Taking Clep Tests on Active Duty?

[MA2]

Alex,
If you want a rude awakening when you go to infantry training and OSUT, go ahead and call your drill instructor "Sarge", and see what happens.

Haha I was waiting for that.

About the CLEP exams... I just walk in and take them on my off days. There's quite a few bases within 30-40 minutes of where I'm stationed, so I can take them anytime before 1330 on Wednesday and Friday or 0830/1030 on Thursday.

I've taken 18 so far, most in the last 4 months or so, on the Navy's dime.

Once you check in to your unit and get processed and settled in, go to the Army College office (or whatever they call it in the Army) and ask them when they hold CLEP exams.

[MA2]

thanks master sergeant.
apologies again.

Don't forget to capitalize it! haha

[smokey2011]

even better, call your drill instructor sir over and over again, they love that!

[MA2]

I can tell you right now that you better not depend on your AARTS to cover your 15 electives. You will not come out of OSUT with that many credits. You'll get 2 maybe 3 credits tops for infantry training. You wont start filling up the AARTS until you start going to the leadership schools, combat lifesaver courses, etc. So have another plan for the electives. I tell you from my experience of my old Airborne Infantry days.

Agreed. If I were you I would focus on the gen eds and so on... take the exams you know you'll need first, rather than doing electives. You never know what can happen with the military, a year from now they might send you to 3 different schools back to back, and you could use those credits for electives instead of worrying about them now.

[SRT12]

Some ed centers like the one I am at only offer testing 0800-1200, 3 times a week and you have to give them 72hr notice. For 1 exam I had to go to a nearby college to take the exam at night cause of my schedule wouldn't allow me to go at the ed center times. I had to pay a testing fee which was like $15 though.

Start testing now if you can cause once you get to basic forget it. As a 11b your unit is prolly going to be getting ready to deploy or already so prepare for that. I deployed four months after I got to my unit and 6 weeks of it was in the field.

Also when you deploy dont plan on anything, I had no internet for over half of it. You have MWR which is a 30min time limit. Also good chance you could be at a small base which barely has a dfac let alone a testing center.

[Excelmywayup]

okay, so ill never be able to take tests?

[CLEP101]

okay, so ill never be able to take tests?

Maybe we freaked you out too much. Don't worry too much about it, you will have plenty of time once you get to your permanent duty station to take exams. When you're in OSUT, just concentrate on OSUT.
Being infantry, there will be days where you won't do anything, because you wont be in the training cycle. That will be your golden opportunity to take all the exams you want. Stop worrying about having time to take exams, you'll be Okay.

[Excelmywayup]

Okay, thanks Master Sergeant. I'm not a rookie in terms of when I will be at OSUT. That comment was pointed towards someone who said I should say yes sir like they would in the marines. My Dad is ex special forces E-8 promotable and not that it's worth any s.h.i.t at all, I am a future soldier training platoon guide. I won't be worrying about anything but what I am told to do in OSUT. I like to prepare what I will be doing ahead of time. So thanks guys!

[SRT12]

Take it one step at a time. Get through basic first I call it basic cause thats whats it going to be like the whole time. OSUT is a long basic, trust me. Then when you get to your unit drop all that platoon guide shit, thats a joke. Nobody is going to respect you, and they will call you fish and cherry. After you do a tour you'll get some respect and hopefully promoted.

[Excelmywayup]

Thanks srt12!