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Which is better, AP or CLEP?


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My Google searches aren't turning up much about this question.

 

Which do colleges generally have more regard for, AP or CLEP? (I'm talking about simply taking the AP exam, not enrolling in any sort of online class.)

 

I've looked at the College Board website in some detail, and I've noticed some differences between them.

 

If you happen to enroll your kid in an institutional high school at some point, his AP credit will mean he doesn't have to take that class in h.s. (this is a non-issue for us).

 

Some colleges have made moves to not accept certain CLEP exams (usually science) and seem to not be doing so with AP (probably because most students take AP classes in addition to the exams, which presumably give them hands-on lab experience). The potential colleges we'd be interested in aren't doing that, though, so there isn't a difference in that regard in our area.

 

The AP Exam is more expensive than the CLEP exam (~$100 vs. $65).

 

After comparing the sample questions for both exams, I have noticed that the CLEP exams and AP exams were definitely not written by the same board of people. For example, CLEP's questions are to the point and easy to understand, while AP asks questions in the most convoluted way possible, as if they mean to trick students by using large vocabulary or a complex sentence structure.

 

AP questions also seem to have more of a trivia aspect, while by and large, CLEP's questions gauged whether big concepts were understood rather than minutia. While at first blush AP appears to be "harder" than CLEP, if the sample exams are a true reflection of the current tests, CLEP is a better test overall in terms of gauging real knowledge.

 

So is there one test that colleges value above the other? If not, how did YOU decide whether to have your child test for, say, AP Chemistry versus CLEP Chemistry?

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There are several differences between AP and CLEP. We chose to go with AP because it is much more widely accepted - over 90% of four-year colleges and universities accept AP credit in some form, including many very well-respected colleges. CLEP tests are much less widely accepted for credit - only 2900 of the 5758 colleges in the U.S. accept CLEP tests for credit.

 

Here's a link to a college search for CLEP that will tell you which colleges accept it: http://clep.collegeboard.org/search/colleges

 

And here's a link to the same information for AP: http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/apcreditpolicy/index.jsp

 

AP is aimed at high school students and is a much bigger program, while CLEP test-takers are often college students or adults trying to complete their degrees.

 

AP tests are also much harder than CLEP. The questions really aren't that convoluted; it's not like the SAT, where the College Board is trying to trick you. Once you know the material, the questions are very straightforward. (I know a little about this, because I self-studied for the AP US Government & Politics exam last May and got a 5.)

 

In the end, we decided to go with AP because it is more widely accepted (this also means that it's easier to get materials to study with.)

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Colleges have always mentioned cc classes, AP or IB in the group sessions we've attended. None have ever mentioned Clep.

 

The only place I've ever heard Clep mentioned was on here actually.

 

But that doesn't mean I can say which one is best for you... my suggestion would be to ask an admissions counselor directly at colleges which interest you.

 

I don't consider AP tests to be tricky - just thorough. I haven't seen IB nor Clep.

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Also bear in mind that schools accepting CLEP credits do not necessarily accept all CLEP credits. For some colleges, the list of CLEP credits accepted is rather small compared to the number of tests offered.

 

Admittedly, I am leery of CLEP. A friend who transferred found herself in a position where she had to take several basic freshmen courses as an upperclassman because the university to which she transferred would not accept CLEP credits that her first college recognized.

 

Now if the point is to have some sort of validation of Mommy Grades, I would say that SAT subjects might do the job. If the point is to accumulate college credits as a high school student, then I would scrutinize the websites of several colleges to which your high school student might apply. Bear in mind that colleges regularly change their policies. Schools that once gave credit for a score of "3" on an AP exam may not today.

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:iagree:With the advice given by the above posters. Our two older dc have taken both CLEPs and APs. Ds attends a competitive state university, and dd attends a large non-competitive Christian university. We carefully chose the tests they took to maximize the useful credit they received.

 

Here are some additional comments:

 

- CLEP and AP can both have tricky questions. AP science, in general, covers a broader depth and breadth of material than CLEP, just as Creekland said.

- CLEP tests are more expensive than APs. CLEPs cost $77 for the exam, (paid to the College Board) plus $35 for administration (paid to the college). APs cost $87 (paid to the high school), of which $77 is paid to the CB and $10 goes to the administering school).

- CLEPs can be taken any time of the year; APs may only be taken in May. This is very useful for spreading out study (winter break from college, summer vacation, etc.).

- APs may only be taken (from what I've heard) before graduating from high school; CLEPs may usually be taken up through the next-to-last semester before graduating from college.

- Many CLEP tests can be passed without studying a textbook. You can use a study service. There are two study services for CLEPs: speedyprep.com and instantcert.com. Both cost about $20/month and may be used to study for the exam without a textbook (except for speedyprep's Spanish).

- You often cannot expect to pass an AP without study from an AP-geared textbook plus a study guide.

 

That's all I can think of right now, but I'll edit if I think of any more differences.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

Edited by MomsintheGarden
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I always thought of Clep as a test for people who didn't want to take the class and this test was an easy way of getting out of it.

 

I don't know anyone personally who has ever taken a Clep test. There is a women on my local homeschool loop who talks about them constantly as an easy way to get college credit and finish school early, blah blah. She also went to a college for "adults" only.

 

It does make you wonder why public/private schools have AP classes but no Clep class.

 

I would not make my decision based on the costs of one over the other.

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I know at least a dozen students who have gotten CLEP credit. :)

 

I believe that CLEPs were originally designed for what you would call "adult" learners, such as military personnel and others trying to get distance degrees. Many of these folks simply needed to get a degree for career advancement.

 

Since APs are generally more difficult than CLEPs, have more prestige, and are accepted at more colleges than CLEPs. Also, AP exams and their teacher training are targeted to secondary school students. It makes sense that they would be used in public and private high schools.

 

I'm sure there are some non-reputable (for-profit) and not-so-well-thought-of schools that award CLEP credit. But there are also a lot of good schools that do. Ds goes to VA Tech, and they give credit for a limited number of CLEPs. He's been able to take a few to help him graduate in 4 years with a double major. If you have a student who plans to attend an Ivy-type school, I'd have him take APs instead.

 

I would not make my decision on cost of the tests, either, since it's only $35. But I would not dismiss CLEPs completely. They may serve a purpose in your dc's plans.

 

GardenMom

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  • 3 weeks later...

I want to toss in some more comments on AP vs. CLEP. From what I can tell, most public and private high schools have some kind of GPA cut-off (or some other kind of requirment) in order for a high schooler to sign up for AP classes. I know at my daughters' school the students are not allowed to sign up for AP classes until sophomore year, so nothing for the freshmen. CLEP does not have any kind of requirement. Their exams are open to everyone of any age. We have quite a number of homeschooled students, ages 14-18, who come in to take the CLEP exams throughout the year.

 

This is strictly a benefit to the test taker at the time of testing, but you have to wait 2 months before finding out your AP exam score while those who take the computer-version CLEP exams will know their score at the completion of their exam.

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This is strictly a benefit to the test taker at the time of testing, but you have to wait 2 months before finding out your AP exam score while those who take the computer-version CLEP exams will know their score at the completion of their exam.

True, except for the English Composition CLEP and the College Composition Modular with optional essay module CLEP. A student must wait for about three weeks to receive his/her score because the essays must be sent out to be evaluated.

 

As an aside, from what I've seen, colleges seem to prefer the English Composition over the Modular exam.

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MomsintheGarden is correct about the lack of an immediate score for College Composition, but no, you do get an immediate score for College Composition Modular. I'm not sure why people are so confused over this. The ONLY exam that has a delay in scoring is College Composition due to the built-in, mandatory essay section (typed on the computer). All of the other Composition and Literature exams (College Composition Modular, American Literature, English Literature, and Analyzing & Interpreting Literature) produce an immediate score based on the multiple-choice section. If the candidate's institution requires the "optional" essay, the candidate writes this out by hand and it is sent off to the institution along with the score report. The institution can then do what they want with this requested essay. They can put their own score to it (though that score does not influence the score CLEP assigned the multiple-choice section), they can use it for placement, etc.

 

So please remember that the exam with the mandatory essay is the only one with the delay in scoring. If your institution says they want you to take College Composition without an essay, you would sign up to take College Composition Modular and just complete the required multiple-choice section. If the test center asks if you need to complete the optional essay, you would just say "no" and that would be it. This is a rather popular choice of many candidates.

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There is confusion about the English CLEPs because the CB changed them about three years ago. It's taken a little while for the study aids to catch up, and there are still older materials floating around.

 

This document

 

http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/student/testing/clep/clep-college-composition-exam-guide.pdf

 

says the College Composition Modular exam has an optional essay section that is scored by the college. The two essay questions are either provided by CLEP or the college, and the student writes his response by hand.

 

So when a student takes College Composition Modular with the optional essays, he gets an immediate score even though his essays are sent to the college for evaluation? How does that work?

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(ETA: This is out of a total 2272 4 year colleges.)

 

1618 4 year colleges accept AP to some level

1422 4 year colleges accept CLEP to some level

1580 4 year colleges accept CC credits to some level

1028 4 year colleges accept all 3 to some level

 

Which one you should do can vary depending on many factors and none of them might be of use when it comes down to crunch time of actually going to college. A college might say they accept AP or CLEP or transfer credits, but that does not mean they accept all of those or accept them for all degree plans. And you always have to get a minimum score, which varies.

 

And it doesn't have to be either or. An AP in one subject and a CLEP in another.

 

Collegeboard.org is where you need to go to find out:

 

Which colleges accept any of these exams

Which subjects they will accept tests for

What score has to be achieved to get anything from each college

What each type of test covers

What each type of test format is

 

And from that you will need to decide which ones best fit your student's interests and abilities.

 

Then you will need to look into how to best develop a course and study plan for that test.

Edited by Martha
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Admittedly, I am leery of CLEP. A friend who transferred found herself in a position where she had to take several basic freshmen courses as an upperclassman because the university to which she transferred would not accept CLEP credits that her first college recognized.

 

Schools that accept APs don't necessarily accept all APs either.

 

As for why you are leery, that has nothing to do with CLEP. The exact same thing could have happened with AP or even community college courses. The friend should have done her research better. If a student knows they are going to transfer to a certain school, the first questions to ask BEFORE a student takes a course or transfers is whether those credits will travel with them of not. She might have decided she wanted to transfer anyways for some reason, but there is really no excuse for not to have known about that BEFORE she transferred.:confused:

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Schools that accept APs don't necessarily accept all APs either.

 

As for why you are leery, that has nothing to do with CLEP. The exact same thing could have happened with AP or even community college courses. The friend should have done her research better. If a student knows they are going to transfer to a certain school, the first questions to ask BEFORE a student takes a course or transfers is whether those credits will travel with them of not. She might have decided she wanted to transfer anyways for some reason, but there is really no excuse for not to have known about that BEFORE she transferred.:confused:

 

Point well taken. Most of the colleges to which my son applied did not take CLEP so I am entering the conversation with that bias.

 

Secondly, regarding my friend and her transfer: years and geography separated her first college experience from her second. Maybe you are a better planner of life but some people do transition from one field to another and move from one state to another in the process. I don't think that her vision of herself at age 18 is congruent with the path her life followed.

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Point well taken. Most of the colleges to which my son applied did not take CLEP so I am entering the conversation with that bias.

 

Secondly, regarding my friend and her transfer: years and geography separated her first college experience from her second. Maybe you are a better planner of life but some people do transition from one field to another and move from one state to another in the process. I don't think that her vision of herself at age 18 is congruent with the path her life followed.

 

:tongue_smilie: well yeah, I can understand that, but it still had nothing to do with the CLEPs. My dh took a year and a 1/2 of courses at an expensive private university many years ago and only 2 classes will transfer to any of the universities he would be most interested in now. Does that mean the courses he took at the private university then were not good? No it doesn't. It means policies and courses and exams change all the time. Your friend could have decided to look for a school that would let them transfer or looked into other options other than redoing the courses.

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MomsintheGarden, you brought up a question regarding the scoring procedure for College Composition Modular and the thread continued on regarding AP & CLEP. It may be several years since the change in the Literature exams, but that is why CLEP came up with new exam titles. I always question candidates when they say they want to take such-and-such CLEP exam and I recognize that this exam name is no longer used.

 

Yes, the College Composition Modular offers an optional essay (which is handwritten by the tester). The essay can either be provided by the university the tester plans to send their scores to, or it can be provided by CLEP. Either way, the university "scores" it. This "score" has nothing whatsoever to do with the CLEP score the tester received after completing the multiple-choice section. CLEP makes a copy of the written essay and sends it to the university along with the official score report. At that point, it is completely up to the university what they will do with that essay.

 

The university may require the optional essay so that they can determine placement of the candidate for future courses. They may have a set "scoring" procedure which they will combine to the earned multiple-choice score to determine exactly how much credit will be awarded to the candidate. I have no idea what they do with it, but there are some universities that do require this essay. No matter what, the score results are available immediately upon completion of the multiple-choice section.

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I took CLEP tests and passed all the ones I took. I checked and my alma mater still takes CLEP tests, and is in fact a testing center. They also take AP.

 

Since I don't know that I will be able to offer an AP-worthy classes to my children, I am looking more at CLEP exams. However, I will be sure to check with the colleges we're interested in before counting on credit by CLEP.

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