Why CLEP Exams Are Better than Sophia Learning

If you’re looking to get college credit fast for an online degree, there’s a good chance you’re planning to earn 30 or 60 credits using Sophia. This is a very common plan amongst online students. And it works great!

But let’s play devil’s advocate for a minute, and I’ll explain why CLEP is actually better than Sophia for some students! 

If you don’t know what Sophia is, check out this video. On the other hand, CLEP is a type of test where, if you pass, you earn college credit. It’s as easy and amazing as it sounds. So, here are five reasons to pick CLEP over Sophia:

1. CLEP IS FREE

Yes, Sophia is basically free if you go fast enough. However, if you use ModernStates.org to study for your CLEP exams, CLEP is completely free—even your sitting fee.

2. MOST COLLEGES ACCEPT CLEP

A lot of colleges don’t take Sophia credits seriously because they’re so new and so easy to earn and have no proctored exam, but CLEP has been around since the late 60’s. And over 2,900 colleges accept some CLEP exams. 

3. SOME CLEP’S ARE EASIER THAN SOPHIA

Sophia has started requiring more and more essays in their courses. If you have to wait for someone to grade those, your potential of earning credit super fast grinds to a halt. With CLEP, there is very little waiting. Even the writing tests only require two essays that you write in a short timed environment.

4. SOME CLEP’S ARE 6+ CREDITS

Sophia courses are worth 1 or 3 credits, but some colleges accept certain CLEP exams as 6, 9, or even 12 credits. 

Some of the notable ones are College Composition (sometimes 6), the foreign language CLEP exams (sometimes 6 or even 9), Social Sciences and History (sometimes 6), Natural Sciences (sometimes 6), and others!

5. CLEP CAN BE FASTER

If you already know the subject material really well, rather than spend 5-10 hours going through the Sophia course, you can pay and take the CLEP exam for a total time expenditure of under 4 hours. And you most often don’t have to wait for any grading to be done!

Of course, there are still plenty of reasons to take Sophia instead. Honestly, most people choose Sophia because it’s less intimidating, but do yourself a favor and don’t sleep on CLEP. There is some really good stuff here, and if you need help building a college plan, sign up for a consultation with us.