Your Study Plan for CLEP

Nervous? Don't be! Nervousness often results from not knowing where to start. Once you've defined your goals and plan of action, you will be able to crack CLEP and deliver your best with confidence!

Over five million people have taken CLEP since it was first launched in 1967. With just a little planning and preparation, so can you!

At the InstantCert Academy, our goal is to minimize your overall effort while maximizing your score.

In doing so, we've often had to deviate from conventional study methods and materials.

This article explains our rationale behind the structure and format of the study material and mock-tests.

By knowing why the material is designed in a certain way, you can align your study plan accordingly and get more out of your Membership!

Using Section-wise Coverage

Every CLEP subject/area is divided up into multiple sections and sub-sections to ensure balanced distribution of credit.

CLEP assigns an approximate percentage of marks to each section. However, the percentage assigned to each section/area may not follow an even distribution pattern.

This is clearly reflected by the Chemistry break-up for CLEP, which is as follows:

Approximate percent of examination (Note the difference between maximum and minimum allocations)

20% Structure of Matter
19% States of Matter
12% Reaction Types
10% Equations and Stoichiometry
7% Equilibrium
4% Kinetics
5% Thermodynamics
14% Descriptive Chemistry
9% Experimental Chemistry


Since there's a cap on what % of your scores will be derived from each section, our mock tests are designed to provide proportionate coverage to each subject area.

It's important that you do not spread yourself too thin trying to focus equal attention on all sections.

This is just one of the many strategies we use to prepare the stimulating exercises and mock tests for our Members. Read on to discover the others!

You cannot pass just by memorizing the answers!
It's not enough to get a good score on our mock tests. Your CLEP exams will introduce new variables in each question and answer choice, and you must become adept at the thoughtful application of your knowledge. It's one of the reasons why we advise you to pay attention to not just the answers, but also the structure of the questions and the explanation for each answer.

Even if you know the answer to a specific question, always click "Show Answer" and read the complete explanation. This applies to all questions, especially the fill-in-the-blank exercises, where the blank is sometimes not as important as the information contained in the explanation.

The purpose of InstantCert mock-tests is three-fold:
To build proficiency in the subject matter, familiarize yourself with the phrasing and difficulty level and to help you choose exam subjects where you have the highest possibility of passing.

The computerized format enables you to learn how actual tests are administered and plan accordingly.
Similarly, the fill-in-the-blank format discourages cramming by providing questions, answers and explanations in meaningful "nuggets" that you can understand and internalize.

The "Randomize" Feature is another way to test your proficiency, by breaking up the 'expected' order of questions and putting them in a format closer to the actual CLEPs.

Focus on gaining a high level of proficiency in our study material.
Till you've completely grasped the subject, difficulty level and phrasing of the questions, you are not fully equipped to pass the test.

The CLEPs do not require you to be an expert in any particular area. The key is to demonstrate the 'achievement' of college level, rather than your academic aptitude.

The InstantCert material is comprehensive and sufficient.
We don't include everything, but you don't have to know everything to pass CLEP. It's more important to be strong in some areas than to know a little bit about everything.

Preparation time: Many of our Members have successfully passed CLEP with as little as a few weeks of preparation. But the amount of time and effort required by you will vary greatly according to your individual skill level, chosen subject and the college where you are seeking admission.

However, it's likely to be far less compared to the time taken to attend 1-2 years of classes and pass exams prepared by a college professor. On average, a score of 50 points can earn you from 3-12 credits towards your College Degree, for each CLEP taken.

Note: New material is constantly being added, and we welcome your suggestions for future introductions!

In conclusion, your study plan must focus on passing the CLEP- the marks scored over and above the qualifying score will not lead to more credit! Over-preparation may be better than under-preparation, but by following our structured plan you can earn more credits with the same amount of time and effort.

Important Points Always read the answer and explanation completely The blank you fill in is often not as important as the information contained in the question and answer as a whole. Do not use the "randomize" feature until you are familiar with the materials Studying the questions in their normal order helps reveal how the facts are related. This is especially true for subjects such as U.S. History, but applies to the other subjects as well.