CLEP Tests

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I have been thinking about CLEP-ping out of Physics and Biology for my degree plan. How does the CLEP process work, and what kinds of study materials are good for practicing for such a test?

when i went to school in texas one made arrangements through the school counseling office to take and pay for the tests. they are basically like comprehensive final exams. for the one i did and passed, i got the textbook normally used for the class, a copy of the course syllabus, and read it all. answering the questions at the end of the chapters (if your book has them) was of tremendous help in learning the material. if you think you can do it, it's way better to do so than have to sit through those tedious lectures for the same end result.

good luck!

Which school did you go to?

Biology may be easy for you to CLEP out of but, my God...Physic?! ! You had better be a Math genius if you want to CLEP out of
Physics. Most students find Physics difficult...even the brainiacs.

I liked Physics...everything in this world is based upon Physics...but, I sure would not take a CLEP exam. With a course like Physics, my advice is to take it as a college course, utilize your professor's assistance to master the course material for the exams, get a decent, passing grade...and then, put it all behind you.

I wouldn't bring on any unnecessary stress and anquish trying to "teach" yourself a mathematical course like Physics...that is pure torture!

I did this my first year out of high school at a university that shall not be named... they allowed me to take as many as I wanted (was on a full academic ride)... so I did. approximately 10 or so per weekend for 2 months... garnered enough credits this way to earn my BA in History... only to be informed that sorry, you can't do that. So be careful what you do.

let's just call it "guns up" and leave it at at that. it's up the road from you.

this was also about 30 years ago.

as with any college program, you need to read carefully in your catalog to see how many "test out" and transfer courses can be applied towards your major, and for any residency requirements. (many schools have a requirement that you do a certain number of classes with them, or a certain number of units that have to be taken on-campus during your senior year, etc.) if there are restrictions, you can still clep and that will allow you to take more advanced classes and apply them to the degree - in effect, you get more bang for your tuition buck that way. but, again, check with both the department and the school. it varies.

i have a friend who clep'd out of her entire freshman year of required courses in texas. she graduated in three and went straight on into grad school. my daughter AP'd out of half of her lower-division required electives (oxymoron, i know). (they don't have clep in the state in which i live now.) it's doable, but again, do check the graduation requirements and restrictions before you bother with this.

i found the physics course, the 101, that i clep'd to not be that difficult. it was the intro course. i'm no math whiz, either. in fact, i'm relatively math-impaired. the bio course was the same - but that was in the days before molecular biology (which i've since taken and which just about beat me to death). the english tests were about what you'd expect in a high school senior year honors program. your college counseling office may have copies of sample tests.

best of luck!

There is no CLEP test for physics, according to www.collegeboard.com

interesting. it was 30 years ago.... the bio i passed with no problem. if memory serves, the physics was a scraper - not exceptionally difficult, but not particularly easy. or, perhaps it was a departmental test. (?) sorry if i've misled you on your preparation. my answer does remain the same, though. (with that caveat)

you might want to check with the department in question - it could be cheaper to challenge the course "in house" than go through the CLEP process outright.

I am a little dissapointed that they don't offer a physics CLEP. If they offered both phys and bio, I could have shaved off an entire semester from my studies, and graduated in fall 2009, instead of spring 2010.

Maybe, but are you sure? My friend who graduated in 3 years? She had to take additional electives to cover some of the requireds that she clep'd out of. Not all of them, but there was a minimum number of units she had to take there at the school. She was happy in that she could fill them up with folk music and art rather than science, but she still had to do them .... in the long run, you'll miss school once you're out of it, I bet!

Best of luck to you, Tim.