CLEP for pre-reqs

[Qwerty05]

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Hi I'm new here and I've been searching for some threads but couldn't find the answer I wanted.
I know I'm kinda behind everyone but I'm interested in going to a vet school and I would like to know if it is ok for me to take CLEP for a lower division bio class, due to my financial and time situation. I know that it is very risky and radical and all but I really want to know more about this.

I know that a lot of schools require 2 labs, but I just wanted to know if it is still possible to CLEP out of a lower division class and instead, take upper division classes with labs to meet my lab hours requirement..

 

[that redhead]

I would like to know if it is ok for me to take CLEP for a lower division bio class, due to my financial and time situation. I know that it is very risky and radical and all but I really want to know more about this.

I know that a lot of schools require 2 labs, but I just wanted to know if it is still possible to CLEP out of a lower division class and instead, take upper division classes with labs to meet my lab hours requirement..

I didn't know what CLEP was, so I read about it on Wikipedia. It sounds like you take these standardized tests and the university may give you credit for, for example, Bio 1 if you perform adequately on the test. Is that about right?

I imagine that this would be okay, so long as the university is granting you credit for the course on your transcript. I did the same thing with AP Biology - got a 5 on the exam, so my undergrad institution counted that as Bio 1 and Bio 2 on my transcript. As always, the safest option is to contact the schools you're interested and see if this is valid in their eyes.

 

[Fly Racing]

Basically no. Many vet schools "allow" CLEP, but require you replace it with a higher level course in the same subject. Therefore it doesn't really save you credit hours time wise or financially. Some schools still require you take the pre-req courses regardless of CLEP. Another thing to think about, the lower division courses have the potential to buffer your science GPA as generally the upper division courses get harder (use ratemyprossefor.com to help avoid the particularly bad profs).

 

[JaynaAli]

I did some CLEP tests. It wasn't for biology, but I CLEPped out of College Algebra and Lit 1 while I was still in high school (I was taking college classes as a dual proram type thing at the time). I can't address the lab time question, unfortunately. The biggest downside was that on my transcript, CLEP tests show up as Pass/Fail. So I had "Pass" rather than a letter grade. Downside of that is, an A didn't get factored into my GPA which I would have earned if I had taken the course for real. It just didn't count since it was P/F. If I was advising people about it, I'd say just sit in the class, enjoy the easy A, and let it boost your science GPA/cumulative GPA. Plus, CLEP wasn't cheap and it was actually tougher to pass than I thought they would be. I'd just take the class if it were me, but I realize you are in a different situation.

 

[Qwerty05]

Basically no. Many vet schools "allow" CLEP, but require you replace it with a higher level course in the same subject. Therefore it doesn't really save you credit hours time wise or financially. Some schools still require you take the pre-req courses regardless of CLEP. Another thing to think about, the lower division courses have the potential to buffer your science GPA as generally the upper division courses get harder (use ratemyprossefor.com to help avoid the particularly bad profs).

So would it be better to take it from a CC? or would it also hurt me in somewhat way??

 

[Qwerty05]

I didn't know what CLEP was, so I read about it on Wikipedia. It sounds like you take these standardized tests and the university may give you credit for, for example, Bio 1 if you perform adequately on the test. Is that about right?

I imagine that this would be okay, so long as the university is granting you credit for the course on your transcript. I did the same thing with AP Biology - got a 5 on the exam, so my undergrad institution counted that as Bio 1 and Bio 2 on my transcript. As always, the safest option is to contact the schools you're interested and see if this is valid in their eyes.

Ok. I was looking up some stuff and I found out that my school does take CLEP credits for Bio and I found a vet school mentioning CLEP on its application and instruction page, saying that the school does accept lower division CLEP credits. I should contact the school and ask more questions about this. Thank you.

 

[WildZoo]

I did some CLEP tests. It wasn't for biology, but I CLEPped out of College Algebra and Lit 1 while I was still in high school (I was taking college classes as a dual proram type thing at the time). I can't address the lab time question, unfortunately. The biggest downside was that on my transcript, CLEP tests show up as Pass/Fail. So I had "Pass" rather than a letter grade. Downside of that is, an A didn't get factored into my GPA which I would have earned if I had taken the course for real. It just didn't count since it was P/F. If I was advising people about it, I'd say just sit in the class, enjoy the easy A, and let it boost your science GPA/cumulative GPA. Plus, CLEP wasn't cheap and it was actually tougher to pass than I thought they would be. I'd just take the class if it were me, but I realize you are in a different situation.

Yeah, I would advise just taking the classes too. AP/IB exams allowed me to place out of all the intro level bio and chem classes, but it would have been really nice to have the GPA boost from those earlier classes. Instead the majority of my science gpa is from upper level stuff, which isn't ideal.

 

[Fly Racing]

So would it be better to take it from a CC? or would it also hurt me in somewhat way??

Taking lower division sciences at a CC shouldn't hurt you in any way. Some schools have requirements of certain classes being at a 4 year (such as biochem, organic chemistry, and others because they had to be upper division courses). Better to take the classes at CC with A's than skip straight to the tougher courses. And just a warning, it's not always easy. At my school, general chemistry was the "weed out" class to get people to switch majors and the first day of class we were told about the all mighty bell curve and that only 4 A's could be allotted for our class of 70 or so... I got a B. The one course I took at CC (and its just one example, so not definitive), was the easier science course I've ever taken. It was micro, so I know it wasn't because the material was easy.