Is it possible to test out of a community college class (for undergrad requirements before transfer)

College Search & Lists Community Colleges
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I have a few questions about community college.

First. I’ve heard about something called “degree by examination.” Basically, it’s this idea that you can complete a bachelors degree in a fraction of the normal time by testing out of classes. I was wondering if a milder, modified version of this existed at community colleges.

I have no idea where I’ll go to college next year. I could end up at a state school or a UC, but I’m not immediately discounting community college. If I attended community college next year, it would * not * be because of academics. I’m an A (and occasional B ) student, did well on the SAT, and have a good GPA. I would be going strictly to save money, and give myself some buffer time to further plan what I want to do with my life.

That being said, I know the stereotype that community college is a bit like high school in the sense that you get more traditional homework assignments, and have to attend class regularly because professors take roll. I also know that some of the classes you have to take can feel pretty remedial. * If I’m going to community college to complete my undergrad requirements, is it possible to test out of basic undergrad classes? * I’m very curious to learn about this option (if it’s even a possibility). Do you pay the same amount of money if you test out of a class, as opposed to taking it and attending lectures on a normal time frame? If you test out of certain classes, does this mean you can take more classes overall (as you would likely have more free time).

I have another question, if anyone is able to answer. I’m under the impression that at a UC, you pay a flat rate and can take as many classes as you can handle. At community college however, you pay money per class. I’m still pretty shaky about how the community college system works in general. If I’m attending with the intent of completing my undergrad and then transferring (and not getting a 2-year associates degree) will a majority of my time be filled with basic undergraduate requirement classes? Or will I still have time to take special interest classes on the side. If you can test out of certain basic, remedial classes, does this free you up more time to take special interest classes? And most importantly, are you barred from special interest classes if you aren’t going to a CC for a two year degree, and need those special interest classes for your degree requirement?

Here’s the best example I can think of. Let’s say I went to my local CC to complete my undergraduate requirements, with the intent of transferring to a 4-year college undeclared. There’s an Administration of Justice degree program at my local CC, and one of the required classes is a 3 unit program called “Legal Aspects of Evidence”. Even though I’m an undergrad and I’m not getting a specialized two year degree or working towards a transfer degree (just completing my undergrad requirements), would I still be able to take this class for fun, without it counting towards a future major at a four year?

Also, what’s the difference between attending a CC for a transfer major, and transferring from a CC undeclared? Sorry if this question sounds naïve - or if all of my questions sound naïve (I’m really trying to learn more about all of this).

Thanks for any help!

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No, YOU DO NOT SOUND NAIVE AT ALL!! I think your cost saving strategy is excellent. To answer your basic questions: Yes, you can test out of large number of courses/classes. It is call CLEP Exam (not sure if this is a universal term at all Community College) and is primarily a Computer Exam. You are given equivalent College credits for most courses that you CLEP out of. Below is a link to a particular Community College in Florida and the courses and credit given.

http://www.broward.edu/admissions/testing/Documents/clepcredits.pdf

Additionally, when you enter “most” Community College, you are give an entrance exam, which allows you to place out of remedial Math and English Courses. For example, if your Entrance Exam scores are above a certain cutoff, you will be placed in College Algebra. Your SAT/ACT scores also allows you to be placed in Higher Level Math and English Classes.

https://clep.collegeboard.org/california-community-college-system-endorses-clep

http://www.csun.edu/testing/college-level-examination-program-clep

It appears you are from California, which has probably the lowest Tuition of any Community Colleges in the United States, at about $46 per credit hours. So, you can complete the first two years of College at an insanely low Tuition Rate. You can further reduce the time and cost by “Clepping” out of courses.

You can also do a General Associate of Arts or Science Degree without a major and allow a certain amount of leeway in the course selection based on your AA or AS Program.

One downside to going the Community College route is the limited availability of Merit Aid available to Transfer Students (not only from Community Colleges, but also other 4-year Universities).

Yes, you can take classes that do not count towards your degree. Just watch out for excess credit clauses that most Colleges/Universities have in place these days. Will not be an issue if you only do a few Classes for “fun” or expanded learning.

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CLEP is a great way to test out of courses. Just be sure that those CLEP credits will transfer to a UC, if that’s your final destination. Just do a google search for CLEP along with the name of the university you intend to transfer to. Some of the more selective public universities will not accept any CLEP credits. You can also check the CLEP site on collegeboard.org and see what universities accept which credits. I am not sure how current that info is, which is why I suggest that you check the university site as well.

Basic, remedial classes get you no credit. Be savvy, and find out what’s on the placement test a few weeks ahead of time, and prepare for it.

There is a forum called degreeforum.net - a lot of helpful advice there about CLEP and cost saving ideas in general.

The atmosphere of a cc depends a lot on where it is located, because it largely draws from the local population. Why don’t you visit the CC (or CC’s) you are interested in and get a feel for the environment?

One thing to consider is the fact that transferring in as a junior from a CC to a four year University may be a bit of an adjustment to make. The upper level courses are a transition even for the native students at a university, and will be even more so for a student from a community college. Also, some popular programs at a university may be impacted and may not allow for transfers to get in. It is worthwhile to check this all out prior to starting out at a CC.

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@psata82 - First of all, thank you for such an informative answer! I really had no idea there was a name for what I was asking (CLEP) - I guess I’m just pretty uninformed.

You seem to be well versed on CC’s - mind if I ask you a few more questions? (it’s alright if you don’t know the answers). First off, I’m assuming if you place into a higher level math or English class, you can clep out of those courses just as you can clep out of a remedial class, yes? Or is it harder to clep out of an advanced math/English class.

I’m aware that the California tuition rates are low (which is awesome). You said you can save time * and * money by clepping out of courses. How does this work? I get saving time - but do you pay less if you clep out of a course? How much less do you pay?

You also mentioned doing a General Associate of Arts or Science Degree without a major - if I choose this route (rather than selecting a degree for transfer), will this hinder my ability to transfer in to a four year college with ease? Or does it not matter if I have a TAG agreement. Also, would this negatively impact how long it will take me to graduate in total? I’m trying to decide if it’s best to transfer in undeclared, or if you should have a major in mind.

And one last thing. You mentioned excess credit clauses. Could you give me a little more detail on this? What would you consider to be “a few” extra classes - 2 or 3, or 10+?

Once again, thanks for the great answer!

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@‌mathprof63

Thanks so much for your help! Is there any way to plan in advance how many CLEP credits I can take, without committing to a college beforehand? I’ll try to google this as soon as I can to learn more (and I’ll certainly check out the link you gave me). I’m mainly looking at UC’s and state schools in CA - would you say these schools are considered ‘selective’, in the sense that they usually don’t accept CLEP credits?

And what did you mean when you said remedial classes get no credit - could you expand on this? I highly doubt I would have to take remedial courses. But I’m just curious.

I’m planning on visiting my local CC very soon. I was initially concerned about how courses at a CC are (generally) a bit less demanding than courses at a university, and can leave you unprepared. I plan on taking on a humanities major - something related to English, business, law, politics, etc. - rather than a science or math major. Would you say the shift between upper level and lower level courses is more noticeable in STEM programs? I’m guessing that taking on a humanities major would make the transition ‘easier’, in a sense, but I’m not entirely sure. As for the issue of impacted programs, I’ll look into that too. I’m guessing you can find this information on the colleges website as well?

Thanks for all the help :slight_smile:

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The courses you CLEP out of are NOT remedial classes. Remedial classes are typically courses that are required to due to students not attaining a certain level of competency in Mathematics and English during their High School years. Again, obtaining a certain SAT/ACT Score or scores on placement exam such as PERT, CPT, etc., will allow you to bypass these remedial courses. Community Colleges do not grant College Credits for those courses and those courses typically extend the time you spend at a Community College, since you cannot advance to more rigorous courses until you complete these remedial courses. BTW, do they do give College Placement Test (College Ready Test) in California High Schools?

If you CLEP out of a certain amount of courses and get credit for these courses that count towards your AA/AS degree, then you will complete your degree much faster (time) and at a lower overall cost. So, if you CLEP out of five Courses (15 credits), you will only need to complete 45 credits at a Community College to get your AA/AS Degree, which is equivalent to about three Semesters. You would have saved 15 X $46/credit in Tuition alone, not to mention the other non-tuition cost and fees.

You can CLEP out of as much as 34 Courses and these courses are listed at the link below:

https://clep.collegeboard.org/exam

Obviously, a number of these courses will not apply to you, so there is only a limited number of courses that might be applicable. You do not want to CLEP out of too many courses if you do not have thorough understanding of the subject matter and being able to attain a passing grade through “clepping”, since this could put you at a disadvantage later at a 4-year Institution (not having a sound foundation to progress to more advanced courses).

By excess credit I mean you do not want to rack up a “significant” amount of credits that will not go towards your Bachelors Degree. I’m not familiar with the California University System, but in a number of States, Students are now being penalized for accumulating significant amount of excess credits and are charged OOS tuition (or some other higher tuition amount) for the number of credits beyond a threshold (110% - 150%) of what is required to complete their undergraduate degree. This might not be applicable to California now, but might be implemented in the future. Excess credit can also impact your Financial Aid over time, since some Federal Grants (Pell Grant?) have upper limits on credits/semesters.

When you do visit your local Community College, these are the questions you should put to someone in Academic Advising and also someone at the Financial Aid Office. Go prepare with a list of pertinent questions to ask. You should also call a number of UCs/USCs to get their feedback on CLEP Courses and transfer requirements. Between now and when you finish High School, you might want to nail down you ultimate career goals and University Major. Lack of a Major or changing College Majors multiple times is one of the main reasons College Students accumulate excessive amount of credits and extend their stay in College.

Lastly, do not buy into this notion that Community Colleges are not as challenging as 4-year Universities. You can get as good an education at CC as a lot of Universities. The key is your dedication and what you put into it. I have also heard from students that the Teaching at Community Colleges they attend was excellent and the Professors were able to break down difficult subject matter much better than those at the 4-year Institutions they eventually transferred to.

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@psata82 - thank you for the clarification!

Here’s a question. Is it possible to get an associates degree * while also * completing your undergraduate requirements for transfer, and then transferring to a four year? This means that, after 2 years, you would be transferring into a four year college to receive a bachelors degree, but you would * also * hold an additional associates degree in a different subject, all at the same time. Or is this only possible if the associates degree you received is going to transfer over to your four year college, and will thus turn into a bachelors degree after another two years? For example: let’s say I want to complete my undergraduate requirements in order to transfer to a four year school, where I can take on a bachelors degree in biology. But while I’m at community college, I also want to receive an associates degree in English. With the use of clepping, is this even possible? And if this * is * possible, I’m assuming it would take a lot more time and energy than simply completing your transfer requirements or completing a degree program for transfer? (aka, you would have to give up any hope of taking plenty of electives for personal interest/enjoyment).

Also - and I don’t know if you’ll be able to answer this one (it’s ok if you can’t) - let’s say I complete my undergrad requirements and am poised to transfer. I created another thread a while ago referencing leave of absences (taking gap years - or more - during your college education, rather than right before you begin college). If for some reason I want to take a gap year/leave of absence after I finish up at community college and am ready to transfer to a UC, will this affect my ability to transfer into a UC? I’m interested in the idea of taking a gap year at some point during my education, maybe for travel, and the break between community college and a four year institution seems like the perfect transitional period. It seems like a logical pausing point for this sort of thing. If I was to take any sort of break in my education, that would be the time to do it.

And out of curiosity - how does clepping work at a UC or state school? Do these schools allow you to clep?

And one more question (sorry for unloading so much on you!). There are two major community colleges near my house. There are some courses at one community college that aren’t offered at the other and vice versa. If I enroll in one of the community colleges but there’s a course at the one next door that I really want to take, can I still take that course and receive transfer credit, even if it’s at a separate school? What if the course is an elective - would I still be able to take it from another community college nearby?

Thank you * so * much. You’ve been unbelievably helpful. It’s totally fine if you can’t answer some of my other questions. But once again, thanks.

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@abcd11 - the UC’s do NOT give credit for CLEP. http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/Transfer_Credit_Practice.pdf

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@abcd11 - To answer a couple of your questions in post #6 - you can get as many associates degrees as you want, but only a maximum of 70 credits will transfer over from your Community College to the UC’s/CSU’s.

You can take classes from other community colleges and the credits will transfer over. But make sure to take the required number of credits at your community college in order to be able to graduate from there.

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@MLM - wait, do you mean that UC’s don’t allow you to clep out of their courses, or that UC’s don’t accept transfer credits from courses you’ve clepped out of at a community college?

Also - when you said only a maximum of 70 credits will transfer over, does this apply to any credit (undergrad requirements and degree for transfer programs)? Does this mean the scenario I detailed up above is technically possible?

If I take courses from two separate community colleges, will I simply be officially enrolled at the one where most of my credits lie? Or do I pick one community college first, and then there’s a limit to the number of credits I can take at a separate community college nearby?

Thanks.

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@abcde11 - UC’s do not accept transfer credits for clep. See 2nd page re: transfer credits, clep and max credits -http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/Transfer_Credit_Practice.pdf or you can do a google search. The CSU’s do accept clep, under certain circumstances, and you have to check each CSU individually.

You can take classes at other California community colleges and they will transfer over, however the CC you plan to get an AA/AS (if that is your goal) may require x number of credits from their college. It’s fine for a few credits, but not when you are getting roughly half your from one CC and half from another.

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That’s surprising to me. If UC’s don’t accept transferable credits that come from community colleges, just because you’ve clepped out of them, why do community colleges offer this option in the first place? I understand getting an AA/AS more quickly, but being able to finish up your undergrad requirements at a CC faster by clepping and then transferring seems like a huge reason as well. Are you really sure that any courses I clep out of at a CC won’t count towards a UC?

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I would strongly encourage you to make an appointment with a counselor at your local community college and ask these questions. Have them all written down so you don’t forget any. Some of the advice you’ve been given here is accurate for some colleges, but might not be accurate for the specific college you are looking at. You really need to ask the college that you want to attend.

CLEPs are a fabulous option, but only if the school you end up at will accept them. Ask the school directly.

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@Abcde11‌

Why do you insist on asking the same questions over and over, with the hope that the answer will change? You have access to the internet and most of your questions can be answered with a basic goggle search, yet you insist on asking questions instead of doing your own research or just plain ignore whatever link has been provide to you. We live in the technology age, with an overabundance of information readily available at your finger tips. MLN has stated repeatedly that the University of California DOES NOT accept CLEP credits, yet you persist in badgering MNL with the same questions. Do you even click on links provided to you? Here are other links which basically says the same thing, since you have refused to do any type of goggle search on your own. I’m beginning to question you sanity; certainly your approach is not consistent with a High School Student who is about to graduate and move on to an institution of higher learning.

Credit from Another College

The university gives unit credit to transfer students for courses they have taken at other accredited colleges and universities, including some extension courses. To be accepted for credit, the courses must be consistent with those offered at the University of California, as determined by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools. UC San Diego admits transfer applicants at the junior level only; applications from students who have more than 135 quarter units (ninety semester units) of transfer credit will not be considered for admission.

UC San Diego does not give credit for CLEP examinations.

http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/front/UgrdPol.html

Credit from Another College
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.
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The transferability of units from California community colleges and all other postsecondary institutions is as follows: (1) the UC Office of the President determines unit transfer policies which are binding upon, and implemented by, each campus’ admissions office; (2) applicability of transferred units to breadth (general-education) requirements is determined for each UCSD college by its provost (see also “Transfer Agreements” below); (3) applicability of units toward the major is determined by the appropriate UCSD academic department. Before applying to UCSD you may obtain more information on many of these matters from the Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools.

Applicants who have completed courses at a postsecondary institution outside the U.S. should have these records sent to the Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools as soon as possible. Advanced standing credit for appropriate courses will be decided on an individual basis.

Note: The University of California does not give credit for CLEP examinations.

http://registrar.ucsd.edu/catalog/07-08/front/UgrdPol.html

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@psata82 - I can ask whatever questions I please, regardless of whether or not they sound repetitive. If anyone doesn’t want to answer, there’s a simple solution - don’t answer. We do live in a technology age, and an online forum is a part of that. I’m sorry if you deem my research to be “inconsistent with a high school student who is about to graduate and move on to an institution of higher learning.” I’ve been in and out of my house throughout the day, busy with other assignments, and I haven’t had the time to pour through any links in detail.

That’s one of the worst things about this forum. One moment people are helpful. The next, they’re finding an excuse to belittle your intelligence. It’s not the first time it’s happened to me.

Thank you for posting pieces from the two links though.

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@abcd11 - you can find a list of the colleges that accept clep here https://clep.collegeboard.org/search/colleges . Always double check with the college to be sure.

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Thanks @MLM