Study Tips for CLEP College Math: REA, ChatGPT and Modern States
I passed the CLEP College Mathematics exam with a 69!
Some background: I graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication back in 2009 so it has been a minute since I've taken any type of math class. (I took one Statistics class my freshman year of college in 2006, and that was my most recent interaction with math.) I am NOT a math person. It's not a subject that comes naturally to me. I failed some sort of Algebra in high school - just wouldn't click.
I would say I spent a dedicated 6 weeks studying for this exam. Probably averaging around 1.5-2 hours/day. I mainly used the REA CLEP study book (https://store.rea.com/0738612480.html?srsltid=AfmBOooYx3sP\_1PteAqSukwaqdnQLN1LD899rpaddDfvVzpegUPYsG-3)**and ChatGPT**. I've never had a better tutor than Chatty, but it is not a failsafe. There were a few times when I'd challenge their answer, and they'd come back saying they were indeed wrong. So you have to stay on top of it. However, it was incredibly beneficial to expound on the topics in the REA book. Where the REA would give me a paragraph explanation and maybe two practice questions, Chatty could go on forever. If I couldn't grasp a concept, it would find other ways to explain it. SO helpful. It could also put together mock CLEP quizzes. (After taking the CLEP, I don't think they were challenging enough. But I did pass.)
I didn't use any of the Modern States curriculum, but I did use their quizzes and final exam so I could take the CLEP exam for free. Compared to the actual test, Modern States was much easier. I would not recommend using it as your only study tool or you will not be prepared.
Overall, the test was hard. There were definitely questions I felt confident on, but there were also a lot that I didn't even know vaguely how to attempt. I would say the REA practice tests were closer in difficulty than Modern States. I got a 60% and 65% on the REA tests and 80% on the Modern States test.
Definitely practice using the calculator beforehand. (https://ti84calcultor.com/ti-30-xs-calculator/)
Practice doing timed tests. I kept running out of time on the practice tests, so had to come up with a whole timing strategy going into the actual test. I'm so glad I did.
I also practiced writing out a "cheat sheet" of formulas. As soon as I got into the exam room, I immediately wrote them all out on my scratch paper to get them out of my head. I did this before I started the exam so I wouldn't waste time.
I think that's basically it. I put in a lot of study time and work, and I'm SO glad I passed. Praise the Lord!