CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program that is the program of series of exams for testing examinees’ college level knowledge acquired through course work, independent study, cultural pursuits, travel, special interests, military service schools, and professional development.

A CLEP exam is a 90 long exam comprised of multiple-choice questions or fill-ins, and English Composition with Essay. The present fee of a CLEP exam is $60 ($65, effective July 1, 2007); however a CLEP exam is free for the members of the US Armed Forces.

The CLEP exams are accepted by over 2,900 colleges and universities. Fabricated according to the syllabus taught in courses, A CLEP exam may be based on one-semester course or full-year or two-year course. Currently, CLEP exams are available in Business, Composition and Literature, Foreign Languages, History and Social Sciences, and Science and Mathematics. The credits vary from exam to exam and subject to subject.

•A CLEP exam in the Business fields, such as Financial Accounting can help earning 6 credits and the exam in Introductory Business Law, Information Systems and Computer Applications, Principles of Management, and Principles of Marketing can help earning 3 credits.

•A CLEP exam in any of Composition and Literature fields including American Literature, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, English Composition with or without Essay, English Literature, Freshman College Composition, and Humanities, can help earning 6 credits. A CLEP exam in any of the Foreign Languages, such as Levels 1 and 2 of French, German, and Spanish can help earning 6-18 credits.

•A CLEP exam in any of History and Social Sciences fields including American Government, Introduction Educational Psychology, History of the United States I: Early Colonization to 1877, History of the United States II: 1865 to Present, Principles of Macroeconomics, Principles of Microeconomics, Introductory Psychology, Social Sciences and history, Introductory Sociology, Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648, and Western Civilization II: 1648 to Present, can help earning 3 credits.

•A CLEP exam in any of the Science and Mathematics fields, such as Biology, Chemistry, College Mathematics, and Natural Sciences can help earning 6 credits, and the exam in any of fields, such as Calculus, College Algebra, and Precalculus can help earning 3 credits.

There are a number of benefits of a CLEP exam, like a CLEP exam saves time of students; helps them getting credit for what they already know; helps them getting rewarded for what they have learned through independent study advanced high school courses, noncredit adult courses, or professional development. The exam saves money of students; it costs $65 that is negligible as compared to the bulks of dollar spent in tuitions; besides, the test is free for military service members. The exam makes college more interesting; the students get right into advanced courses, and finally the CLEP exam facilitates students to wrap up their graduation on time, if they are just lacking a few credits, and also helps students demonstrate their knowledge and proficiency.