While planning to homeschool high school I decided that earning CLEP (College Level Examination Program) credit might be on of the myriad of things I would include in our homeschool high school plan. The first article I wrote in this series answers the question, What is a CLEP Exam?  In this second part I will answer the question, Why Take a CLEP Exam?

I am sure there are more reasons for taking a CLEP Exam than I feel these are the primary answers to the question, Why Take a CLEP Exam?

1. Earn College Credit

The main purpose for the CLEP (College Level Examination Program) is to earn college credit for knowledge gained outside the college classroom. CLEP offers you the opportunity to earn qualifying scores on any of the 33 college subject examinations and accelerate your education.

If this is part of your plan then be sure to check with some of the colleges your high school student is interested in attending to see if they accept CLEP credit, and if so what their guidelines are for accepting CLEP credit.

For instance, how many over all CLEP credits you can use, and are there CLEP test (in certain subjects) that they do not accept.  According to the College Board more than 2,900 colleges and universities accept CLEP credit, so be sure to check with your top choices.

2. Save Time & Money

By taking CLEP exams you can save yourself both time and money.

Saving Time

In our case our high school aged daughter will be taking CLEP exams in the subjects she is already studying for high school (earning dual credit).  This means she will be able to skip taking those courses in college because she will have already earned those credits, thus saving her time by not having to take as many classes in college.

Saving Money

The cost to take a CLEP exam is currently $80 (there may also be a additional proctoring fee owed to the testing location).

Even if you add in the minimal cost of CLEP review materials (I will cover CLEP Study Resources in the third part of this series) your total cost is much less than the cost of the college course of the same subject.

3. Homeschool Validation

Given that we homeschool, there is always a question, either spoken or not, about the quality of education our children are receiving. By having our children take an examination like the CLEP exam it allows us to put some meat behind our claims to our children receiving a solid education at home. The CLEP is a norm referenced, nationally known exam that can offer a level of standardization to our homeschool education, as well as allow our children to earn college credit, all while saving time and money!

Do you have other reasons why you might take a CLEP exam? Please share them with us in the comments?

Interested in learning more about earning college credit through a CLEP exam?

Want to know how to schedule a CLEP exam?

Others posts in this College Credit by Exam Series:

1. What is a CLEP Exam?
2. Why Take a CLEP Exam?
3. Resources for Studying to Take a CLEP Exam
4. How to Schedule a CLEP Exam
5. What Happens When You Fail a CLEP Exam
6. The Scoop on Earning AP Credit in High School
7. Preparing for AP English Language & Composition Exam
8. Online CLEP Prep with Study.com