DLI and Associates Degree-CLEP tests
 

Hi All- My daughter just graduated HS and will be heading to bootcamp in August and then off to Monterey. We saw that she can get an AA with some gen ed courses or taking CLEP exams. We were curious if she can knock some of them out this summer before leaving. I can't imagine it would be a problem, but hoping someone here has experience. Thanks!

Once she's in she can take CLEPs for free, but it's not like they're super expensive anyway. There shouldn't be any issues if she takes them over the summer. Just make sure to do the right ones!

Honestly, I recommend she knock them out before she arrives if you dont mind paying the fee. I had college credits but still have to take two CLEPS. I find studying for them while trying to keep up with the flow of things stressful. Idk. That's just my experience.

You don't need to finish the AA degree while at DLI either. It's sometimes better to put it off until your next duty station because it then gets reflected on a later eval which could potentially hold more weight for testing etc.

I left DLI as an E3, that eval wasn't going to do me any good for the exam (plus it was already full of other stuff, I did a lot in 18 months). The degree went on my E4 evals instead, which definitely helped later on.

Granted, if you put it off too long then you tend to forget about it, but it should be used strategically for the most benefit when possible.

This summer has flown by, and she is leaving for RTC in a little over 2 weeks. She ended up working as a camp counselor this summer which left her very little time for studying, so didn't take any CLEPs.
JZhaun - Great insight into how to handle this, I had actually mused about if it would be better in the future with the thought of yearly evals.
I am guessing she will have a difficult time even considering completing while at DLI...
RaichuAi - It sounds like you are you currently at DLI? If so, any suggestions? Everything we hear is work hard during the week and relax on the weekends so you don't burn out, is this your experience?
I don't know how you all manage, and I thank-you for your service!