A higher education is commonly viewed as an investment into your future. Invest your time and money into college, and your return is a degree and hopefully a well-paying job. What if you could get the same return for a smaller investment of both time and money? Most would likely be interested, and the good news is that there is a way. The bad news is you might not have heard of it. Standardized exams, also known as testing out and credit by examination, is the best kept secret in education. Simply put, it’s a faster, more affordable way to earn college credit by passing one standardized exam per course. This is the solution for many who want to earn their college degree but face obstacles such as time to attend class, the cost of typical college expenses such as tuition, transportation to and from school, or other restraints such as family and work responsibilities.
The most well know credit by exam programs are CLEP, DSST, and ECE. These programs are designed for one purpose – for you to take an exam to measure your level of knowledge in a specific area, and when you pass one, you earn college credit. By simply registering online and paying the $85 testing fee, when you pass the exam you earn 3 to 6 college credits that you can transfer into any one of 3,800 schools across the country. Most colleges accept 24 credits or 8 classes through credit by exam. If you take standardized exams for 8 courses you can save almost $7,000.
Free course outlines, typically a few pages, are available from DSST and CLEP to give you a broad overview of what is covered on the standardized exam. CLEP also offers an Examination Guide for $10 that gives about 75 practice questions. With this guide, you will need to do the research, purchase the textbooks, take notes, and organize all the information. It takes a very special, organized type of individual to be successful with the outlines and/or guides. If you are that type of person, and you have a lot of free time on your hands, then you should take this route because the materials are essentially free and you can save money.
However, when it comes to your education, sometimes “you get what you pay for” and if the free outlines/guides leave you feeling unprepared for the exam, there are other in-depth courses and full exam preparation options available. iStudySmart.com is officially endorsed by DSST and recognized for excellent exam preparation and study materials. For those looking to test out of just one college course they are missing, choosing the single-course option is the best idea. However, iStudySmart.com also offers long-term options for learners that want to take more than one course. You can join iStudySmart.com’s SmartClub and choose between 2 budget-friendly options that fit your education needs.
• 1 year access to 14 online Traditional Courses for $740 or
• 2 year access to unlimited online Traditional courses for $990
The best part is through August you can save $120 on either one when you use MWE525E at checkout. Start testing out today! Visit www.iStudySmart.com for more details or click here for details on SmartClubs