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In Military/Veteran

Top 5 Things to Know About DSST and CLEP Exams and Full List of Exams Offered

By 6 Mins Read

While high school students across the country gear up to take their AP tests to hopefully earn college credit, two lesser known avenues for earning college credit by exam are CLEP and DSST tests. There are 33 CLEP exams and 37 DSST exams available for students to earn college credit without taking the college course. However, there are a few things to know before diving into these tests to maximize your outcome and understand their intent.

1. They save you both time and money

Each CLEP and DSST test will cost you $85 to sit for the exam. While there may be additional administrative fees at the testing site, and you may purchase study materials, this is far less than $900 – the cost of the average college course.

In addition to the financial savings, passing a CLEP or DSST exam will save you the time of sitting in a class and re-learning information you’ve already acquired.

“Instead of having them take a class that they feel like they’ve already had, a CLEP test is a way for them to get that credit without so much time and money,” said Kyle Jarman, Director of the CLEP Testing Center at Cameron University.

While it varies depending on each student and their familiarity with the material, Peterson’s recommends you spend at least six weeks preparing for a test, the test itself being an hour and a half to two hours. Again, the time you will spend studying for the test and taking the test will likely be much less than the minimum Carnegie unit of 144 hours for a three-credit class.

2. Check which course requirements your test will fulfill

There are over 2,900 colleges and universities that accept CLEP exam credit and 1,900 colleges and universities that accept DSST exam credit. But, these schools are only required to apply these as general education credits. This means that your credits may not count towards your major, minor, or other specific course requirements.

Of course, the first step would be to make sure that your college accepts any CLEP or DSST exams. Then, look into your school’s policies on credit by exam before assuming your CLEP or DSST exam credit will fulfill a certain major, minor, or university requirement. There may be limits on how many CLEP or DSST tests can apply to your course credits or institutions may require prerequisite classes be taken at the university. Talk to an academic advisor or guidance counselor about which tests you want to take and if they will apply to certain course requirements.

3. You should take exams for subjects in which you have pre-existing knowledge

The idea behind CLEP and DSST exams is that students who already have extensive knowledge in a subject do not have to waste time re-learning material. So, choosing a subject or subjects that you are already familiar with will allow you to simply review the material and therefore prove to a college that you are already proficient in it and taking the class is not necessary.

Say you took advanced biology classes in high school and had a particular passion for the subject, maybe even participating in a related club on campus. You may be a good candidate for the biology CLEP test. Or, perhaps you have worked in business for several years and are now deciding to go back to school to earn your associate’s or bachelor’s degree. There are several business-related CLEP and DSST tests for which you may have experience-based information. Look over the topics of tests you’re interested in taking to see if they will be applicable to your knowledge base.

4. Anyone can take CLEP and DSST exams

While DSST exams were traditionally taken by military members who wanted to earn their degree, they are now open to anyone who wants to receive college credit. Both tests also carry the misconception that they are only for adult learners, as high school students are more likely to earn credit through AP tests. Again, both CLEP and DSST tests are open to anyone who wants to take them – there is no minimum age. While they cater more to adult learners due to the independent study aspect, a current high school or college student may also take CLEP and DSST exams. In fact, many homeschooling students take advantage of CLEP and DSST credits.

5. If you do not pass the exam, you have to wait one to three months before retaking the test

Keep in mind the timeline for re-taking exams, as you will have to wait 30 days before retaking a DSST test and three months before retaking a CLEP test. This may be problematic to your academic schedule, and you will have to spend the time studying for the test again.

To avoid running into this problem, the most obvious thing to do is to pass the test the first time by studying proficiently. Create a study plan and stick to it, taking practice tests before the actual test to make sure you are prepared.

CLEP and DSST exams are extremely useful tools for anyone pursuing an undergraduate degree. They can save you time and money as you will not have to retake classes that you already have sufficient knowledge in. However, there are some things to keep in mind in terms of timing and what credits the tests can apply to at your college or university. Browse the CLEP and DSST exam options below to see which tests may be a good fit for you.

Available CLEP exams:

Available DSST exams:

See also: Everything You Need to Know About CLEP Tests

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