r/clep

Does doing clep for Calculus give you full credit for Calculus 1 in college? I heard from fellow students that you can clep calc, but my advisor told me that I can’t clep my way out of Calc 1, like a year ago? Which one is true? Does this just depend on college? I go to a community college.

When was the last time teh study guide was updated?

Just like the question above, has anyone ever learned an entirely new software system you have never touched before “in just a few hours?!”

I'm not typically one to post, but I gained a lot from other people's insight, so I hope maybe I can help.

My exams counted for a total of 30 credits. Below I summarized each one, what my initial comprehension level in the subject was, what I did to study, how long I studied for, how the exam went, and my score. If you have questions, I will do my best to answer them.

For ALL of them I purchased their corresponding study guides with practice questions from College Board. I found that even getting 50% of those right meant I would be fine. AS LONG as I reviewed after.

1.) Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - mainly covers poetry, short stories, etc.

- I am very good at english. It's not hard for me to break down text quickly and figure out the answer. My comprehension has always been pretty good with minimal effort.

- I used modern states and skimmed only the video transcripts to brush up on the terms. Took the final exam, got an 89, and didn't study any more than that. Total study time: 2 hrs

- During the exam, I felt good about my answers, but I did use every second. The material is dense; there really is a lot of reading. Definitely reading the question first and search the text. Learn how not to be misled by those "this passage evokes a sense of: 'excitement and anticipation' or 'anxiety and urgency'" questions. They can get confusing. Tear down the poem or text to what it is at its most plain & boring. Remove the fluff and that's where the answers are.

- Score: 68

2.) Natural Sciences - Covers broadly physics, environment, chem, bio, astronomy, geology. Basically everything ever.

- I am not strong in science. I have good memorization skills but the various equations and processes involved are confusing for me. Science doesn't have just one vibe to it and you have to be good at multiple things at once to comprehend it well, which, with nothing but love & light to myself, I am not.

- I studied a lot for this exam by my standards. A couple hours a few nights each week for like 2 weeks. I went chunk by chunk back into each topic, spending the most time on chem and bio. Environmental science is so boring but it was good to study quite a bit.

- The exam was hard, I thought. It was just so broad. One minute you're on plate tectonics, the next you are on valence electrons. I remember wishing that I practiced more of the chemical equations.

- Score: 57

3.) History of United States I - Covers everything from the pilgrims to 1877

- I am good at memorizing facts, however, I have almost no interest in the history of our government and the colonists and that does add a layer of complexity when committing those things to memory

- I studied on and off for a week after work for this. I memorized the presidents up to 1877, and then did some massive quizlet until I could answer all 450 terms on it perfectly. The modern states lectures are SO bad. Don't use them for this.

- During the exam I remember wishing I had a more comprehensive understanding of supreme court cases, anything involving dividing up territories, and more knowledge on the antebellum south.

- Score: 55

4.) Introductory Sociology

- I have never studies Sociology before, so this was all new to me. But again, I am good at memorization and I think I have some pretty good pattern recognition. If you've got that, you're fine.

- I studied for maybe a day for this. Memorized a quizlet. Learned the named of notable sociologists and what their theories and outlooks were.

- Most of this exam felt like basic logic to me. Some things you did have to study to know, but a LOT of it I think anybody with good critical thinking could get right. I wonder if I could've passed without studying honestly. And that's not cause I think I'M special, it's cause I think the exam is NOT.

- Score: 67

5.) Western Civilization I

- Like I said, I'm good at facts, can't be bothered about political structures in societies that don't exist anymore.

- I studied for a week for this. It covers soooo much time and a lot of concepts. I used modern states, crash course, and quizlet. The night before, I did NOT feel confident about the exam at all. There were just so many conflicts and concepts to grasp.

- During the exam, I thought I failed. I was unsure about a lot of my answers. But I would give my best shot, go with my gut, and not turn back. Trucked through. Hit complete.

- Score: 59

6.) English Literature - Covers basically every poem and poet ever. Not just in England, either, they throw in Americans!

- I had the baseline of being good at analyzing, so I knew I didn't need to worry about that. But I had to LOCK in and learn a lot of poets and authors, a lot of literary ages, etc. I used modern states just enough to get the voucher. Quizlet, lectures on youtube, and then had chatgpt quiz me on recognizing works by different authors and poets. This helped SO much. You'll want to know Yeats. Milton, Blake, Whitman, Eliot... I don't know why I'm listing them, it is literally everyone ever.

- The exam was not so bad. I took it right after Western Civilization. I felt like I had plenty of gas to complete it and finished it with about a half hour to spare.

- Score: 62

7.) Humanities - The test is on everything, ever, and that isn't an exaggeration.

- I had the advantage of taking 6 CLEPs prior to this one. So, if you are taking multiple, take this one last. It was essentially a conglomeration of everything I took, plus about 70 insane questions you'd never guess. I have a good baseline knowledge of art and music theory. That helped immensely.

- I studied for a week. One day 1, and listened to all the modern states lectures and took the exam and got a 98. Then I studied all week. I took the first REA exam and got a 47. Studied, retook it, and got a 100. Took the second REA and got like a 55 or something. Studied, retook it, and got a 100. I focused hard on ballet, theater, and composers, since I didn't know those super well.

- The exam was dumbfounding. Some of those questions were so insane I don't know how they think any civilian would ever know the answer to them. But I basically just gaslit myself into believing I was right the whole time and I think that actually helped me make better choices. I would look at the ballet questions and be like "hmmmmmm yeah of course I always put my feet in the 4th position, yes." I don't know, dude, it was crazy.

- Score: 58

8.) College Mathematics - Basic algebra, financial math, probability, subsets, logic

- I am extremely bad at math. Never even got as far as Precalc in high school. I struggle with even the most basic algebraic concepts and simple order of operations.

- I studied for two weeks. Used all the modern states lectures. Took REA practice exams. Had AI feed me practice problems. Forced my poor best friend to tutor almost every day for those two weeks. The day before I felt really good taking it but scored a 47 on the REA practice exam and so I figured it would be a tossup.

- The test did not feel hard, granted, I studied a lot because I knew this was my weakest subject. I marked about 10 questions and then finished with 15 minutes to go back to those and ended up using every second. I knew that anything could happen because I am so bad at math that sometimes I think I got a 100 and will get a 33. But I felt good.

- Score: 60 ( I am really proud of this one)

I hope some of this helps. You can do it. People say things are hard, and they can be. But you can do hard things and tests are as scary as you let them be. Good luck!

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!

I followed a lot of tips from this subreddit, so thank you all!!

I only really studied for about 3 days. If I had to guess, I’d say I put in around 25 hours total.

I found that the Petersons practice test was the most helpful for me. Actually answering multiple choice questions is the best way for me personally to study. I did look over the quizlet flash cards, but those weren’t the best for me, especially the 300+ flash card deck.

I wish I would’ve found Free CLEP Prep earlier! Those questions on their practice test are definitely more difficult than what you’ll see on the actual CLEP exam, but I think that helps really drive in the concepts that need to be known.

Good luck yall!! I thought for sure I’d be scoring in the low 50s, so very pleased with a 63.

Hello! I have a question for those who have taken the CLEP online, I wanted to ask if an 8GB laptop would be enough or would it be too laggy? Thank you!

Hello! I'm planning on taking some of these tests over the summer. I have taken AP exams before and like to use physical practice books and lots of practice questions to study. What are the most trusted review books? Where can I find lots of practice questions? I've heard that the content on these tests can be very broad, so I definately want to prepare myself with lots of practice.

I’m looking into some colleges and thinking about doing college comp with CLEP on the website for the college and the equivalent classes it says under CLEP comp.

”English 1310, English 1410” or something like that.

Will the CLEP exam only cover one or both?

Has anyone used CLEP High School credit? I’m in Florida and I know that it required High Schools to grant credit for CLEPS. I wanted to know if anyone has any experience getting these credits in their high school transcript, what courses the credit fulfilled and if it also fulfilled any graduation requirements. Thank you for any information you can provide!

Hi there, I'm 45, doing Bio and English Comp CLEP.

How do you determine grade % vs. points? Do the results tell you both? Thanks!

Hello! Im currently a high school senior planning on attending OU in the fall for engineering. I am taking my AP Calc BC exam tomorrow and have no hope. I’ve heard about clep on instagram and I know I can do it for calc 1 credit at OU. How would you go about this? Is a clep test similar to an AP test? Is it easy to take during the summer? Thank you in advance!

Hi friends! This Reddit was absolutely instrumental in me passing the biology Clep to be able to earn my degree (Which I did!). I wanted to share how I studied and anything I used. I spent about 10 days studying with quite a bit of burnout at the end, but I still passed with a 61. I was walking in with almost zero prior knowledge beyond some middle school biology so I was pretty nervous.

Things about this CLEP - There is a lot of information to cover, so focus less on total mastery and more on a broad overview of knowledge. Do your research! Similar topics show up a lot on everyone's tests so if you want to go deep pick and choose the topics to focus your energy on. The questions on the exam are less of a test of memorization and more about your ability to take what you learned and connect different topics.

Take as many practice exams as you can. I loved FreeClepPrep.com cause the test gave me a good idea on what topics I was lacking on and what needed review.

I cannot learn by textbook and reading and honestly need to have an enthusiastic teacher to learn so ModernStates wasn't my friend, personally, but I can see how it helps. Do the modernstates for the free voucher but do NOT use that as your basis for study.

All of my learning was done with videos on Youtube. Kahn Academy for a lot of the more detailed and deeper knowledge, and Amoeba Sisters and Crashcourse for everything else.

Genuinely the Amoeba Sisters biology playlist gives you a lot of what you need! Just go out and research more on topics you get wrong on practice exams. I watched their stroll through the playlist video the day of my test, and it was just a good reminder and review right before!

The test is hard, but if you have a good basis of general knowledge on all biology you can also make some good educated guesses throughout.

Skip over questions you don't know and come back to them, mark all the questions you're unsure about, and use good multiple choice test taking strategies.

Have a few days to to get a 60/80 on the English Lit Clep. Any detailed advice is REALLY appreciated!