Question re: dual enrollment, CLEP transferrability & AP

[Kimm in WA]

DS is planning on doing dual enrollment in 11th and 12th. This coming year (10th) will be his last FT year at home and I'm trying to figure out what to do and what to omit.

 

I was planning that for math and science he'd do Chalkdust Pre-Calc. & Physics (we're doing Apologia and it looks like on this board the recommendation is to do both Apologia books in 1 year). Not sure where he'd attend after dual enrollment. He hopes to finish his AA at the CC in the 2 yrs. and then transfer to Univ. of Washington (UW).

 

I was looking on the UW website and they don't give credit for CLEP exams. My question is this: IF CC allows CLEP credits and son receives an AA wouldn't all this transfer b/c he'd completed his degree? I know this is a bit risky, as he may not finish the AA in 2 yrs. of dual enrollment and then the CLEP credits wouldn't transfer.

 

I'm trying to figure out how he can test out of some of the requirments in non-math/science courses. The CC also says they give credits for scores of 3 and above in AP exams. So, would you who have BTDT recommend this? I would have him try 1 or 2 non-math/science.

 

Isn't 15 credits "usual" for college?The first quarter of the pre-engineering AA has him taking 18:

Gen. Chem Lecture 3 cr.

" Chem Lab 2

Engl. Comp 5

Anal/Geo Calculus I 5

Humanity Elective 3

Subsequent quarters all the way through have 18 credits, except for one quarter w/ 15 credits.

 

TIA for any wisdom/advice,

 

Kimm in WA

[Jane in NC]

I cannot speak for your university but I would like to tell you of a recent incident that a friend of mine recently experienced. She had attended a SC college that accepted certain CLEP credits, but the NC university to which she transferred did not accept the CLEP credits. She had to redo those courses.

 

Remember the mantra: always ask the college.

 

Jane

[8filltheheart]

Isn't 15 credits "usual" for college?The first quarter of the pre-engineering AA has him taking 18:

Gen. Chem Lecture 3 cr.

" Chem Lab 2

Engl. Comp 5

Anal/Geo Calculus I 5

Humanity Elective 3

Kimm in WA

 

I don't know anything about 1/4 systems. I am used to full semesters. However, I am puzzled by the credits listed above. Typical college English is 3 credits, ditto with electives, etc. Maths with labs are 4, without labs 3. Sciences are 3 and labs are 1.

 

As far as your original question, I would call the university. Some universities are extremely strict in what they accept and don't. I thought about transferring at one point in time when I was in college and they would not accept any tested-out credits at the transfer university even though I had completed several semesters of work beyond the introductory course (so I would have had to repeat a class why beneath my current course load.)

[8filltheheart]

Exactly. :)

[Cheri in MN]

After researching several options, including distance ed schools, we've decided to narrow our search of universities (both brick and mortar and distance ed) to those who will accept a significant number of CLEP credits.

 

Our primary reason: finances. IMO, a school's primary reason for not accepting CLEP credits: finances. They have financial goals to meet (just as I do) and it certainly is not in their financial interest to give students a way to earn those credits without paying the school for them.

 

The State of Minnesota is encouraging all high school students to obtain at least some college credits before HS graduation. The State will even pay for up to 6 CLEP exams for every student (including homeschooled) during their 9-12th grade years.

 

While choosing a college that is CLEP-accepting will limit our choices, we've decided as a family that coming out of college with debt would be even more limiting.

 

I have to say that going into this process, this isn't the road we intended on taking. But, after two years of looking into it and reading materials from Jeff Meyers and CollegePlus, it seems the best road for our high schoolers.

 

Cheri

[Kathy in MD]

In a quarter system, full time is 16 or 17-19 hours per quarter. It ends up that a quarter system student (at least where I went to school) will complete the year with slightly more equivilent hours than a semester student.

[Kimm in WA]

Thanks, everyone, for your input. My son's 1st choice college doesn't accept CLEP, so we'll need to do the AP route. Next year he'll do an online AP class in US History and then take the test at the end of the year and possible then do the AP Gov't class over the summer.

 

Thanks again,

 

Kimm

[NancyL]

Kimm- upon looking at the info for UW (we're in WA also) I wanted to call your attention to the fact that when you go to the departmental web page for requirements, sometimes they have additional information. ie. if you use the AP to be exempt for a particular course you may still be mandated to take that course ( or the latter half) but perhaps the Honors section, etc. I know that I was reading on CS and they really had opinions about the AP. Also I think there might be more information about chemistry. It appears that even though the university may "give you credit" it may be that there might be additional input to consider. It also appears they can update these requirements whenever! Do you know what area at the UW he might be interested in? We go to the open house every year in April and many of the professors (at least in sciences) are milling around and you can talk with them informally. It's usually the last Sat. in April. Well worth the free price!

[kate in seattle]

Not sure where he'd attend after dual enrollment. He hopes to finish his AA at the CC in the 2 yrs. and then transfer to Univ. of Washington (UW).

 

I was looking on the UW website and they don't give credit for CLEP exams. My question is this: IF CC allows CLEP credits and son receives an AA wouldn't all this transfer b/c he'd completed his degree? I know this is a bit risky, as he may not finish the AA in 2 yrs. of dual enrollment and then the CLEP credits wouldn't transfer.

 

Kimm in WA

 

I have two doing Running Start right now and at Highline community College 15 - 18 credits is full time.

 

I don't understand where you are wanting to use CLEP tests? In subjects at home, outside of CC? And you would put them on a high school transcript from home. UW would not accept them but it wouldn't make a difference. Or are you talking about using CLEP tests to test out of some stuff at the CC? Then probably those credits wouldn't transfer. UW is SO picky. They give the least amount of credit for AP tests as well.

 

When I went to college, back in the dark ages, my Seven Sisters school exempted us from a whole YEAR of class. At the UW you are lucky to get 1 quarter's worth of credits, and often you need a 4 or a 5.

 

And, just so you know. If a student doesn't finish their AA at the community college, and goes on to a 4 year school, the additional classes taken at the 4 year school can fill in and complete the AA requirements. I know two students doing this, one at UW and one at Whitworth.

 

Kate in Seattle

[Samuel]

Having taken both CLEP and AP tests back in the day, I would say that while finances might be a reason for rejecting CLEP credits, the low rigor of the CLEP tests are another. For example, I passed the score CLEP recommends for a test that is supposedly equivilent to general bio. Not nonmajor bio, but gen bio. My university set a much higher score, which I just missed, and thus too the nonmajor class which was more rigorous than the CLEP. Were I on a committee which made decisions about transfer credit at a selective school, I would not accept CLEP tests. This doesn't mean that they're bad-I received something like 20 credits from CLEP tests. However, I learned quite a lot from studying for AP tests which I received 4s and 5s from. The CLEP tests require nowhere near the amount of mastery. I remember very little about biology. For me both AP tests and CC college classes are much more impressive than CLEPs.

 

Also, if you graduate with an AA, you become a transfer student in most cases. This can be good or bad- check with schools about scholarships. It does mean that most (but not all)schools won't care at all about your homeschool.

[Kimm in WA]

Kate and Samuel,

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Kate, we were considering CLEPping some classes to fulfill CC req. in non-major fields, but since DS wants to go to UW we're not. I don't want him to do AP for a science or math b/c he'll have some heavy duty math & sci. b/c he wants to start, in 11th grade when he starts Running Start, the engineering transfer degree at the CC. I did know that kids could finish off their AA at the 4-yr. school, but heard that if you don't get the AA they pick apart the transcript more and pick and choose what courses to accept & how much credit. BUT, I know that's a possibility so we'll keep that in mind.

 

Still mulling whether 1 AP class (US History) would be worth breaking up my boys doing history together (I'll have 2 8th graders as well and we've been doing Omnibus) . . .

 

Thanks again,

Kimm