I would like to be more clear on whether or not credits earned through the following: Excelsior exams, Clep, AP, etc, when accepted through one’s particular university, will carry credit that will be used in how AMCAS calculates cGPA. Of course I am not referring to sciences classes that require labs.
I believe I may have read where CLEP-earned credits may be accepted by the degree-granting university upon transcript evaluation; yet AMCAS will not calculate those numbers into the appropriately earned quality points–such as say English Lit., 3 credits (obtained A = 4.0–from no less than the A-graded 67 for the Clep score for E.Lit) to equal an added 12 QPs to overall GPA.
I’ve read so many things/opinions my head is spinning. I mean if you earned the 4.0 for the 3 credits, why would it not be calculated as the added 12 QPs as opposed to 6, 
just b/c you studied on your own and examed out rather that driving and sitting your behind in a classroom seat?
Try asking these guys: they should know and post the definitive answer to the forum.
http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/adv isors/con…
Schools generally have different policies on offering credit for advanced standing or credit-by-examination courses and I’m not sure exactly how AMCAS looks at them, but I do know that most medical schools do not acknowledge these credits if they were taken in lieu of requirements. For example, if you took a CLEP exam to earn credits for English I, you are advised to take additional English writing and/or literature courses to show that you have, in fact, mastered those skills.
I sent an email to AMCAS since I have 24 credits that I have Clep’ed. I will post when I get a reply.
I believe the non-pre-med pre-reqs are up to the undergrad. school/program issuing the undergrad degree.
Most probably CLEP pre-med pre-reqs would not be considered by med schools, and I’m not sure but that may be the case for upper level sciences courses like pathophys too.
At any rate, the credits earned in this fashion will not add to GPA, I think.
But also the writing exams for CLEP involve separate writing samples that are evaluated by professors of communication.
What’s more, if you are in a program that has many writing-intensive courses, this shouldn’t be a problems, b/c a. you must test out or show ability to take such courses within the program in the first place, and b. you will be researching, appropriately citing/documenting, and writing a lot–as opposed to simply studying for exams.
Of course I’m not at all undermining the work of studying for exams; it’s just a bit different. You don’t have to polish and present in the same way. I mean who cares what your study notes look like if you know what they mean and they work for you. It’s different when you have to always keep your thesis and audience in the forefront of your mind with your work.
Thanks for posting this. I haven’t been around for a bit; but I’ll be sure to check back in to see.
It appears that CLEP credits are accepted as long as they are on your university transcript. See reply below:
Thank you for contacting AMCAS.
To claim AP credit, the credit hours must be listed on your transcript. AP courses should be entered under the term in which the college credit was initially granted. If no term is designated include with freshman coursework. Include AP credit courses only once (indicating AP under the Course Type heading), even though AP credit for the same subject may have been awarded by more than one institution. AP courses can be assigned under the institution awarding the most credit, but cannot be listed under all the institutions that may have awarded credit. If AP credits appear in one block on the transcript, distribute the credit equally among the AP exams taken.
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