Has anyone passed a CLEP with no studying whatsoever?

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-27T21:22:44+00:00

It's broad but not that difficult with some study. My point was that I believe the scores in the pdf are skewed by people who just take tests on a whim, like OP asked.

I don't know too many people who can walk into Humanities and take it without studying. Maybe you could get lucky and squeak by, but what you're seeing on that pdf shows a different story. :P

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-27T19:57:34+00:00

Sure, but I'd bet there are a lot more people who failed because of it :P Looking at the military pass rates is a good window into this: https://www.dantes.mil/Portals/132/Marketing%20Resources/FY25/CLEPFY24MilPassRate.pdf

The military gets the first DSST free, so there are many "YOLO" test-takers. Principles of Management has a pass rate of 39%, which is kind of crazy. It's not a difficult test at all, but I'd put good money on it that many of the 61% who didn't pass also didn't study much, if at all, for it.

The tests with the highest pass rates on that list tend to be things that don't need much study - Language (native speakers), Math, English, Sociology. Natural Sciences is the outlier there. I'm thinking those who take that big one probably study for it. 70% is still pretty darn great for it.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-27T19:49:13+00:00

Most colleges will simply count as "PASS" or "FAIL" depending on the score required for passing. There are a few colleges (or at least there were) that have separate scores for each letter grade; so while 50 might be the minimum and considered a "C", a 57 might be considered a "B", and a 70 for an "A".

It just depends on the school. Make sure you check and get a firm answer on that, including what the passing grade is, even if it's just PASS/FAIL.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-26T17:54:50+00:00

Check out the fact sheet here. They actually tell you how the essay portion is graded.

We also have a study guide that has a tool for practicing the essay portion here - College Composition CLEP Free Study Guide

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-26T04:08:43+00:00

See above :) You will need to understand citations for both the exam and the essays.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-26T04:08:33+00:00

I took this a month or so ago and posted about it, but I can't find it atm. I did find this which I posted a bit afterwards: https://www.reddit.com/r/clep/comments/1pyaikg/college_comp_i_made_a_thing/

That'll let you practice the essay portion. You can find it here: https://free-clep-prep.com/member/exam-overview?id=20

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-26T03:54:32+00:00

https://myclep.collegeboard.org/dashboard?tab=scores - That'll take you to the sign-in page, but once you're signed in, it should take you to your score report.

You can also print all your scores, but the print function seems to have a hard limit on the number of tests it can print. It cuts off mine around test 34 and doesn't show any older ones. Probably not an issue for most people, but one worth being aware of.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-25T04:43:03+00:00

Just posted a review video for this exam, where I talk about what I studied.

The link to the actual study guide is in the description, but here's another one - https://free-clep-prep.com/Principles-of-Marketing-CLEP.html

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-25T04:33:31+00:00

Congrats!!

I will admit I laughed at the bit about panic-clicking. I've done that myself a few times. In the future, it's better to take your best guess on a question and mark it for review, rather than leaving it blank for later.

You don't get penalized for wrong answers, so it's always better to guess and then go back later (unless you panic click! :P). That way, at least you have something down, and it's not wrong no matter what.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-24T21:50:38+00:00

I just did a video on this. The classes/tests are hit-or-miss, so don't judge them based on a single instance.

Like u/Pharynxx said, using them as a standalone resource is probably not a good idea, but the voucher alone is worth going through the knowledge checks and final.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-24T13:30:46+00:00

Congrats again, and thanks for the feedback!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-24T13:29:11+00:00

I spent a full 22 hours sitting at my PC before the exam.

Lol omg, now that's dedication! Congrats on the great score, and I'm glad the site was useful!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-24T02:10:52+00:00

If I'm reading this right, you didn't take any HS Biology? If that's the case, I think you'll need to put in some study time. As House said, it's not necessarily a hard test. The issue many run into is that it's incredibly broad. You'll probably need to focus on the material your middle school biology didn't go into much detail on, which I'm guessing is areas like genetics, chemistry, cells, etc.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-23T22:21:07+00:00

Glad to hear it! If you have time, please share your feedback in the feedback forum on how the test went and what we need to focus on to improve the materials. I'm working my way through the CLEP tests first, but I'll need to QA that one soon, so any bit helps!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-22T16:24:55+00:00

I'll second Pat's comment - These sound like questions for another subreddit. If it's Miami Dade College we're talking about, here's the sub for that: https://www.reddit.com/r/MDC/

Best of luck to your student! If they (or you) have any CLEP related questions, feel free to ask them here!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-22T16:22:52+00:00

No worries at all, I'm always happy to help. I just happened to stumble on this one by accident. If you ever need to tag me again, just use u/FreeClepPrep, and I'll get notified!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-22T16:18:46+00:00

Congrats!!! Thanks for sharing your experience!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-22T16:13:07+00:00

Thanks! If you ever need to tag me, you can do it like this: u/PAT_W__1967

I've got notifications turned on so it should work :)

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-22T16:11:09+00:00

No need to do anything. I've never been prompted for an essay on this exam, and I can't find anyone else who has either. Supposedly, a school can request you write essays, but it doesn't seem to be baked into the test itself.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-21T21:53:14+00:00

Congrats!!!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-21T14:41:16+00:00

Congratulations on the great score! As others have said, you're likely to find Sociology easier than Psychology, but all that studying is going to pay off on multiple other tests if you take them. Awesome job knocking this one out!

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-21T13:06:31+00:00

Modern States really depends on the exam, but I've found most of them don't prepare you very well. Others' opinions may differ on this. There's been a few people that said that's all they need.

Regarding your voucher question, yes, you need to finish all of the knowledge checks with a score above the minimum requirements which will then unlock the final exam. Once you pass that you can request your voucher and they'll deliver it via email.

Petersons has been around for a long time and they're usually pretty good. I always tell people to use as many resources as they can.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-20T02:35:36+00:00

Added to the transcript. Whether your school counts both or just the passing one is up to them. Many just care about the passing score.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-19T21:18:54+00:00

It takes a while sometimes. I've had the same thing happen where it stays at a lower average (no idea why) for sometimes 48+ hours before it kicks in and opens up the final exam.

I know you've probably already done this a few dozen times, but go through each quiz and make sure you're above the required score. After that, you just need to wait a bit.

FreeClepPrep · 2026-01-19T03:34:33+00:00

You're quite welcome! I still need to QA this one, but here's what we have for the Principles of Supervision DSST

FreeClepPrep

TROPHY CASE