Dizzy with Effort

The Effort of Learning for Yourself

Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much are the three pillars of learning.

Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)

Hardship! Disraeli certainly experienced his fair share of discrimination as a Jewish convert to Christianity. He was neither Christian enough for some nor Jewish enough for others, but a man of cleverer ability would be hard to find.

Gaining something of value almost always requires effort. My mother used to say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”  Even in Ireland where leprechauns roam on roaring drunken nights, it’s always been obvious to me that I’ve never seen a money tree. Although I walked the golden streets of Washington D.C., I've never seen one there either.  Mom’s idiom was about how I was spending money and the value of effort that reaps a return.

This year I had the chance to take some economics classes on the East Coast of Ireland, and I discovered that in economics one of the factors of production is labor, which is the item that people sell to business in return for wages.  Increasing my value to business means that I can offer business my services while reaping wages in return.

That’s why the College Level Examination Program is worth the effort. By studying yourself and using the InstantCert Flashcard System when you pass the test you can gain college credit for less, saving yourself at least $800 on a three credit class

The CLEP® Test

Most people who do the test today do so by computer, unless they are on an outpost in Afghanistan serving in the Armed Services, where they may find themselves doing a pencil and paper exam.  The exam is a set of multiple choice questions, usually about 70-120 questions, that you are asked on a computer screen. The question tries to prove your ability in the subject area.  A passing score is 50, for which some colleges award a pass in that class, but if you score higher they may give you an A grade.

Multiple people using the InstantCert system and some other resources (I’ll point you in the right direction to gain those too!) can pass the test the first time using just their system, in about six weeks. Some will need extra help, which is where my sources of information will come in handy.  The reward that over 2,500 colleges will award you credit for proven knowledge via these tests is amazing. So, you can gain the information from me and practice your knowledge on InstantCert and be walking out of a test center in six weeks with three credits under your belt. This amazing reward will cost you less than $150, including your celebratory ice cream! Well, by the time you're done, you won't be able to carry your credits out the door - you'll need a forklift! You'll also need somewhere to send your transcripts, but we’ll get to that in a further post.

70 questions in 90 minutes (sometimes a few more and sometimes a few less)... we’ll deal with that exam by exam as we work our way through.  Since this is a blog, it would be nice to see you subscribe or pass a comment - that way we know that you’re out there! The social sciences and history test has 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes but gives six credits if you pass! Certainly worth the effort!  If you are part of the military or Armed Services, these tests are free - a great bonus for those who serve the United States in that capacity. Not only that, but if your close relative belongs, then you could avail of free resources to assist you in doing your exam. I’ll have more on that soon I promise… Twelve months of research pulls up a lot of information on what you can get and how you can get it.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the tests that can gain you up to 12 credits in a single sitting. More on that in 24 hours. Now it is time for a cuppa tea! Some old habits die hard.