About Cheri

Cheri Frame is the founder of Credits Before College and a certified Career Direct® Consultant. For over 15 years Cheri worked at a grass-roots level to help families avoid college debt. Her own students graduated college debt-free, not from receiving financial aid or scholarships, but from utilizing opportunities available to every student including educational planning, CLEP and PSEO/Dual Enrollment. She and her husband live in Ramsey, MN and homeschooled their three children.

Besides homeschooling her own children, she also taught high school-level classes for several years at local homeschool co-ops and her early consulting years included administering annual student assessments. Since founding Credits Before College in 2006, she has presented numerous local and online workshops, spoken at state homeschool conventions, written curriculum, and provided academic and career advising. In 2023, Cheri passed the baton of Credits Before College to Kristin Lackie, who shares the same passion for helping families and students become positioned, purposeful, and equipped to lead and serve.

Credits Before College LLC was founded to help families avoid the debt that so often plagues our students’ college years.

I (Cheri) began investigating alternatives to college loans for my own family. What I discovered was surprising. There are debt-free options, but the current “college loan” system is accepted as unfortunate, but the only alternative. The result is that many students delay or give up on their vocational and life goals because of position college debt has put them in.

Understanding how credits, courses, college, costs, high school graduation requirements, and career readiness are all tied together can help families make cost-effective, value-based decisions that guide their students from grades 7-12 and beyond. Without the assurance of scholarships or financial aid, early planning is key.

While we homeschooled, debt-free education is available to anyone. It is for the academically average or academically gifted. It is for any student who wants to take advantage of working towards their future goals. The purpose of Credits Before College isn’t just about helping students earn a degree. It’s about helping students start their adult lives with purpose, goals, and without debt.

Our family resides in Ramsey, MN. Besides homeschooling my own children, I taught highschool-level classes for several years at local homeschool co-ops. My early consulting years included administering annual student assessments. Since founding Credits Before College in 2006, I have been presenting local and online workshops, speaking at state homeschool conventions, writing curriculum, along with providing academic and career advising. I am dedicated to helping families and students become positioned, purposeful, and equipped to lead and serve. I enjoy what I do!

Thanks for stopping by,
Cheri Frame
Founder, Credits Before College

Our Family’s Story

When our kids were in the elementary years, I heard an advertisement on the car radio. Mission Aviation Fellowship was seeking teachers to serve one year terms in various US-accredited schools overseas. That led to a phone call, an application, months of preparation, packing, and the next year we were living in Papua, Indonesia. My public-school-teacher-husband taught high school math at an international school for missionary kids, our three kids (at the time, elementary age) attended that school, I volunteered at the school and in the community, and we all learned how to live and love a people whose language we did not speak.

Expectantly, returning to the U.S. and re-establishing our family’s routines took on a new meaning. As parents, we dreamed about our kids’ futures and how this experience would impact their lives. We wanted to equip them in the best way we knew for the work that God would eventually call them into, even if that was to return to Indonesia.

During our year of preparation, I learned that college debt causes many students to defer their plans to serve in a missionary capacity. As a single-income family, we did not have the money to put three kids through college, but we likely would not qualify for grants. Hoping for scholarships was our only other option and one that felt like a huge gamble.

After two years of research options, we determined credit-by-exam using CLEP and DSST was the best means to accomplish our goals of a debt-free college degree. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but our plan was simple: add a CLEP or DSST test as a final exam to every subject they were already studying as part of their middle and high school education. We started slow, but eventually each student mastered their own individual learning style and was motivated by their own success. Eventually we worked through career assessments which guided their path through dual enrollment in grades 11-12.

The Outcome

Our oldest son M earned dozens of credit with CLEP/DSST before 11/12th grade dual enrollment. It became a game for him to stack up college credits. He earned a 2-year AS degree in Business, a BA in History, and graduated high school at the same time. Unusual? Certainly. Possible? Absolutely! Thinking outside of the box on how and when to earn college credits while working toward a goal made it possible. M’s education was expanded beyond classes to include lots of educational experiences. During high school he participated in several unpaid internships and worked part-time at a local retailer. At 21, he completed his Master’s degree in International Relations (paying as he went along). After graduating he accepted an unpaid legislative internship and moved to Washington, DC (living rent-free with an uncle). At the conclusion of that internship, he applied for and accepted a job working full-time on a legislative committee on Capitol Hill. After two years, he want3ed to further his education. He attended law school on a full ride scholarship and after graduation began his career as a research analyst for state government. That’s the short version. The long version requires a cup of coffee.

Our daughter K earned her degrees (AS in Business and BA in Psychology) in much the same way and time frame as M, and for a similar price: $6,000 (2013). Her high school years were also filled with educational experiences, sports, volunteering, starting a small business, and working part-time. After earning her college degree, K studied to be certified as a Personal Trainer and continued working for the same company she had during high school. At 21, her plans took shape and with a few thousand dollars saved, K left for what was to be a year-long work/travel experience in New Zealand. She immediately knew that traveling suited her well and she extended her overseas travels beyond that first year. Wherever she went, she always found work, quickly made friends, and learned to be resourceful. She has since continued her love of travel, working with a company that sources talent from all regions of the country.

Our youngest son L graduated high school with almost three years of college credits. His targeted health-science degree was more math/science driven, so fewer CLEP/DSST exams could be applied. L took advantage of the option to complete his final college year online so he could also work as an adventure course guide in a neighboring state. He completed his Health Sciences degree at age 20, for a total cost of $14K. Thanks to a $10K financial gift each of our kids received from their grandparents, he was able to self-fund the remaining cost. For the next three years he completed his Dr of Physical Therapy degree and now, with his wife, is traveling the US as a traveling DPT.