Taking DANTES/DSST tests as civilian?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Gale Pedowitz, May 7, 2002.

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  1. Gale Pedowitz

    Gale Pedowitz New Member

    Greetings,

    I was hoping to sit for several of the DANTES and CLEP exams in the upcoming months. Unfortunately, scheduling such things appears to be difficult for unaffiliated civilians.

    Since testing times at military bases are much more compatible with my schedule (multiple tests a day, etc.), my first efforts were directed towards making that happen. When I phoned the Education Office at my friendly local military installation, it was explained to me that ETS had cracked down on civilian testing. With the exception of family members and students affilliated with on-base programs, base testing is apparently no longer available to civilians. [It should be noted that this installation is located in a major metropolitan area with an ETS office, even if it is fifty miles away. Policies in less populous areas may be more generous.]

    For CLEP tests, this is less of a problem; ETS offers plenty of test dates, even if they're all booked. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find a place that administers DSSTs with anything approaching the flexibility of the bases.

    It looks like the tests are offered daily at the University of Phoenix locations local to me, but I haven't been able to verify that or find out much with respect to their testing policies for non-students. The "Find a College" feature of the DSST site has lied before about "open" and "closed" institutions. Truth be told, I'd be ready to take a course there if it would make a difference in my eligibility to test.

    If anyone has any experience, pointers, comments, catcalls and/or clues to impart, the floor is yours...

    Gratefully,
    G.
     
  2. Gary Rients

    Gary Rients New Member

    I'm a cilivilian who has never served in the military, and I had absolutely no trouble scheduling and taking the DANTES MIS exam at an Air Force base in San Antonio about a month ago. They had the exam in stock (I've been told that non-military sites aren't allowed to stock exams), and were able to scan my sheet immediately after I finished and tell me that I had passed. It also cost less than taking the exam at a university, since they didn't charge any additional fees.
     

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