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Originally Posted by swthing64
I first used Instacert when studying for the Business Law CLEP last fall. I also used the Barron's Law book to study for this exam. I probably spent about 3-4 weeks of studying and passed it with a score of 53. That was my first CLEP exam.
I am now preparing for my second CLEP - Microeconomics. I will take the exam a week from Friday. I have been studying for a few weeks now from a college Microeconomics textbook. I've been taking notes like crazy according to what's required on the CLEP study guide for this subject. I have also started the Instacert studying this week.
I understand the CLEP exams are a pass/fail which a minimum score needed of 50 to pass. The problem I think I am having is that I am over-studying. I also felt that way when I was studying for Business Law but 'only' passed with a 53. I'm a bit nervous going into the Micro CLEP exam. It seems like I have this mindset as I'm studying that I 'need' to know ALL the answers and I am pretty hard on myself to really cram this material into my head. I suppose the goal is to study EVERYTHING related to the topic, and shown on the CLEP study guides, but I've noticed some people study for much shorter periods and get pretty decent scores (compared to my 53 in Business Law after studying, what I thought, was my tail off).
Any suggestions on how to make it easier? Or...how to not feel like I 'need' to get 100% of the questions correct? I really studied my heart out for Business Law and passed but would like to strive to get a higher number on the Micro exam. Any suggestions from those who have been through a few CLEPs? What made it easy? What made it hard in terms of studying the material?
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Aaaw! Don't feel badly swthing,
The important thing is that YOU study as much as YOU need to, to pass these exams. There is no prize for the person who can pass an exam with the shortest amount of study. Different people need to approach these exams differently, depending on their own learning style. That's all.
Some exams are easier than others. If you read this message board, you will start to get a feel for which exams are 'generally' considered 'easier' and which exams are 'generally' considered 'harder'. You can then adjust your depth of study accordingly. You will also be able to pick up helpful hints about which study resources are best for each exam, and find tips about what areas to focus on in your studies. This will help you focus your studies more efficiently.
College textbooks often cover far too much material, and go into too much detail, or go off on wild and unnecessary tangents. This may be one reason why you are feeling a little overwhelmed with how much info you have to learn. Certain inexpensive study guides (and Instantcert) are designed to provide you with enough information to pass these exam, without wasting your time on extemporaneous information that you won't need. As I said, this message board is a great source of information about which study materials work best for each exam.
Generally speaking, you only need to answer about half of the questions correctly, on any given exam, to pass. That means that you could technically get every second question wrong, and still pass (as a rough guide). So you definitely don't want to freak yourself out by struggling to memorize a 600 page textbook word for word. Okay?
Also, after you have taken a few of these exams, you will get a bit of a rhythm going with your studies. Experience will teach you how best to organize your time, what type of information you are likely to find on any given exam, how deep the questions are likely to go, etc.
You PASSED your first exam! So you are obviously doing something right! If studying for three weeks is what you need to do, then you just go right ahead and study for three weeks. You need to do whatever works for YOU!..and don't worry about anyone else. We're all different!
As you take each exam, try to make a mental note of how much of the information you studied is actually on the exam. Also, make a note of how much information is covered on the exam that you didn't cover in your studies. This will help you narrow down your study process so that you don't waste time going too deeply into one topic whilst not going deeply enough into another.
Over time, it will fall into place for you, and you will find your "happy place" between too much study and not enough.
Study hard! Do well!
Snazzlefrag
(We're all your classmates now! Just let us know if you need anything)