Attending college in these tough economic times can present unique challenges as the cost of tuition, fees, and textbooks continues to rise every year. However, the long-term gains from completing a college education greatly outweigh the short-term financial sacrifices. Motivated students can greatly stretch their tuition dollars and even complete their degrees much sooner by taking advantage of CLEP. 

The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) gives college-bound and current college students the opportunity to earn credits by achieving certain scores on proctored subject exams. The 33 available CLEP exams are administered by the College Board, and the current cost of one exam is only $77, versus hundreds that can be spent on tuition and one or more textbooks for the same semester-long course. Individual school testing centers may charge a small proctoring fee as well, though this is usually only $40 to $50. Each successfully passed CLEP test grants between 3 and 12 credits, depending on the subject.

Students who CLEP out of college subjects have much greater flexibility in both time and money than those who do not participate in CLEP. Preparing for a CLEP test does not require students to buy an expensive textbook; they can instead take advantage of many different online resources for CLEP study. College libraries are also an excellent resource for CLEP preparation; many of them have copies of the same or comparable texts that are used in the same courses. Students also do not have a fixed CLEP study timeline; they can decide when they are ready for the CLEP exam and can sign up for a CLEP exam date of their choosing.

CLEP can lend a real feeling of accomplishment to students who successfully receive a passing score. Having the self discipline to study and review the material on one's own time can really pay off with CLEP. Students who CLEP out of their general education courses report that they have a more engaging college experience because they are able to quickly move on to the courses that genuinely interest them.