CLEP in Minnesota: For Students and Families
CLEP Benefits
- Save time and money. You and your family can save money with each CLEP exam you pass; the credit you acquire through CLEP requires no tuition, fees, residence hall rent, or food expenses.
- Accelerate your education. By skipping introductory-level courses in subjects you have already mastered, you can move into more challenging and interesting advanced coursework. Research indicates that students who earn credit via CLEP are more likely to than their peers to complete a bachelor's degree in four years.
- Enhance your educational opportunities. The hours you save by taking a CLEP exam can be used to pursue either a second major or an advanced degree.
Get Started
| STEP 1 |
Read the CLEP exam descriptions and decide which exam(s) to take. CLEP exams provide an opportunity for high school students to earn college credit in subject areas for which no AP Exams are available, such as sociology, college algebra, accounting, or precalculus; or for which your high school does not yet offer an AP course. Your high school counselor can help you decide which exams to take. |
| STEP 2 |
Ask your school counselor to complete a CLEP Student Authorization Form, available on the Minnesota Department of Education website. Submit a separate signed and stamped/sealed Authorization Form to the test center for each exam you intend to take. |
| STEP 3 |
Prepare to take your exam: Use the CLEP Official Study Guide, available in your library or counseling office, to review the test specifications and answer sample test questions. You can also purchase a CLEP exam guide in the College Board store.
- Study a textbook and other resource materials used in comparable college courses. Are you familiar with most of the topics and terminology?
- Become familiar with the computer-based exam format by downloading the CLEP Sampler (.zip/9.5MB; PC only; you will need a compression utility such as WinZip).
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| STEP 4 |
Locate a test center, and call or email to schedule the exam and to discuss registration procedures, including ID requirements. The state of Minnesota will fund the $70 CLEP exam fee, but students are responsible for paying the test center administration fee (usually $15-25). Students may take funded CLEP exams from October 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. |
CLEP Facts
- All 34 CLEP exams are administered on computer, allowing for instant score reports (with the exception of English Composition with Essay exam).
- The 90-minute exams are administered at over 1,400 test centers in the United States and abroad.
- Each CLEP exam is scored on a scale of 20-80, with a recommended passing score of 50.
- CLEP exams do not relate to a specifically designed college-level course taught in high school. CLEP exams test mastery of college-level material acquired through general academic instruction, significant independent study, or extracurricular work. Typically, CLEP candidates study on their own for the examinations.
- All Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) grant credit for a CLEP score of 50 or higher. Visit the Minnesota Department of Education's website to view credit-by-exam policies for MnSCU, University of Minnesota, and MN private colleges.
