Would it be Wise to CLEP Chem I

[ksuRx]

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I am weighing the possibility of CLEP (College Level Examination Program) testing General Chemistry. I will start with a short background about me. I am a non-traditional student. Technically I am in my sophomore year, but currently on a business track with a 3.87 GPA (B's in Fitness for living(argh!!!) and second year Chinese). I was an atrocious high school student years ago, so I was surprised to find that I am a talented math student. When I started school my intention was to go to law or business school, but those paths are impractical for me. After some research, I have decided to switch to pre-pharm.

I have the Georgia HOPE scholarship which pays tuition and some books for up to 127 semester credits of bachelors and first professional degrees. If I can CLEP classes in my pre-pharm core then those semester hours of scholarship money can be applied to pharmacy school if I can go to a Georgia pharmacy school. This would be worth about $45k at UGA School of Pharmacy if I were able to maximize my scholarship by using CLEP testing. The schools to which I will apply accept CLEP courses.

So, my concern is to whether or not it would be worthwhile to test out of General Chemistry. If I were to CLEP, I would use the MIT opencourseware online classes as well as other sources. I did not take Chemistry in high school. Is this realistic. Can I learn General Chemistry well in this manner or will I be setting myself up for failure? I would still need to take Organic Chemistry at my University.

Would I be unprepared for Organic Chemistry if I were to test out of General Chemistry through self study?

Also, Time is a factor. Is it realistic to expect that I can succeed at testing out of General Chemistry through self study? I am an excellent test taker.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[NickW9682]

I live in SC but have never heard of CLEP, what is it?

 

[ksuRx]

I live in SC but have never heard of CLEP, what is it?

Oh, sorry. It is the test to exempt a class. You get course credit but not GPA.

 

[NickW9682]

sorry I'm old, is that similar to an AP class? If you dont get credit towards your GPA I would just say retake it. I mean, if you did that well on the test you should be fine to take the class and get good grade. Thats basically a gimme which boosts that GPA my friend....get that A!

 

[ksuRx]

sorry I'm old, is that similar to an AP class? If you dont get credit towards your GPA I would just say retake it. I mean, if you did that well on the test you should be fine to take the class and get good grade. Thats basically a gimme which boosts that GPA my friend....get that A!

Essentially, it is the same as an AP test. The tradoff is that my scholarship will fund 127 semester credits of undergrad and pharm school. If I test out of the class, then it doesnt count towards my 127 credits. Each credit that I can test out of in my pre-req equates to a scholarship funded credit at pharm school.

My main concern is whether or not I will be able to gain a quality grounding in Chemistry this way. I suppose I could give the test a shot and if it doesnt work out, then take the class. However, then I have to worry about filling my pre-reqs on time.

 

[deleted129840]

You could check with particular schools or the PharmCas page at
http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/directoryalphastate.htm

In general your chemistry class will need a laboratory component for pharmacy school admission, so CLEP would not work.

 

[ksuRx]

You could check with particular schools or the PharmCas page at
http://www.pharmcas.org/collegesschools/directoryalphastate.htm

In general your chemistry class will need a laboratory component for pharmacy school admission, so CLEP would not work.

I guess that settles it then. Thanks.

 

[deleted129840]

Unlike pre-med, pharmacy schools tend to be pretty rigid in their prereqs so have a look at the schools you might be interested. You could probably CLEP out of some of the other requirements like Econ, Calculus, and so forth.

 

[owlegrad]

CLEPing out of Calculus would be impressive indeed.

I would not CLEP out of any prereq. One because many schools expressly forbid it (I know your school allows it, but still...) and second because if you can CLEP out that is an easy A. Take the class, learn what you can, get a good grade.

Win.

 

[ksuRx]

CLEPing out of Calculus would be impressive indeed.

I would not CLEP out of any prereq. One because many schools expressly forbid it (I know your school allows it, but still...) and second because if you can CLEP out that is an easy A. Take the class, learn what you can, get a good grade.

Win.

I get where you are coming from, but I already have a 3.87, and with the gimmie classes like Public Speaking, Statistics, and Language Classes I can regain my 3.9. I would test out of Calculus but they wont let me because I withdrew from Calc I because work and family overload. I hadnt even considered testing out of classes until I decided on Pharmacy School and that just because my scholarship will pay for pharm school. Perhaps, I am just overconfident that I will continue to have all A's.

My scholarship only covers a total of 127 credits. Since I started out on track for an Economics/Mathematics degree, now I will have around 77 credits once I complete my pharmacy pre-reqs. I guess in the end it isnt that much money, but Im so broke right now that I have entered a kind of freakish miser mode.

 

[owlegrad]

I get where you are coming from, but I already have a 3.87, and with the gimmie classes like Public Speaking, Statistics, and Language Classes I can regain my 3.9. I would test out of Calculus but they wont let me because I withdrew from Calc I because work and family overload. I hadnt even considered testing out of classes until I decided on Pharmacy School and that just because my scholarship will pay for pharm school. Perhaps, I am just overconfident that I will continue to have all A's.

My scholarship only covers a total of 127 credits. Since I started out on track for an Economics/Mathematics degree, now I will have around 77 credits once I complete my pharmacy pre-reqs. I guess in the end it isnt that much money, but Im so broke right now that I have entered a kind of freakish miser mode.

You have to do what is right for you. But you likely will limit which schools you can apply to and you may miss out on important topics covered in class as well as being prepared for the PCAT. For most people I do not think it is a good idea to CLEP.

Only you know if it is right for you though. But you asked for comments so there's mine.