Students can obtain one year of free college by taking tests and getting college credit. By taking multiple tests it is entirely possible to validate an entire year, and this is not as difficult as it might seem on the surface. For high school students AP, or Advanced Placement, tests need to be taken, and for other people of any age the test is called the CLEP, which stands for College Level Examination Program. One year of credits at many colleges can be earned by passing four of these exams. We will now discuss these programs separately.
For High School Age Students
There are 13,000 high schools around the world that offer AP classes. These classes are conducted to prepare students for AP tests, and they are typically more difficult than regular high school classes. Thus students should be prepared to work a bit harder than they normally would and should also expect more homework in these classes. There are currently AP classes in 23 areas of study, and some examples are calculus, physics, music theory, Spanish and other languages, psychology, computer science, and environmental science to name a few. These exams are fairly expensive at $86 currently, but of course this pales compared to the cost of a year at a university. The exams are administered during the first part of May every year. The average cost of a year at a private college is up to $50,000, and it is even $20,000 at state colleges and universities. And these costs keep increasing all the time. In fact due to financial problems in California, tuition increases of 30% were recently announced, and other states have also raised prices once again. In the event that your school does not offer AP classes perhaps your school administration will allow you to attend AP classes at another school. You can also purchase books in bookstores that prepare peope to take these exams. You will have to put in the time and effort to really know the material, however. This is not a strategy to be used by someone who wishes to skate by. The tests are hard but doable. A good strategy for a high school student would be to take two AP classes and two AP tests in their junior year and do the same thing in their senior year. Since one has to attend class anyway, why not have the credits of a sophmore when you start college. And you are not obligated to leave college after three years if you don’t want to. You might wish to use a year for foreign study or to work and save money to pay for the rest of your education. In that way you can leave school when your class does if you would prefer. Not every college has the same rules when it comes to accepting AP credits, and the above are only general guidelines. Be sure to check with the admissions department of the colleges you are interested in and make sure you understand their particular requirements and rules. Checking collegeboard.com/ap will give you all the info you need to get going. Other related articles can also be found at Student Debt Consolidation that are useful- for example go to 32 Ways to Cut College Costs.
For Everyone Else
The CLEP, or College Level Examination Program, is a program that offers college credits for passing examinations. 3 to 12 college credits can be earned for each test that is passed. People of all ages can take these exams, and 2,900 colleges participate in the program and offer college credits. You must find out the policies followed by your college, because each one uses a particular set of rules to determine passing scores. Up to 60 credits can be earned, and that is well over one year’s worth of credits. The cost of taking CLEP exams is currently $72US which will increas to $77US in July, 2010. There are tests for 33 subjects, and these include marketing, introduction to business law, accounting and trigonometry to mention a few. You can find what you need to know at collegeboard.com/clep.
It is also possible that some college credit can be earned by students who pass tests in high school IB, or International Baccalaureate programs. With the costs of attending college at levels that would have been unthinkable twenty years ago, using the above strategies to get one year of college for free is worthy of serious consideration.
