Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - Taking time off from university, I love it! How can I stay this way?

dgorila1 · 02-09-2007, 11:52 PM

Tasaio,
There are several non-traditional ways to get credit for college courses without attending school. A great one is to take CLEP or DANTES testing for courses (there are dozens available). If you are great at self learning through reading and experience, you would do well with these tests. You either get a Pass or Fail. I have taken about 6 different CLEP tests instead of taking the actual classes. The test fee at the local college here is $50 per test. For the cost of 6 tests I got credit for 6 different classes for less than the cost of one class! Plus no waste of time in class.
There are also several companies that sell prep courses for most of the different CLEP tests, and they guarantee your passing if you do their book and workbook. Do a web search to look for them.
The biggest thing is to find a school that accepts allot of these types of credits. Most "traditional" colleges only allow for a few credits from these sources since they don't get money if you're not taking traditional courses from them. There are many accredited, "non-traditional" colleges that have a minimum requirement for resident class credits (classes taken through the college) and will allow the majority of credits to be from transfer credits, CLEP, DANTES, "life/work experience", and testing out of a class. I obtained my degree from Saint Leo University this way, and there are many other legit schools as well that accept these types of credits. Many times they are geared towards the military, adult learners, and others with schedules that don't allow them to attend "normal" college classes.
This is what I would suggest you check into if you still want a degree but don't want to waste time in class. I know of several people that literally completed most of their degree through these tests (active duty military can take them for free through their education office) in less than 4 years and at minimal cost. You can take as many tests a month as you can handle. Check into it. Hope this helps.

02-09-2007, 11:52 PM	#7 (permalink)
dgorila1 Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 61	Alternate ways for college credits Tasaio, There are several non-traditional ways to get credit for college courses without attending school. A great one is to take CLEP or DANTES testing for courses (there are dozens available). If you are great at self learning through reading and experience, you would do well with these tests. You either get a Pass or Fail. I have taken about 6 different CLEP tests instead of taking the actual classes. The test fee at the local college here is $50 per test. For the cost of 6 tests I got credit for 6 different classes for less than the cost of one class! Plus no waste of time in class. There are also several companies that sell prep courses for most of the different CLEP tests, and they guarantee your passing if you do their book and workbook. Do a web search to look for them. The biggest thing is to find a school that accepts allot of these types of credits. Most "traditional" colleges only allow for a few credits from these sources since they don't get money if you're not taking traditional courses from them. There are many accredited, "non-traditional" colleges that have a minimum requirement for resident class credits (classes taken through the college) and will allow the majority of credits to be from transfer credits, CLEP, DANTES, "life/work experience", and testing out of a class. I obtained my degree from Saint Leo University this way, and there are many other legit schools as well that accept these types of credits. Many times they are geared towards the military, adult learners, and others with schedules that don't allow them to attend "normal" college classes. This is what I would suggest you check into if you still want a degree but don't want to waste time in class. I know of several people that literally completed most of their degree through these tests (active duty military can take them for free through their education office) in less than 4 years and at minimal cost. You can take as many tests a month as you can handle. Check into it. Hope this helps.