(This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Study.com. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)
Did you know that your high schooler can take a test that would count as college credit if he or she passed? Did you know that a great way to save money when sending your kid to college is to go ahead and have them earn college credits so that they don't have to retake basic classes in math, history, literature, foreign language, and more?
Two ways to do this is by taking AP or CLEP exams. You may be familiar with the AP program since many high schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) classes. At the end of the school year, students can take the 3-hour test in May.
But there's also the College Level Exam Program (CLEP), which are generally considered to be a better fit for self-motivated students with strong study skills, as they will need to prepare for the material on their own. Unlike the AP Exam, CLEP is offered year-round. This means that students may take as long as they need to master their chosen field or skill set. And for these reasons, I highly recommend them for homeschool students.
Did you know that your high schooler can take a test that would count as college credit if he or she passed? Did you know that a great way to save money when sending your kid to college is to go ahead and have them earn college credits so that they don't have to retake basic classes in math, history, literature, foreign language, and more?
Two ways to do this is by taking AP or CLEP exams. You may be familiar with the AP program since many high schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) classes. At the end of the school year, students can take the 3-hour test in May.
But there's also the College Level Exam Program (CLEP), which are generally considered to be a better fit for self-motivated students with strong study skills, as they will need to prepare for the material on their own. Unlike the AP Exam, CLEP is offered year-round. This means that students may take as long as they need to master their chosen field or skill set. And for these reasons, I highly recommend them for homeschool students.
CLEP Study Guides
Today's post is for all of my readers with children in (or going into) high school. I frequently get questions about preparing high school students for college. So when Study.com approached me about sharing their CLEP Study Guides, I agreed to take a look and see if it is a good fit for MommyMaestra readers...and it definitely is!
You may or may not know that CLEP exams are prior learning assessments offered by The College Board that allow students to earn real college credit just by passing a test. Study.com's product includes comprehensive study guides and practice tests to help students prepare for these exams, earn that credit, and save money on their college education.
(Please note that College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which is not affiliated with Study.com!)
At the time of this post, Study.com has 31 CLEP Study Guides covering Business, Composition & Literature, Foreign Language, History & Social Studies, and Science & Mathematics. There are thousands of prep questions, more than 3,000 prep video lessons, and help available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
So let's take a look at the actual courses. Just for haha's I selected Spanish because I figured that would interest many of you.
There are three tabs for each course:
- Overview
- Syllabus
- Exams
The Overview section gives you a course summary and lists the actual chapters for the entire course. Each chapter contains a certain number of lessons (the number of lessons varies according to the chapter topic).
What I like best on this page, though, is the Course Progress bar that shows you how much you've accomplished and how much you have left to go. And to pick up where you left off, you can just click on the video next to the bar to resume your lessons in order.
The Syllabus section not only tells you about the course but also about the actual CLEP exam, and how you can register to take it.
And finally, under the Exams tab, you'll find practice tests for each chapter of the course, as well as a study guide and test prep for the actual CLEP. For example, in the Spanish course, there are 34 chapters that you cover, and therefore, 34 practice tests that you can take.
Once you finish, you will also receive a certificate that proves you completed the course.
One of Study.com's company goals is to help students earn the most credit possible, and their CLEP product is a great avenue to help them further that goal by helping students pass their CLEP exams so they can earn transferable college credit at a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost compared with taking a course at a traditional college or university.
As far as pricing goes, it appears that there are three subscription levels. Take a look:
You can try it out yourself with their five-day free trial. And I do encourage you to try it. But be sure to cancel your subscription if you decide it's not for you or your child.
As a homeschooler, I really like the fact that the courses are self-paced. So my kids can move as slowly or as quickly as they'd like. If my daughter has time to do 6 lessons one day, but only time to watch one lesson video the next, then it's not a problem.
My oldest child will be starting high school next year. Before we moved back to Texas, we had planned to enroll her in early college so that she would have already completed two years of college by the time she finished high school. Now that we've moved away from that opportunity, I'm exploring other options to help us get those courses completed and out of the way so that a) we can save money when it is time for her to go to college, and b) allow her to focus primarily on the courses that interest her once she gets there. Taking the CLEP tests is one way we can do that and using Study.com's CLEP Study Guides is definitely worth the time and money.
On a side note, I happened to notice that Study.com isn't just about CLEP and college prep. While looking through their courses, I found that they offered lessons for K - 12, College, and Graduate & Post Grad. I'm looking forward to exploring this more with my 6th grader. :)