Clep Makes The College Application Process Easier, And Makes College More Affordable, Too!

By Author: Speedyprep
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Home-schooled students can benefit from taking CLEP examinations in a variety of ways. Students who learn at home are often self-disciplined, self-motivated, and closely monitored by an educated parent. These factors alone make them prime candidates for the successful completion of any one of the 34 CLEP exams administered across the United States.

More and more colleges are actively seeking out home-schooled students to apply to their programs. However, when it comes to the college-application process, home-schooled students sometimes have more hurdles to jump over than traditional high school students. Take this story from the Gainesville Sun: a home-schooled student had received independent foreign language lessons from a qualified tutor. Unfortunately, his time spent with the tutor did not meet the foreign-language requirements of the school he was applying to. Had he taken the Spanish CLEP exam, he would have had official documentation that showed he not only met the school's foreign language requirements, ...
... but was also qualified to receive school credit for his performance in the CLEP exam.

Home-schooled students, unlike public high school students, don't generally graduate with a written transcript. Unless they have already taken college-level or AP courses, there is little evidence to show that they are sufficiently ready to enter college. AP, or Advanced Placement courses, are a well-known and popular way for parents to procure verification of their child's academic success. However, AP courses come with a rigorous period of study, and the AP examination is only offered once a year. CLEP exams have a much less rigorous course of study, reward knowledge based on experience and information accrued over the years, and are offered multiple times throughout the year at various CLEP testing sites. CLEP exams are also less in cost than or comparable to AP exams. (In fact, in most states home-schooled students would need to take an AP course online, which can cost $300-$600. CLEP study resources are significantly less expensive.) Also, parents can order CLEP exams without the hassle of cajoling the local high school (which may be antagonistic toward home-schooled students) into ordering for them as they would have to when obtaining AP examinations.

A recent study showed that home-schooled students score an average of 37 points above tradition high-school students on standardized achievement tests. Students who score higher on the SAT and ACT have a greater chance of gaining more college credits from the CLEP exams they take. This essentially means that, depending on whether or not they attend a public or a private college, they could be saving from $300-$1000 for each credit transferred as a result of passing out of a course through the CLEP program.

Why don't more home-schooled students take advantage of the CLEP program? Subjects students are studying from home can easily be turned into incredibly discounted college credits as a result of CLEP testing. It is probable most are not aware of the CLEP program and the fact that it is available to anybody who wishes to take part of it. Parents who wish to help their children graduate with less debt, wish them to have the ability to take more interesting courses and have greater success at being accepted into the college of their choice, should definitely look into CLEP testing.

About US: CLEP Study guides are an essential tool to prepare for CLEP tests. There are many different types of CLEP test preparation aids. Students can use the simple step by step CLEP study guide, or the specific CLEP test study guide to practice past tests and match and compare their answers with ideal CLEP tests answers.