Use CLEPS To Save Time And Expense Of A Degree

Almost anyone who has to pay for a college degree these days is interested in finding ways to save time and money. CLEP stands for Colleg-Level Examination Program. It’s a series of 34 nationally standardized tests accepted for credit at more than 90% of US colleges and universities. Administered by the College Board (the SAT people) and offered at 1400 test centers around the country. Simply pick a test, find a study guide to help you prepare, and schedule the test at your local test center.

Cost varies, but should be less that $100 for a test, some of which will earn you as many as six college credits. A few things to remember:

1. You cannot earn credit for a topic that you have already taken a class for.

2. The national standard for passing the tests is around 51 percentile. Although some colleges require higher scores, this means that you must get just over half of the questions correct.

3. Credit will show on your transcript as credit only, with no grade, so it will not affect your GPA.

4. Always check first with your school counselor to make sure that the test you want to take will count toward your degree.

Although most colleges accept at least a few CLEPs, almost all of them limit the number of hours you can earn this way, for no good reason that I can see. Also, most college counselors will not encourage you to take CLEPs in lieu of classes, so you will need to be assertive and persistent.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Question Everything

Curiosity may be the primary ingredient for imagination innovation. It made Leonardo da Vinci the quintessential renaissance man. In his book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, Michael J. Gelb lists curiosità: “An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning” as the first of his seven Da Vincian principles. A later book, Innovate Like Edison, advises readers to “seek knowledge relentlessly.”

Albert Einstein famously said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” But he also warned, “It’s a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”

Maybe dropping out of high school allowed Les Paul to pursue his curiosity and develop the electric guitar and the recording innovations of overdubbing and multitrack recording. In the documentary, Les Paul Chasing Sound, Paul recalls that when his brother flicked a light switch the light came on. When he flicked the switch he wanted to know why the light came on. He continued his search for a sound that no one had ever made before that led to his many inventions, took him to the top of the record charts in the 40s and 50s. Remember Mockingbird Hill and Vaya Con Dios with Mary Ford? Paul’s curiosity eventually took him to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The DVD shows him being admired by musicians from Bing Crosby to Paul McCartney. An insatiable curiosity doesn’t retire at 65. At the age of 90, he won two Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played.

Gelb suggests several exercises to increase your curiosity, including make a list of 100 questions that are important to you. “Do the entire list in one sitting. Write quickly, don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or repeating the same question in different words.” Then go about finding some answers.

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