According to a BestCollege.com article citing findings from the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 4 million adult learners were enrolled in an undergraduate degree program in the U.S. in fall 2023; these students accounted for 24% of the overall 16.4 million undergrads.

Returning to school as an adult can feel overwhelming – especially when juggling work, family, and finances. That’s where we come in. Modern States offers a practical way for adult learners who are enrolled in college–and those who stopped college early or went straight to work after high school–to make progress towards a degree. Our free, online courses prepare you for CLEP exams, which over 2,900 colleges and universities accept for credit. You study when it’s convenient for you, test when you’re ready, and apply passing scores toward graduation without adding another costly class.

Understanding where you can use CLEP exams to earn credit is an essential step in the journey. If you know where you want to attend, go directly to the source: on the registrar or transfer-credit page, confirm which CLEP exams are accepted, the minimum scores, any credit caps, and where credits apply (gen ed, electives, or course equivalents). If you don’t know where you want to go, you can use our CLEP Acceptance Tool to look at the range of institutions that accept CLEP exams for credit.

From there, open your degree progress tracker or speak with an advisor to identify gaps you can fill with Modern States and CLEP.

Once you know the courses that matter to you, it’s time to prepare with Modern States. Enroll in one of our courses and complete it at your own pace. When you finish, request the CLEP exam voucher and schedule testing at a center or via remote proctoring.

With a clear plan, Modern States can help you finish the degree you started on your own timeline.