substitute routes to get college credit. Credit-by-exams are assessments that allow you to confirm your knowledge in an area to college credit. It’s an excellent way to accomplish identification of college-level studying for senior students. These assessments are similar to each other somewhat, but there are some exciting technicalities as well. Most of the 33 CLEP assessments are for common knowledge sessions. For Dantes exam, there are 38 topics to choose from in higher and lower stage credit. The Upper Level assessments are more specific and can be used towards a major, and therefore can be more difficult. There are a total of 49 Excelsior College Assessments, of which 15 are medical relevant.

Both CLEP and Dantes exams are provided at local schools, which I found out by looking for exam facilities on both the CLEP and Dantes exam websites. Because each university has its own signing up procedure, I was recommended to contact the test center. While on the phone, they assisted me through the signing up procedure for both assessments and planned a test time frame for me. For the Excelsior College Examination, I planned the test on the internet via Pearson VUE. I like the point that I can check the availability on the internet, as well as the organizing versatility. All the assessments are computer-based and include entirely of multiple-choice concerns. The CLEP and Dantes tests each have 100 questions to be completed in 1.5 hours and 2 hours respectively. The Excelsior College Examination has 120 questions to be completed in 2.5 hours. I found all three assessments I took to be at the same problems stage.