How to Check If Your College Accepts CLEP Credits from Modern States

Updated

Modern States courses themselves do not award credit. The credit comes from passing a CLEP exam, and CLEP is recognized by nearly 3,000 colleges and universities. To check whether your specific school accepts it, use the CLEP Acceptance Tool on the Modern States site, then confirm the details with your school's registrar or admissions office. This applies to any learner who has completed or is considering a Modern States course and wants to know if the resulting CLEP score will count at a particular institution.

How the credit path actually works

The sequence matters, because it determines what you are really checking for:

  1. You complete a free Modern States online course, taught by professors from world-class universities and covering content from freshman-level college classes.
  2. You take the corresponding CLEP exam through the College Level Examination Program.
  3. If you pass, the exam score — not the Modern States course — is what a college evaluates for credit.

So the question "does my college accept Modern States credits?" is really "does my college accept CLEP credit for this subject, and at what score?"

Step 1: Use the CLEP Acceptance Tool

Modern States provides a CLEP Acceptance Tool under its Resources section. This is the fastest first filter.

  • Input: your target college or university.
  • Action: look it up through the tool.
  • Expected result: an indication of whether that institution is among those recognizing CLEP credit.

Treat this as a starting point, not a final answer. The site states that CLEP exams are recognized for credit by nearly 3,000 colleges and universities — but "recognized by the institution" and "accepted for your specific program and score" are different things.

Step 2: Confirm with the school directly

This is the step most learners skip, and it is where surprises happen. A school can accept CLEP in general while your department or major sets stricter rules.

Ask the registrar or admissions office:

  • Does the school award credit for the specific CLEP exam you plan to take?
  • What minimum score is required?
  • Does the credit apply toward your major, toward general education requirements, or only as elective credit?
  • Is there a cap on how many CLEP credits you can apply?
  • Are there residency rules that limit transfer or exam-based credit?

Get the answer in writing (email is fine) so you have a record.

What to check before you invest time

Check Why it matters
School accepts CLEP at all If not, the exam won't produce usable credit there
Specific exam accepted Schools often accept some CLEP subjects but not others
Minimum passing score A pass on the exam may be below your school's threshold
Credit type (major / gen ed / elective) Determines whether it actually helps your degree plan
Credit cap and residency rules Limits how much exam credit you can apply

Common pitfalls

  • Assuming "nearly 3,000 colleges" means your college. The number describes overall recognition, not your program's policy.
  • Confusing the Modern States course with the credit. Completing the course is preparation; the CLEP exam is the credit-bearing step.
  • Checking only the school, not the department. Your major may have its own rules.
  • Not asking about score minimums. Acceptance and acceptance-at-your-score are not the same.

If your school confirms it accepts the relevant CLEP exam at a score you can reach, the Modern States route is a low-cost way to pursue that credit. If it does not, the exam may still be worth taking for other institutions, but it won't help at that school.