Purdue Fast Start

We strongly encourage you to connect with our Office of Admissions to discuss CLEP course recommendations. We’re happy to help you explore course offerings and to discuss how they might accelerate your plan of study. Contact the Office of Admissions with questions at admissions@purdue.edu.

Purdue encourages you to take the courses provided by your high school first. Utilize CLEP only if your school does not offer AP or dual enrollment courses and/or if you were not able to get college credit from them. If you’ve already completed an AP exam or college course and achieved a score high enough to receive Purdue credit for the course, there’s no benefit to taking a CLEP exam in the same subject. 
 
Learn how AP exam scores and dual enrollment correlate to Purdue coursework on our Transfer Credit Guidelines page.

Modern States courses are self-paced and can be taken at any point during your high school career. CLEP exams should be scheduled after the course is completed and must be completed prior to submitting an application for admission to Purdue. Nov. 1 is Purdue’s Early Action deadline as well as the application deadline for our full range of scholarships and the John Martinson Honors College. 

While you can take courses through the Modern States platform and complete CLEP exams (costs are not covered), the Purdue Fast Start Program is designed for students attending high school and living in Indiana. 

CLEP exams are administered by College Board. They are similar to AP exams. Many institutions, including Purdue, offer college credit based on CLEP exam scores.

It depends on the plan of study for the major you enroll in at Purdue. How CLEP credit applies will depend on your chosen major and corresponding plan of study. We encourage you to work with our admissions office on the best CLEP courses to take. 

Review Purdue CLEP credits. 

Assured admission is guaranteed admission for students who meet all required criteria. To gain assured admission to Purdue, you must complete and pass five CLEP exams. You also must submit all general admissions requirements (core academic requirements, test scores, application and all supporting documents) along with CLEP exam results. Failure to submit a complete application, including items listed above, by the Nov. 1 Early Action deadline could lower your chances of being admitted.  

Assured admission applies to Purdue West Lafayette or Indianapolis, one of Purdue’s regional campuses, or one of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute statewide locations. Exact major selection is not guaranteed.