AP vs CLEP vs DSST vs an online course: every way to earn credit outside a college

Neither is better everywhere; it depends on where you are and on your college's policy. AP is a high school course, and “Your AP coordinator will tell you when and where the exam will be administered”; exams are each May, scored 1 to 5. CLEP is one exam, given year-round, scored 20 to 80, with ACE recommending credit at 50. Check the CLEP policy search for your college.

By official fee, one exam: CLEP $97 plus a test center fee or $30 remote proctoring, AP $99 in the US (College Board notes a school may charge more), DSST $100 plus the test site's fee. An exam only pays off if you already know the subject and your college takes it. At UPI Study a course has no exam or proctoring fees, and a transcript is $20.

Many later and specialized courses. None of the three has an exam for Calculus 3, Discrete Mathematics, Anatomy and Physiology or Medical Terminology: AP's math stops at Calculus BC and Statistics, CLEP's at Calculus, and DSST's at algebra, liberal-arts math and statistics. UPI Study teaches all four as self-paced courses, each with an NCCRS recommendation.

For AP, CLEP and DSST, each college publishes its own policy. For UPI Study courses: ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Search your school in Find My College and ask your registrar which routes it takes for your requirement.

CLEP, yes: every CLEP exam can be taken with remote proctoring, for $30 on top of the exam fee. DSST's FAQ says its exams are taken at authorized testing centers, mostly on college campuses; check DSST's site for current options before you plan.

AP: one free score send each year you test, more for a fee. CLEP: up to 2 institutions free when you register, a fee after the exam. DSST: give your college's 4-digit DSST code at the exam; later copies are ordered through Parchment. UPI Study: we email your official transcript to the college ($20).

AP: the exams come round again the next May. CLEP: you may not retake the same exam within three months. DSST: you can retest after a 30-day wait. UPI Study: quizzes can be retaken as often as you like, and a failed final has one free retake; fail the retake and you restart the course.

Yes, as long as two don't cover the same course, because your college counts each subject once. For example, pass CLEP Calculus for Calculus 1, then take Calculus 2 and Calculus 3 as courses.

No. UPI Study is a course provider: each course has lessons, quizzes, an assignment and a proctored final, and NCCRS recommends credit for every course (ACE also for 22).

Often, yes. College Board says a CLEP exam may be paid for by military benefits, and DANTES funds one attempt per CLEP title; DSST says DANTES funds the first attempt to pass a DSST exam.