CLEP versus other Options

[DonB]

Hi Folks,

I don't know if this has come up before... (maybe even more than once).  


I have taken two DSST tests and passed. I have five more CLEP tests that I'm planning on.  They are:

Micro
Macro
Financial Accounting
Business Law
Intro to Marketing

My question is, all but one of these are offered through straighterline and would transfer to my school.  I have to prep anyway which normally includes buying a book, and spending 25+ hours getting ready and then it's a one shot, hoping i'm prepared enough.

i'm reading that people are routinely finishing the S/L courses in a week or less. Some much less- I could be in S/L for two months and pay for four classes and still be at just under the cost of CLEP tests. (and avoid the hassle of going to a test site and risking not passing.

how realistic is finishing these classes in ~~20 hours of work each?

Anyone else have similar thoughts?

[MNomadic]

I haven't tried StraighterLine yet, but a lot of people recommend using Modern States because in addition to helping prep for the CLEP, they will also supply a free voucher which makes the test free. Most people recommend using other resources to study in addition to MS. There are free resources such as freeclepprep, YouTube channels, Wikipedia, etc and there are also some pretty cheap options that people here recommend like InstaCert and buying the REA books for cheap or used. Honestly too many resources for me to list, however I will state that my own local libraries have some of the REA books in physical copies and also in digital copies in addition to some free online practice tests. I think borrowing a book that I'll only need for a few weeks anyway is the best option.

So you could, theoretically, prep for and take those CLEPs for little to no out of pocket cost. Then, if you fail any of them, you could just do them on StraighterLine.

[Merlin]

Hi Folks,

I don't know if this has come up before... (maybe even more than once).  


I have taken two DSST tests and passed. I have five more CLEP tests that I'm planning on.  They are:

Micro
Macro
Financial Accounting
Business Law
Intro to Marketing

My question is, all but one of these are offered through straighterline and would transfer to my school.  I have to prep anyway which normally includes buying a book, and spending 25+ hours getting ready and then it's a one shot, hoping i'm prepared enough.

i'm reading that people are routinely finishing the S/L courses in a week or less. Some much less- I could be in S/L for two months and pay for four classes and still be at just under the cost of CLEP tests. (and avoid the hassle of going to a test site and risking not passing.

how realistic is finishing these classes in ~~20 hours of work each?

Anyone else have similar thoughts?

Most courses at Straighterline (or Study.com) take between 40 and 80 hours to complete for someone with no prior experience in the course. There are some exceptions of course, but the majority of people do not complete those courses in less than a week unless it is one of the easier courses and/or they are able to put a lot more than 8 hours a day into the course. I typically budget two weeks for every course and usually complete them before that, but I put in at least 4-6 hours a day into each course, and more when I can.

It is true that some of the SL open-book courses can be completed more quickly by just looking up all the answers in the text as you take each test (until you run out of time), but you generally won't learn the material that way... plus not all courses are open-book. Not to mention many of the questions are not so easy to just look up... some take a synthesis of knowledge to figure out the context. It can be faster, but you are not guaranteed a pass with this approach. However, you can retake a course as many times as you like, you just need to pay for the course again each time.

Personally, I found the CLEP & DSST tests to be easier and faster in many ways than the SL and Straighterline courses. Particularly if you use the available CLEP study guides, flashcard sites like InstantCert, and prep sites like Modern States. As MNomadic mentioned, Modern States also offers free CLEP test vouchers if you use their prep tools (which are also free). If I were you, I'd try to take as many free CLEP tests as possible before bothering with any online courses. If you fail a CLEP, you can get another voucher to try again, and if that fails, then pay to take a course at Straighterline or Study.com. If I had local CLEP testing centers available, that is what I'd be doing.

That is my perspective anyway, others will undoubtedly have their own. Good luck.

[dfrecore]

I would take CLEP for courses that you think you could pass, and SL for ones that you couldn't.

I would also do as MNomadic suggested, and use ModernStates to prep and get the vouchers, and then if you fail, take the SL courses. That would also mean that the SL courses would go faster, since you'd already studied some of the info, and had the knowledge.

[DonB]

Thanks guys,  I went through the modern states website and found all the classes.  There's language about vouchers, have many peple used them?

Don

[MNomadic]

I've received 2 vouchers so far. I'm taking the test for one of them tomorrow and the other is next week.

[quigongene]

I've used 6 vouchers so far :-)

[cookderosa]

Hi Folks,

I don't know if this has come up before... (maybe even more than once).  


I have taken two DSST tests and passed. I have five more CLEP tests that I'm planning on.  They are:

Micro
Macro
Financial Accounting
Business Law
Intro to Marketing

My question is, all but one of these are offered through straighterline and would transfer to my school.  I have to prep anyway which normally includes buying a book, and spending 25+ hours getting ready and then it's a one shot, hoping i'm prepared enough.

i'm reading that people are routinely finishing the S/L courses in a week or less. Some much less- I could be in S/L for two months and pay for four classes and still be at just under the cost of CLEP tests. (and avoid the hassle of going to a test site and risking not passing.

how realistic is finishing these classes in ~~20 hours of work each?

Anyone else have similar thoughts?

When I did my TESU degree, I used CLEP and DSST for the entirety of my gen eds- but at that time, the options were very limited. Fast forward 10 years, and my sons have preferred SL for the reasons you mentioned: the risk. We had a handful of failed CLEP exams here in our homeschool over the years, and that doesn't happen with SL (only 1 failed course out of 50+) so if you're certain that SL is going to work for your degree, it's really an easier way to earn credit.
If I were starting from scratch, I would choose this way:
have more time than money: CLEP with Modern States voucher
have more money than time: Straighterline

[DonB]

Hi Jennifer,

I loved your two line summary, thanks so much. While money is never limitless, it seems now to be more available than time.

I've struggled over this and I see both sides from the comments. The Moderns states is really cheap, yes-- but it looks like I would do as much work as with the Straighterline and then after that go take the CLEP tests and deal with the risk there and the scheduling challenges. (Regardless of who pays for it)

There is one Straighterline course that doesn't have a CLEP equivalent that I need. Thinking I'll try that one and I can blow through it in a couple of weeks then continue.

[cookderosa]

Hi Jennifer,

I loved your two line summary, thanks so much. While money is never limitless, it seems now to be more available than time.

I've struggled over this and I see both sides from the comments. The Moderns states is really cheap, yes-- but it looks like I would do as much work as with the Straighterline and then after that go take the CLEP tests and deal with the risk there and the scheduling challenges. (Regardless of who pays for it)

There is one Straighterline course that doesn't have a CLEP equivalent that I need. Thinking I'll try that one and I can blow through it in a couple of weeks then continue.

Good plan! You will have no trouble completing 2 courses inside a 1 month membership, and there is often a BOGO coupon floating around. You may want to see if you can find one before you jump in. The moment you sign up your clock starts and your course(s) are open (textbooks provided inside the course for free).