CLEP out of prereqs?

Nontraditional Premed Discussion
1

Does anybody know what the general view is on completing prereqs via CLEP? Could one, for example, take the Biology CLEP exam, and then take a year of Anatomy/Physiology to meet the “1 year of biology” prereq of most schools?



2
  1. Most schools DO NOT ACCEPT CLEP or AP for pre-reqs credits. That ones that do (such as the NY SUNY schools) take the requirement is filled BUT DO NOT accept the credit. In other words, you can get out of intro bio via AP but you would still have take two full years of some other bio/w lab classes.


    2)If your are looking for faster and/or less expensive path to fulfill the requirements, there really isnt one.



3

IMHO, it’s a TERRIBLE idea to CLEP/AP out of preqs that you KNOW are going to be on the MCAT.

4

Money isn’t the issue, it’s more of fitting in the prereqs in while working full time. There are only so many classes that are held during nights/weekends…not to mention certain ones only offered certain semesters…but oh well, gotta work with the cards in hand right? Just wanted to check.


Thanks!

5

I agree with our friend pathdr2b. When you sit for the MCAT you will be be grateful for having taken the prereqs recently.

6

I would advise you to check with your school. The core pre-reqs shoudn’t be CLEP out of (BIO, CHEM, ENG, STAT).


I did however CLEP BIO and many others (FRENCH, SPANISH, ALGEBRA, CALC, PRE-CALC) but took all other science and english classes as well as stat, Biochem, A&P.


Note however that I got the green light from my top school (before I applied), and that I have a very heavy science background. Each situation is unique.

7

I emailed a bunch of schools. Turns out emailing them is not so bad after all.


Many seem to be okay with CLEP credit provided that it is on a transcript as a class. So if your school doesn’t take it, then they can’t count it (makes sense)



8
  • shezadeh Said:
Many seem to be okay with CLEP credit provided that it is on a transcript as a class. So if your school doesn't take it, then they can't count it (makes sense)



I haven't CLEP'd but I would assume this is how it works. I got 5s on the Calc AP exams (5/5 on the BC test, 5/5 on the AB subset) in high school. When I went to undergraduate, my transcript listed both classes as completed in my first quarter and the grade was T. Credits were awarded but didn't contribute to my GPA. This is typically how transferring credit works.
9
  • redo-it-all Said:
I would advise you to check with your school. The core pre-reqs shoudn't be CLEP out of (BIO, CHEM, ENG, STAT).

I did however CLEP BIO and many others (FRENCH, SPANISH, ALGEBRA, CALC, PRE-CALC) but took all other science and english classes as well as stat, Biochem, A&P.

Note however that I got the green light from my top school (before I applied), and that I have a very heavy science background. Each situation is unique.



While I haven't asked any schools, it seems reasonable for CLEP credit for BIO-201 to not count against you if you have multiple courses at the 300/400 level. Same for chemistry, physics, etc. Of course, this is my speculation rather than hard fact; act on it without verification at your own risk.