Easy CLEPS - My thoughts

[snofy]

I've taken a few CLEPs in the last few weeks and this forum has been a great help. Will like to share my experience, especially to those who will like to know which are the easier CLEPS.

English Composition without Essay

I selected this CLEP because most people were saying that this is one of the easiest ones and doesn't require much prep time. I studied the day before the exam, using mainly InstantCert, Peterson's and the official study guide. After going thru IC, I started with the official guide which was very easy. When I moved on to Peterson's, I was in a panic because the test was much harder than the study guide and it was already close to midnite after my first Peterson's test. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that nite because of the final cramming and worrries.

The actual exam was much easier than Peterson's and I was able to answer most of the questions with ease. However, I only scored a 64, which was lower than I thought I would get. IC helped a lot by pointing out the grammatical areas to watch out for. Overall, this is quite an easy CLEP but definitely go in prepared at least with IC and one or two sample tests.

[snofy]

Analyzing & Interpreting Literature

This is another one that should be "easy" but was actually very hard for me. I studied for 2-3 days using mainly REA and the official study guide. During the exam, there were quite a lot of questions that I couldn't answer and ended up guessing. It was so bad that I couldn't wait for it to end. Ironically, I got a 65 which is higher than English Comp, a test that I felt that I've done pretty well. I have a feeling that the grading curve for A&I Lit is lower than English Comp and therefore, the test might be harder but at the same time, easier to pass.

Overall, there's really nothing much one can study for this CLEP. However, definitely do a few practice exams, get familiarize with literature terms and if possible, google for a list of famous writers and read up on their famous works.

[snofy]

Introductory Psychology

This CLEP requires more study time than the first two, took me quite a few days of preparation time. Since I have no background on Psychology at all, I bought a Psychology textbook from Goodwill to supplement my reading. The textbook turned out to be very helpful because not only it provides the elaboration on the concepts introduced by IC, the materials also show up in my subsequent CLEPs.

It took me less than an hour to finish the exam and I got a 74 so I'll say this is definitely an easy CLEP.

[snofy]

Introductory Sociology
Social Sciences & History
Human Growth & Development


These 3 CLEPS have the most overlap with Intro Pscyhology. Sociology was very easy and I only studied for a day or two - again IC and Peterson's. Finished the exam in an hour and got a 70 which was not bad for the level of efforts required.

Social Sciences was a little difficult for me because it's mostly history with some overlaps from Psychology and Sociology and then a little bit of everything. Took me a few days to study the history parts using IC and Wikipedia and the rest was covered by practicing Peterson's tests. The actual exam was more difficult than Psychology and Sociology, took me the whole 1.5 hours and I scored a 69.

I'm taking HG&D next week. Hopefully I'll pass; it'll be my last if I do