At the end of our homeschooling journey, I had the padawans take several CLEP tests to save time and money.
We didn't know which college they'd attend so we focused on general education exams that most schools accept. (We did confirm that their likely choices would take these.)
Tenor took the US History I, English Literature, and US History II CLEP tests.
Soprano tackled US History I, English Lit, and American Government.
I recently decided to move forward with finishing my degree, and I have just taken the American Government CLEP test.
What I didn't know until Soprano's last test was that we could have done them all for free. Cue the sad trombone: wah-wah.
Since I learned about Modern States' "Freshman Year for Free," I was able to take my first CLEP at no cost.
Here's how it works:
1. Go to Modern States and create an account.
2. Go to College Board and create an account.
3. On the College Board CLEP info page, you can search for your chosen school to see which CLEP tests they accept and what the minimum passing scores are. When you find your school, you can click on the "Find a nearby test center" button to make note of where you can take the test.
Note: Here's a list of exams ranked from easiest to hardest.
4. Pick your course of study at Modern States. I read somewhere that spending an hour a day for about 6 weeks should be enough time to finish the course.
Note: Here's an archived website with lots of extra practice exams. Scroll to the bottom of the page to access all of the listed resources.
5. When you're done with the course (all the reading, all the homework), you can submit a screenshot of your progress to Modern States to get a voucher for the CLEP test fee. (The progress bar must show 100% completion.)
6. Then, register for your exam at a nearby testing center. Here's where you can select your college of choice. Modern States will send your score directly to them. Don't forget to enter your voucher code to skip the $89 test cost!
7. Schedule your test with the testing center, pay their proctoring fee (my center charges $30), and take the test. If you pass, you've just earned 3 college credits—woo-hoo!
8. If your score is high enough, you can also get a testing center fee reimbursement from Modern States. You'll need a receipt from the testing center and a copy of your test score. Take pics of both and upload.
And that's it—a super easy process to earn college credit at no cost.
I've got 1 more to go!
