CLEP or AP
A lot of students want to know the difference between CLEP and AP tests. They are both rather popular, but which one is better? They are both offered by the CollegeBoard and both could be described as credit-by-exam. If you pass either test you are granted college credit as if you passed the actual college class. So why take one over the other?
One key difference has to do with with age limit. AP tests can only be taken by high school students where as CLEP tests can be taken by anyone with a photo I.D., this is a huge help to someone who is planning on testing out of classes past high school. Adult students are probably the age group that benefit most from credit-by-exam because they have more life experience to leverage toward their exams and yet AP tests cannot aren’t offered for them. CLEP tests on the other hand can be taken by someone who is in middle school or someone who going back to college after several decades of a break.
The other major difference in with these tests is the flexibility of when you can take your test. AP tests are only available to take in the month of May, this greatly limits how many college credits a student can obtain in high school if they would like to graduate with college credit. Students can study year round but then they are forced to take a large chunk of exams all within a month.
CLEP tests are offered year round. You can take a CLEP whenever you’d like, some testing centers will only offer CLEPs a few days a week but still, the flexibility you’re given is a huge help with working your studies around your schedule. The other reason this is such a big factor is because the most effective way to study for one of these tests is focusing on one subject at a time, passing that subject, and then moving on to the next test. This method can only be leveraged with CLEP tests.
In the end CLEP tests offer much more flexibility and are available to everyone. They’re easier to work with so if you have the option, choose CLEP over AP!