So How Do I Start?

This is certainly an important question. After all, the journey of a million miles begins with a single step, so that single step is a pretty big deal! If you're new to CLEPing you may wonder if some tests are better to start with than others.

I would recommend getting your feet wet with one of the easier tests. One of my first CLEPs was Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, and boy, am I grateful! That test was a breeze, and I actually scored an 80 on it! It was a huge moral booster, and that's valuable for kick-starting enthusiasm.  


A few other fairly easy ones (in my opinion) would be Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Sociology, Social Sciences and History, and Humanities. Of course, it's all relative to your background, interests, and education. If English is your second language then the Spanish, French, or German CLEPs could be easy cheesy. History might come naturally for you, so try out College Composition. Maybe you're obsessed with technology (like my little brother) and Information Systems and Computer Applications might be just the thing to get you started.


Just look through the list of subjects and choose one that you're familiar with or interested in. It's much easier to pour yourself into studying something that you care about rather than something you're just wanting to get through.


Once you've passed your first couple of "easy" tests then it might be time for something a little more challenging and outside your comfort zone (College Algebra did that for me!). Work your way up slowly, don't burn out, and study creatively to keep your interest level high. Hold yourself accountable, work hard, and you're almost guaranteed to pass your exams with flying colors! 


                                               Happy CLEPing, my fellow non-conformists!

Do It!, a photo by jenni from the block on Flickr.

What Does CLEP Test Cost?

Let's face it--college can get pretty expensive very quickly. Most of us want a higher education, but too few can afford it. CLEP can help with that! By supplementing your degree with test credits you can catapult yourself into an education that is ridiculously short and cheap. 


The broad cost breakdown is as follows:

• $77 to the College Board
• About $25 for the testing center fee
• $15+ for used textbooks bought online

So let's say you take the CLEP Principles of Marketing. You pass it and pick up 3 credits. What is the total cost per credit?

$39

And that's assuming that you don't take those books you bought and resell them for a profit.

What about the CLEP English Literature for 6 credits? The costs are still the same. So what does the dollar per credit look like now?

$19.50

Let's take this to the extreme and assume that you take the CLEP Spanish Language test for 12 credits (you have to score fairly high to get this amount, just passing gets you 6 credit). Now the price per credit is a whopping

$9.75

Excited yet?


Perhaps you're wondering what the average cost per credit is for the run-of-the-mill college. Well, it varies greatly, but here are a few figures.

• The typical two-year student spends about $2,713 for tuition per year, which works out to about $90 per credit hour for a 60 credit degree.
• 47% of all full-time undergraduate college students attend a four-year college for $9,000 or less per year for tuition and fees. With a bachelor's degree being 120 credits that's $300 or less.
• A private four-year college might charge as much as $35,000 or more in yearly tuition and fees. That comes out to about $1,166 or more per credit.
• Just for fun, we'll look at Harvard. You can get an undergraduate degree there for over $50,000, and that totals up to an astounding $1,666 or more per credit hour.

I hope that you see how valuable this is and how it can apply to your specific goals and aspirations! How can CLEP help you stick to your budget?