HACK YOUR DEGREE:
A QUICK GUIDE
Welcome to Hack Your Degree. This website is a tool to provide students insight into a cheaper, faster college degree. With the resources on hackyourdegree.com, a student could shave off up to three years of school and save over $50,000 in tuition.
There are many resources that make this possible. This guide will give a quick overview of each of those resources and explain how a student can apply them to their particular degree program.
CLEP
College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a program affiliated with CollegeBoard that administers CLEP tests. CLEP tests cost $90 (free with a ModernStates voucher) and grant students anywhere from 1-8+ credits depending on the school, typically they grant 3 credits. CLEP tests can be taken at any time throughout the year and have no prerequisites to being taken.
Advanced Placement
Like CLEP, Advanced Placement (AP) is a program affiliated with CollegeBoard. AP exams cost $93 (free with a ModernStates voucher) and grant students anywhere from 1-8+ credits depending on the school, typically they grant 3-6 credits. AP tests can only be taken on the date the test is scheduled. AP tests are typically required to be taken in May and are generally administered by a student’s high school.
Modern States
Modern States is a website that provides educational resources corresponding to CLEP and AP tests. Not only is Modern States a great resource to prepare for CLEP and AP exams, but it also provides vouchers to take CLEP and AP tests for free. These vouchers can be redeemed on the CollegeBoard website.
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DSST
DSST is a program offering exams for college credit. DSST tests cost $100 and grant students anywhere from 1-8+ credits depending on the school, typically they grant 3 credits. DSST tests can be taken at any time throughout the year and have no prerequisites to being taken.
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Dual Credit
Dual Credit is a tool that provides high school students an opportunity to earn both High School and College credits for taking one class. While many high schools have dual credit class offerings, there are also options for students to earn these credits online.
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Sophia Learning
Sophia Learning is a learning platform offering self-paced, online courses for college credit. This platform allows students to take unlimited courses for just $99 a month. These courses will mainly cover general education credits and many schools don’t accept credit from Sophia. They have a list of partner institutions on their website, which encompasses some, but not all, of the schools that accept their credits.
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StraighterLine
StraighterLine is a very similar resource to Sophia Learning. This platform varies in that it offers students unlimited courses for $99 per month; however, each course costs $59. These courses will mainly cover general education credits and many schools don’t accept credit from StraighterLine. They have a list of partner institutions on their website, which encompasses some, but not all, of the schools that accept their credits.
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Study.com
Study.com is another self-paced, online learning platform. This platform varies in that it offers students unlimited courses for $199 per month. They have a list of partner institutions on their website, which encompasses some, but not all, of the schools that accept their credits. Study.com credit transfers to over 1,500 schools.
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FAQ: Does my school accept these credits?
Every University has a different policy regarding transfer credits. The best way to figure out what credits your school accepts is to research their policies - typically located on their website and/or within a transfer equivalency portal. Examples of transfer equivalency portals include the Transfer Evaluation System from CollegeSource and Transferology.