The Best-Kept Secret in Cheap College Credits

What if you did not have to fork out the full charge for those liberal-arts courses that have nothing to do with your major? What if you could actually get credit for what you already know? What if you could self-study, take a test, and voila! Instant (well, almost instant) college credit? And have those test results accepted at virtually every college or university in the country?

You could do that. Honest. Granted, the tests are not going to be as easy as they probably would be at the average grade-inflated college. And you may decide that it might be easier to just take some classroom course so you can b.s. your way through some essay questions or buy a term paper.

But if you really want to get the jump on your high-school classmates, or if you read for fun over the summer anyway, why not get some credit for it and save yourself a pile of tuition along the way?

You could sign up to take CLEP exams, also known as College Level Examination Program. You pay to take an exam in a specific college-level course, (such as American History, or English Literature) and if you pass, you will receive college credit for that course. You will need to submit your test results to the college of your choice to get the credits and avoid that classroom course.

I have taken the road less-traveled and done it myself. I took both American and English Literature and American and English History -- and lived to tell about it. I spent many hours reading library books when I might have goofed off on the beach or just hanging out. And I will tell you right off that these are college-level exams, not fluff pieces that you can guess your way through. They are tough and pretty comprehensive.

For example, you have to identify not only major works of literature (books and plays) but also their authors, themes or styles. You may be asked questions about the artistic or historical significance of that particular work.. Some works actually sparked riots at the time of their printing or performance, and you ought to know why that was. A few questions had me flummoxed because while I had read the book, I did not have a clue about the reaction to it at the time. Nevertheless I managed to get passing grades on all my CLEP exams.

That brings up another point about these exams. Even if you barely pass by the skin of your teeth, what might have been a "C" grade will not affect your grade point average in college. If math is your strong point, and you are majoring in accounting or in some engineering specialty, you need not worry about your lack of composition skills bringing down your average.

The cost of a CLEP exam is now $72 (I think it was about $45 dollars at the time I took the exams). This is a fraction of the cost of tuition for just one credit. It is up to your college how many credits your test will be worth, and that generally depends on how many credits it awards for the equivalent classroom course.

They offer 36 exams in assorted courses from English and American Literature, composition, foreign languages, American history, Western civilization, psychology, sociology, American government, biology, calculus, chemistry, accounting and more.

You can download an exam guide with sample questions for only $10, to get a feel for what you have to prepare for. You can then download individual study guides to help you prepare. You will get up to 90 minutes to complete each exam at a test center, so be prepared for a grueling day if you have signed up for several exams.

For all the details about the CLEP offerings and choosing exams to take, please see www.CollegeBoard.com. To find colleges in your area that accept CLEP scores, you may search by state/city or by name of a specific school at apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_clep/searchCLEPColleges.jsp.

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