This is a great question, and I like that you’re thinking about (a) applicability of credits in a future degree (b) whether or not CLEP will work for your son’s major and (c) whether or not CLEP is the best choice. First the answer: YES! He can. But that’s not the end of the story. Parents of STEM teens need to plan slightly differently than other parents.
Anytime you’re matching up CLEP exams to specific degree requirements, it assumes your teen is set on enrolling and that the college will never alter their CLEP policy or change the composition of the engineering degree. While I don’t know how certain your teen is, I do know that colleges DO change their CLEP policies and that the composition of all degrees change (the classes needed to graduate) so EVEN IF you plan perfectly, the element of time can rip the rug out from under your plan.
So, what is the best way to pick and plan CLEP exams?
You have to shift your focus AWAY from the college and ONTO your homeschool. Instead of wondering if ABC College will accept XYZ CLEP in 4 years (impossible), let’s talk about your high school plan this year and last. Did your son study a subject that also has a matching CLEP? If so, he may have learned enough about the subject to add a little exam prep and pass the exam. This shift away from using CLEP to hit a far away target and instead just using it alongside your homeschool is really the cornerstone of what Homeschooling for College Credit teaches! In short, there is no disadvantage to stock-piling each and every CLEP credit along the way when you match them to your existing homeschool program. In fact, CLEP exams are held for 20 years, so even if your teen doesn’t use that credit today, it can sit safely tucked away in the event that it is needed later.
Which exams are likely to count later?
For STEM students, the exams most likely to count later are those you’ll use for general education. CLEP exams are lower level, which is to say they are intended to check boxes for college freshman and college sophomores. On occasion an exam allows you to test IN to a subject (to qualify for Calculus 1 by passing Precalculus) and in other situations it allows you to test OUT of a subject (passing Calculus 1). Testing OUT saves time and money, so given the opportunity, your teen should test out of every course he can. This frees up space in his schedule for other classes, meets degree requirements, and eliminates the need to pay for those classes!
A word about credit awards: Most college classes are 3 credits, but some CLEPs can be worth more if the college wants to award more. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. You can, at a minimum, expect to get 3 credits for a passing score. Extra credit is frosting on the cake!
STEM MAJOR
CLEP Recommendations
General Education
English Composition
- College Composition, 6 credits <– Best Choice
- College Composition Modular, 3 credits
Literature
- American Literature, 3 credits
- Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, 3 credits
- English Literature, 3 credits
History/Political Science/Government
- American Government, 3 credits
- History of the United States I, 3 credits
- History of the United States II, 3 credits
Behavioral Sciences
- Introductory Psychology, 3 credits
- Introductory Sociology, 3 credits
Mathematics
- Precalculus, 3 credits <– If prerequisite is needed
- Calculus, 4 credits
Electives
Any remaining CLEP from the General Education category above plus:
- French Language, 6–9 credits <– Strongly suggested*
- German Language, 6–9 credits <– Strongly suggested*
- Spanish Language, 6–9 credits <– Strongly suggested*
- Spanish Writing, 6-12 credits
- Principles of Macroeconomics, 3 credits
- Principles of Microeconomics, 3 credits
- Western Civilization I, 3 credits
- Western Civilization II, 3 credits
- Information Systems, 3 credits
*World Language exams give you the best bang for your buck, and even at colleges that are not CLEP-friendly, most will accept CLEP world languages for college credit.
Read more about how to Homeschool for College Credit with CLEP
