Recent Articles

Catch the Wave

Catch the Wave

| May 13, 2019

CLEP is accepted at over 2,900 colleges and there are growing opportunities making it easy to include CLEP-prep in your student’s regular studies. Once you find a resource you like, watch out! Your student might set sail! CreditsBeforeCollege.com: Of course, I recommend signing up for my newsletter and my Facebook page. That is where I […]

Read More

High School Planning – Part 2

High School Planning – Part 2

| March 25, 2019

Whether you are a homeschool parent planning your students course of study, or a parent with students in public or private school, you might not recognize the repetition that often happens within education. Some subjects, like US History, are favorites of curriculum writers and the result is that students study the same subject multiple times […]

Read More

Modern States – Freshman Year for Free™

Modern States – Freshman Year for Free™

| March 22, 2019

Take these free, self-paced, online courses and someone else will pay for your CLEP exam. What’s the catch? When asked this question, Modern States Executive Director David Vise answers, “You have to do the work to complete the course.” Modern States is a New York-based non-profit organization dedicated to making a high quality college education […]

Read More

Personal Finance 101

Personal Finance 101

| March 21, 2019

CLEP’s Impact on the Next Generation Let’s face it, learning all the ins and outs of taking CLEP exams and how it transfers into a college is challenging. Like you, it took me a while to understand the process. When I was in the beginning stages of learning about CLEP, I was sitting in the […]

Read More

ACT Prep and PSEO

ACT Prep and PSEO

| January 9, 2019

ACT and SAT are standardized exams that we have a love hate relationship with. Students participating in Minnesota’s PSEO program may need to take a standardized exam for admission to the program. Understanding your options and best practices can help you determine the time commitment (if any) to make in your student’s schedule for test […]

Read More

What’s Your Student’s Motivation Trigger

What’s Your Student’s Motivation Trigger

| October 16, 2018

Understanding your student’s Learning Style and Motivation Trigger can help keep them engaged with less effort on your part. Once our boys grow taller than us, it’s natural for them to want to take the leading role. Yet, as a teen, they are likely not taking the reins to plan and implement their education, so […]

Read More

Essential LIFE Skills

Essential LIFE Skills

| August 2, 2018

Adulting is the gradual process teens go through as they take on the responsibilities that come with stepping into their role as adults. Like learning to read or ride a bike, the age students full take on this role can vary. Emotional maturity is not the only factor. Practice and growing in confidence within a […]

Read More

Earning an Debt-Free College Degree

Earning an Debt-Free College Degree

| June 23, 2018

Who is Paying for College? Few conversations have such a big impact on students’ financial future as the one that starts with, “Who is paying for college?” Most students have not given this question much thought and the result is a generation of graduates buried in student loan debt that they will struggle to repay […]

Read More

AP and CLEP ~ What’s the Difference?

AP and CLEP ~ What’s the Difference?

| June 13, 2018

Advanced Placement® (AP) and the College Level Exam Program® (CLEP) are both credit-by-exam programs offered by The College Board. Both are affordable ways to earn college credit. DSST is another credit-by-exam program, offered through Prometric. Passing an exam demonstrates mastery of material often taught in introductory college-level courses. So what are the differences and which […]

Read More

UnCollege 2018

UnCollege 2018

| January 22, 2018

My hope is that this post is an inspiration and encouragement for you and your students. Even more than that, I want it to be a challenge to you to think outside of the box.  Some parents schedule personal consultations with me when their students are 6 months from graduating high school, while others attend […]

Read More

Essential STUDY Skills

Essential STUDY Skills

| August 20, 2017

Study skills gives your students tools they will use repeatedly to be a more efficient life-long-learner. Consider teaching at least one skill each semester within a core subject you are teaching – skills like reading comprehension, note taking, creating flashcards or outlining skills. For example: if you are focusing on note-taking, have your students take […]

Read More

Building-Block Courses

Building-Block Courses

| May 2, 2017

Studying core academic subjects is certainly at the heart of earning credits-by-exam. The academic skills practiced in preparing for CLEP and DSST exams overflows and prepares students for the rigor of future college classes. But, just as important to their academic education, is the instruction in areas that equip students in the areas of decision-making […]

Read More