Do CLEP Test Credits Count As Transfer Credits or Regular Credits for Residency Requirements?

I was considering taking some CLEP tests to get credits for all of the Gen Ed to get my degree faster…Bu, the college I’m going to apply to has a policy where 31 credits have to come from the college to count as residency, in order to get a diploma from them. Fair enough, but if I take the CLEP exams at the college, will the credit hours I get from passing the tests count as residency credits, or will they only count as transfer credits?

Also, if I get some CLEP credits from a CC, will they have to count as transfer or not?

I’ll have to answer this myself I guess: I found this online: http://admissions.gsu.edu/how-do-i-apply/transfer-students/transfer-credit/

But, it actually still varies by college, because the one I’m planning on attending only requires the last 31 semester hours to be from ‘in residence’ and their policies aren’t specific on testing out by examination, so I’ll have to call.

CLEP exams do not count for establishing residency because they can be taken anywhere, anytime. The credits earned from these exams are easily transferable as long as your school has an established CLEP policy. Each school you attend may end up taking a long look at those CLEP units and decide whether they are going to honor them or not. Does your school have a CLEP policy? For those who do grant general ed units for passing scores, there is a limit to how many they will allow.

@BuckeyeatHeart Thank you for the clear answer! Yes, they do have a policy, but I’m lucky because they allow almost 90 credit hours to transfer anyway.

Are you certain they allow 90 CLEP units to transfer in? I have never heard of a college granting such a maximum amount of CLEP units. If you look closer at that policy, I am sure it is in general for transfer credit. You need to find the limit for the CLEP unit.

@BuckeyeatHeart Yes, that’s the general transfer policy, but there’s no limit on Clep credits that I’ve been able to find. It’s a public college, so although it’s a 4 year, they actually have a Clep test center too…It’s actually weird, because so far the only colleges I’ve been able to find that offer or accept Clep tests have been public…All of the private Unis I’ve looked at state very firmly they don’t, and never will accept Clep. I guess they don’t want to lose out on money LOL

@BuckeyeatHeart Althoguh after reading the very first response on this thread, I may take my Clep at a CC too…People post such awesome advice! http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/521667-2-900-colleges-offering-clep-test-credits.html

It doesn’t matter where you take your CLEP exams – your school, another school in the area, or even in another state while visiting family. All of the scores are maintained by CLEP and sent to the school that you indicate at the time of registration. What school are you attending or planning to attend? If there is no stipulation regarding the limit of CLEP credits, I would strongly encourage you to contact the school’s Registrar to find out before taking anything.

@BuckeyeatHeart I’ll definitely be contacting them to check everything, but the school I’m thinking of attending actually has a CLEP/AP conversion chart on their site for school credits.

Why don’t you just write yourself a home school transcript saying you’ve taken any courses you want and give them that? CLEP exams? What, like an exam proves anything?

Are you sure a CLEP exam would be equivalent to a college course? I mean, you could potentially pass one without studying as much as you would for a REAL course, right? You wouldn’t be trying to circumvent the regular system, would you now? I really think that it would only count if you take them in a real, physical building - or at least through an online program. Wouldn’t you say?

But seriously, CLEP exams are good for getting credits for things. The only catch is that they are only good for 20 years.

@albert69, it does not sound as though you are even remotely familiar with the CLEP exams. They are another line of exams offered by College Board. Yes, they are equivalent to college courses, at least approximately 3000 colleges and universities say so. Are you aware that there is also a limit (I believe 20 years) for AP and SAT scores? I would suggest checking out their website to educate yourself on this program.

Making up a homeschool transcript would accomplish absolutely nothing if this student is not homeschooled. Many homeschooling families have found that their transcripts are more acceptable if their children take (and pass) the corresponding CLEP exams.

@BuckeyeatHeart He’s responding to a debate we had before LOL Still, I’m glad you’re still on here; do you know if taking ONLINE courses would satisfy the credit residency requirements of a college?

^^Your best place to ask this question would be the Registrar’s Office at your school. I feel like I have heard “no” for this particular scenario, but you can only ask.