CLEP Homeschool High School College Prep Tips: Save Time & Money

Are you worried about getting your child into college? Use these college prep tips to help prepare your child!

When your kids hit high school, things change in your homeschool.

There is a shift as you move from the role of “teacher” into a supporting role. You are no longer leading but letting them take their education into their own hands.

Scary! And so much fun!

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Homeschool High School College Prep Tips: Save Time & Money (And Get Your Child Into Upper-Level Courses Faster!)

When your homeschooler hits high school, it comes with the knowledge that your homeschooling journey is wrapping up.

If your kids are thinking of college, there is the cost of both time and money involved.

One way you can save on both time and money and get your kids into upper-level courses faster is using the CLEP Exam.

What Is A CLEP Exam?

CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program. Your child takes this series of tests to show competency in a subject area.

Basically, it means the exams measure a person’s knowledge of college-level material for a specific subject.

When they pass a CLEP Exam, they earn a real college-level credit. Also called “CLEPing Out” of a course.

Please note: The College Board offers 33 CLEP exams in several subject areas. You will need to check your institution’s CLEP credit policy to determine the exams that are acceptable and how many credits you can get.

Why Take A CLEP Exam?

If your child takes a CLEP exam and passes, you can save time and money.

It saves you time because your child will be able to skip taking any of the courses they passed the CLEP exam. Passing the exam means they have earned those credits and so they can take fewer courses in college.

In fact, by “CLEPing Out” they can make more room in their schedule for upper-level courses.

It saves you money. The cost of a CLEP Exam, according to Study.com, is $85. If you add in the cost of CLEP preparation materials such as study help and prep tests, your total cost is much less than the cost of the college course of the same subject.

Ready to Take A CLEP Exam? What You Want To Do Next:

In order to successfully pass a CLEP exam, you will want to do the following:

1. Contact your college as soon as possible and find out the score required to grant a credit, the number of credit hours granted and the courses that can be bypassed. Each college has the right to set its own credit-granting policy.

This is the best way to decide on whether or not your child should take a CLEP. Research the schools they are interested in possibly attending. Depending on the school, CLEP, AP or dual credit can be preferred or accepted.

2. Choose an Exam. There are 33 CLEP Exams broken down into 5 areas. After contacting your college as mentioned above, choose which ones your child will take. Click here to find the chart on Study.com 

3. Register to take the exam. You can do this with the college board or contact a testing center. These are administered across the United States and Internationally.

4. Prepare for the Exam. This is where having the right tools for the job can relieve so much stress.

If you are like me, you’ll want the CLEP Exam study resources to be customizable for your child, help them to understand and pass the test at an affordable price.

How To Prepare for a CLEP Exam: Resource at Study.com

I first heard about Study.com from moms using it, which is the best place to hear, in my opinion, because they know how it works or doesn’t work for them.

As a working homeschool mom, I know online programs work best with my busy schedule and learning on the go. However, you always want to check a program out for yourself.

When I had to opportunity to check it out, I took it.

I was given access to Study.com for a limited time to test it out in exchange for my honest thoughts on the program.

I thought this was the best way to test and see if Study.com would work for busy working homeschool moms.

Note: Study.com gives you the opportunity to try it out 5-day free trial, which l love.

The first thing I noticed was how easy it is to find everything you are looking for. The menus are sorted by grade and subject.

After logging in, you are taken to your personalized dashboard. There is a walk-through on how to get started.

Currently, they do not have separate accounts for parents and students.

If you are planning on tracking your child’s progress through their courses, the best option is to share the login information. My kids preferred this as it was one less log-in they needed to remember.

I used the “search feature” to find out more about CLEP Study Guides.

The dashboard will also show your recent activity and the courses your children are taking. A very handy way to keep an eye on your child’s progress.

Study.com CLEP Test Prep:

Study.com’s CLEP test prep courses are designed specifically to help your child master the material on the CLEP exams.

You will note that each lesson includes:

• Short, engaging videos
• Supporting text transcripts for videos
• Quizzes
• Practice tests
• Personalized study plan

How To Set Up Your Child With Study.Com:

After your child has chosen a CLEP Study Guide, you click “Start This Course.”

Note: You can also download the apps on Google Play or iTunes and use them on your tablet or phone. We used the desktop computer as it was easier than the tablet for my kiddos. 

To take advantage of the personalized study plan all you need to do is choose your CLEP exam date. Study.com will automatically create a week-by-week schedule for you. If you need to change it, you can edit it from your dashboard.

Note the weeks listed on the left side in the image below.

This way, you can see if your child is on track or not. I love how easy it is to see how they are doing, what has been completed, and the score of quizzes or tests.

Study.com works great for all types of learners because the material is presented in several different ways at a pace that best suits each person’s individual needs.

One way is by providing the material in both videos and in transcript formats.

The videos are short, easy to understand, and to the point. They contain both audio, and animation and relate to real-life situations.

The best part about the video is your student can rewatch it over and over again if needed OR speed them up for topics they understand. To speed them up use CTRL + “+”, or click the gear.

My daughter found the videos were super helpful in breaking down the information to bite-size pieces. We know this is the best way for her to learn.

There is also a transcript available for each video. This is perfect for those who prefer to read to learn. Or, if you are like me, you like to watch then read the transcript and jot down notes. An example of a Lesson Transcript is shown below. 

As you can see, the transcripts are broken up with subheadings and clear easy text to read. You also have the option to print the transcript out, perfect for offline reviews, highlighting notable text and scribbling notes or references.

Throughout the course, there are quizzes, which is another great way to make sure your child is understanding and retaining the information.

My kids are not crazy about quizzes. Usually, a quiz will add too much stress, but my daughter said they were a great recap of what you learned.

The end-of-chapter practice exam was timed, which threw her for a loop. She wasn’t impressed until she saw how well she did.

In my opinion, this is a great way to break your child into testing if you normally do not administer tests in your Homeschool.

These exams also provide immediate feedback. You can see exactly what your child understands and what they need to focus on.

How To Take A Free CLEP Practice Test

When your child is ready you can have them take a CLEP practice test.

My son decided to start with the practice test and see where he needed to improve and focus on improving.

We really like to flip things around and make them work for us. Always do what is best for you! Even if it means starting at the end and working backwards. 

He did well and had a great list of “weakness” so he knew exactly where to zero in on.

A few things he mentioned about the practice test was how easy to read the questions were.

Also, the “stopwatch” feature didn’t bother him in the least even though I worried if it would add stress. If “timed” tests bother your child, be aware that it is there BUT it isn’t a flashing crazy timer. Just a small clock in the corner.

These practice tests will:

• Give your child confidence before taking the actual exam.
• Familiarize your child with the types of questions asked on the exam.
• Identify areas of strengths and weakness so you know what to focus on

Study.com offers 30 practice tests to get your child ready for the exam. You can check out the whole list here. 

Who Should Take CLEP Exams?

If your child is college bound CLEP should definitely be on your radar for 3 reasons:

1. Passing means your child will receive college credit for the same course. These exams may allow your child to skip prerequisite courses and make room for more advanced subjects earlier.

2. CLEP saves time and money. CLEP exams are under $100, significantly less expensive than college courses. CLEPing out can significantly reduce the amount time it takes to earn a degree.

3. CLEP exams were designed for independent learners. Because your child has been homeschooled they likely have a lot of experience with being self-motivated and following their interests. CLEP might be a great way to put all that training to good use.

However, you will want to make sure you do your research as outlined above first!

Study.com CLEP Scholarship:

The CLEP exams are organized and managed by the College Board, and registering for an exam does incur an $85 fee (not associated with Study.com).

Study.com is currently offering a CLEP scholarship, open to students who are planning on taking a CLEP exam by 4/1/2019, to help cover the costs of CLEP examinations and make this credit more accessible.

After the application deadline (4/1/2018) they will select three winners (2 x $250 winners, 1 x $500 winner)

Read all the details here: Study.com CLEP Scholarship: Application Form & Information

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The Study.com CLEP prep is a great homeschool resource for busy moms because everything is so easy to find and see.

Once we picked out our course of study it was a matter of the child taking the time to do the work each week. I didn’t have to be right there. The course could be completed while I was working and checked at a later time.

Did you know?

Study.com has a lot of amazing resources to meet the needs of students of all types. They offer:

• Comprehensive study courses to help students of all levels (K – College) in a variety of subjects to supplement and reinforce their primary education.
• Over 100 college level courses that are recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS)
• Test preparation resources for hundreds of exams, from the SAT to CLEP, to professional licensure exams
• And much more!

Be sure to follow Study.com on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Youtube for up to date information and resources!

Take care, 

Jen

PS. If the CLEP Exam sounds perfect for your child don’t forget to check out DSST Exams. READ: Homeschooling High School? What You Need To Know About The DSST Exam to find out if the DSST Exam is right for your child.

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