I've just read about how you can test out pretty much completly to get an associates or bachelors from the "big 3" schools. But I'm confused on a few things. 1. Do I just have to pass all the required cleps that make up a certain degree? 2. Can I take the cleps anywhere? Like my local college, then apply them towards thomas eddison college ect.?? 3. How expensive is this whole process? Thanks for any help.
Yes. Why would you have to pass CLEPS exams that aren't equivalent to courses that aren't required by the degree? Or am I misunderstanding your question? Are you asking, instead, whether CLEP exams, alone, will do it? A little guidance, please. Anywhere the CLEP exams are offered... yes. I mean... you couldn't take them at the grocery store, if that's what you're asking. (Just messin' with ya'.) I think you're asking if you can take a CLEP exam at your local community college (if same is an authorized CLEP exam center); and without being a student at said local community college, and then have said exam count toward a degree at a completely different institution. And the answer is, "yes." You can take them anywhere and have them count toward a degree elsewhere. At the time you take the exam, you can even specify where you'd like the results sent, if you want. About fifty bucks per exam, give or take -- about one-third to one-tenth or sometimes even one-twentieth of the cost of tuition and books for the course to which the CLEP exam is equivalent. Of course, you'd probably still need to buy books -- especially the appropriate CLEP study guide(s) -- in order to pass a CLEP exam. Including the cost of the exam, plus books, the cost could be as much as $100 per exam, I suppose... which is still typically from only around two-thirds to maybe one-tenth the cost of taking the course to which the CLEP exam is equivalent, all things considered. You really need to go to this web site, and pretty much devour everything about CLEP that's on it. That will help you alot with your questions.
In relation to question 1, yeah I was asking if just passing certain cleps alone would equal the degree I was going for. In relatioin to question 2, from your link to the clep site, my local college is a clep test center. Does this mean they should be able to offer me pretty much any clep I'd need? In relation to question 3, I was also curious what costs would be involved with the college you are getting the degree?
I'm also having trouble figuring which clep tests I need to fill the requirements for a degree at thomas eddison college
CLEP exams are excellent for lower-division "general education" credits. You can CLEP-out, so to speak, of nearly all of them, if you want. It just depends on the college/university. Of the 60 hours of a 120-hour degree's lower-division coursework, about 30 to maybe 45 or sometimes even 50 or so hours of it is "general education" coursework. If said courswork has equivalent CLEP exams, then, yes, theoretically you could. But the college/university may have limits on the amount of CLEP exams they'll accept. Or they may not be willing to accept certain CLEP exams, but will accept others. Excelsior, for example, will not accept the CLEP English Comp I & II exams; and requires that you either take its own English Comp courses, or take Excelsior's own Excelsior-specific English Comp exams. CLEP exams can also allow one to test-out of certain upper-division coursework as well. Again, it just depends if the degree you seek contains courses that are equivalent to the CLEP exams... which is strictly up to the college/university in question. But, again -- and this is important -- the college may simply not allow you to earn your entire degree via CLEP. The "big-three," maybe. But most others, not. Thirty hours or so of CLEP exams (out of the total 120 hours of a bachelors degree) is about all most colleges will allow... sometimes more, often less. CLEP is offered as either a written exam, or as a computer-based exam. I believe written exam centers may pick and choose what exams they will offer. But I believe (and the operative word, here, is "believe") that CLEP exam centers that use the computer-based method must offer all CLEP exams. But I don't know, for sure, about that one. Perhaps someone else can chime-in here. Many (most, actually) colleges consider CLEP as "transfer credit" and, therefore, charge nothing. Others charge a flat fee either for all CLEP credits, or per-course, to credit a CLEP exam (or other transfer credit) toward a given course. When they do so, it's usually forty or fifty bucks or thereabouts. Just depends on the institution.
Don't ask here. Ask Thomas Edison College. They have a CLEP administrator there. Find out who s/he is and call him/her on the phone. Also, ask for written materials which spell it out. This is true about most colleges/universities. Sometimes they also show you on their web site. Let me show you some excellent example of that, from the web site of Southwestern College of Winfield Kansas: To see a list of the regular courses at Southwestern that can be CLEPped-out of, click here. To see how CLEP works, just generally, at Southwestern, click here. There is also another kind of testing: DANTES (DSST) To see a list of the regular courses at Southwestern that can be DSSTed-out of, click here. To see how DSST works, just generally, at Southwestern, click here. To see how it can all factor-in to a finished degree at Southwestern, click here, and here, and here. Other colleges/universities should be so straightforward with how it all works, eh?
Thanks so much, I have an idea on where to go from here now, and have lots of homework to do on this.
You should look at TESC's publications here: http://www.tesc.edu/catalog/collegecatalog.php Look up the degree program you want in the prospectus or program planning handbook and look up the required course equivalents in the TECEP, CLEP, and DSST sections of the college catalog, starting around page 100 or so. You probably won't be able to do an entire degree through CLEP, because those are lower level credits. I mostly used CLEP to fulfill basic requirements, free electives, and general education and liberal arts sections. I used DSST for higher level courses, and TECEP for the highest level area of concentration courses.
For DSST, there are fact sheets here: http://www.getcollegecredit.com/04learners_a.html For TECEP, here: http://www.tesc.edu/students/tecep/teceplist.php I read the sheets for the tests I want to take, purchase one of the recommended textbooks, read it once slowly, then read it again faster while taking notes. I then carry my notes around and study from that exclusively. With this method, I started with 6 credits and got two baccalaureate degrees from TESC in two years - BA Computer Science, and BS Business Administration. I've taken about 11 CLEPs, 5 DSSTs, and 11 TECEPs, and I've never failed one.
wow, that's awesome. Where do you take the TECEPs and DSSTs? What sort of costs are involved besides buying the material, and taking the tests?
http://www.getcollegecredit.com tells you where you can take the DSST's. http://www.tesc.edu you sign up for the test but you have to get your own approved proctor. HTH
If you happen to enroll at TESC, non-NJ resident tuition is about $2000 per year. Their fees are here: http://www.tesc.edu/prospective/undergraduate/tuition.php TECEP costs $70 per credit, so that's $210 per exam. CLEP and DSST are cheaper. I took CLEP and DSST exams at a local community college. They charged me $25 per exam to administer the test to me. I usually registered with the community college about a month before the desired test date, mailing them a registration form and a check for $50, since I usually took two exams each time I went. With CLEP, I could enter my credit card number into the computer where I was taking the exam, and pay that way. So I would drive down to the local community college on a Saturday morning, take the exams, get my score report and leave. DSSTs were paper tests, so they were a little different, but the same community college also administered them. TECEPs are more specialized, and are not offered by any local community colleges. I asked a public librarian to proctor for me, and instructed TESC to send their exams to the library. I would then take the exams in a quiet reading room. If you don't have that many college credits, a good tactic might be to take all the CLEP exams you think you need first, then enroll at TESC and transfer the CLEP credits. Delaying enrollment until you actually need their services could save you tuition.
