Easy DANTES Prep
Dantes Tools for Success

Advantages to taking DANTES exams?
Besides saving money, it saves you time. By using an online study service students can literally study one day and take the test the following day. Consider the time involved with just one college course can be upwards of 100 hrs. and that’s not considering the cost. With some knowledge of a subject a test-taker can brush up and expand the necessary knowledge to take a DANTES test in no time.

"Obtaining credit through exam is a great way to earn college credit quickly save money and time, and avoid demotivating yourself by being stuck in courses where you're repeating material you already know," says Dr. Susan Smith Nash, a former faculty member of Excelsior College.

"Keep in mind that taking a [DSST] test is not something that should be taken lightly, even though it is tempting to go in and wing it, just to see how you'll do," advises Dr. Nash. "This is often the case in the military, where it's not very easy to get the exam preparation materials, and not convenient to lug around a stack of heavy, bulky textbooks. If you really want to pass the test, you will need to study."

Credit-by-Exams, DANTES and CLEP Exams

• Saves You Money - An average college course can cost you over $400 per credit.
• Saves You Time - The average college course takes from 3 to 6 hours a week spread out over three or more months. Depending on your depth of knowledge, you could spend less than a month preparing for each credit-by-exam test.  
• Helps You Skip Ahead - Why spend time and money on boring freshman level courses when you can jump up to the more interesting advanced courses?
• Lets You Use Study Groups - Find a group of people at your unit, school, or job with like goals and study together on lunch breaks. This is commonly referred to as "Brown Bag Universities."  
• Offers You Flexibility - You can set your own deadlines and choose your own study materials: videos, college textbooks, or study guides.  
• Doesn't Require College Enrollment - Unlike taking college courses, you don't have to be enrolled in college to take these exams.

Tools for Success

If you hope to be successful with DSSTs or other credit-by-examination options, you may wish to follow this plan:

1. Check out the fact sheet for that test.
Does it seem like this is something where you have previous knowledge?  If it is, go to the next step. If it is not, you would be wise to study prior to taking the practice tests.

2. Test your knowledge.
Use the practice tests at Mister Prep.  It's free for the first 10 days, and only $9.95 a month after that.

3. After sufficient studying, take a practice test again.

5. If you do well on the practice test, it’s time for the real thing!

It’s important that you don’t rush the process. If you pass a practice test, but did not do particularly well, you are well-advised to learn more before taking the test. However, one advantage with the DSST is that the cost is so low relative to other tests that a failure on a single test does not cost you hundreds of dollars.

Good Luck and Happy Learning!