How to Graduate from College the Day After High School with a 4.0 GPA for Under $5,000

It may sound crazy, but yes, it can actually be done. You can graduate from college the day after high school with a 4.0 GPA for under $5,000!

At Redemptology, we are looking for ways to redeem life. There can be many wonderful life experiences at college but it can also be a waste of time and can enslave individuals to many years of college debt. 

A few years back, we heard about young people who were earning college credits in an unusual but also brilliant way. This is how it works: You may have heard about something called CLEP tests. CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program. If you’re good at a subject and don’t want to sit through an undergraduate class in that subject, you can schedule to take a CLEP test at one of many testing locations available across the country clep.collegeboard.org/test-center-search. Many people have taken advantage of this resource. Even taking one CLEP can save a lot of money and time towards a degree. 

So, what if you could take a bunch of CLEP tests to eliminate many of the basic classes that colleges require? This would save time and money. Or, what if you could take nearly all of the CLEP tests required to complete your undergraduate degree, on your own schedule, and for a fraction of the cost of completing a traditional college degree? 

CLEP tests are pass or fail. Pass the CLEP with an acceptable score and you can submit it for college credit. Fail the test and you may reschedule it in 3 months to take it again.  In addition to CLEP exams are DSST and AP exams that are also accepted as credit. 

Many schools transfer some CLEP scores but only a few accept all CLEPS. Most schools require at least 25% of the credits to be earned as a resident in person on campus. But there are 3 primary schools that will take CLEP and other sources for credits. Those schools are Thomas Edison State University (tesu.edu), Charter Oaks State College (charteroak.edu), and Excelsior University (excelsior.edu). These are all accredited, four-year schools.

Sounds too good to be true – but it IS possible. This isn’t a shady program from a degree mill, but an ingenious hack to potentially save the valuable resources of both time and money. 

This strategy could be a great resource for someone in active military service to work towards a degree or a way for a stay at home mom to earn a degree while also caring for her family and home. It could also be something that a high school student could be working on in conjunction with their high school classes. Potentially, a student could complete CLEP tests to fulfill the college requirement throughout their time in high school and end up with nearly everything required to graduate immediately after high school. This is not theory. Many have done it. Some have reported completing an undergraduate degree in as little as 9 months to a year. 

In addition to the CLEP tests or other forms of credit, there may be one final class, called a capstone class, required to be completed on campus or in some cases online. That last class determines one’s entire GPA. A 4.0 in that one class would mean a 4.0 for his or her degree.   

The best 2 degrees to pursue that will accept the largest number of CLEP or other credits are liberal arts or business degrees. Other degrees may require more in classwork and also more cost. Those who want to earn a degree in a field that requires more classes on campus, such as nursing, can use CLEPs to knock out the general study classes that make up much of the first 2 years of college and then attend the major-specific classes on-site. 

It is estimated that taking CLEP exams costs about $100 each. This factors in the cost of the exam itself and, once the exam is passed, the cost to submit the scores to the university. At the time of this article, modernstates.org is offering free CLEP exams if you take their free preparatory classes first. It’s also good to keep an eye out for sales and resources that can keep the cost down even more. Other available resources for earning credits can be found at study.com and straighterline.com. The estimated cost for the exams, admission, and other costs is below $5,000.

So, is it possible to graduate college/university for under $5,000 the day after high school with a 4.0 GPA? Yes, it is. And, although it takes planning, self-discipline, and resourcefulness, an individual can be given both the gift of higher education and the gift of freedom from education debt. 

For more information about this subject, consider purchasing Homeschooling for College Credit: A Parent’s Guide to Resourceful High School Planning, which covers the entire process in detail. Also, visit degreeforum.net/mybb/ and homeschoolingforcollegecredit.com for a lot of helpful information.