“What do you mean you failed?” my mother exclaimed. This was after telling her I failed a Calculus One course in college. As a mechanical engineering student, I was expected to ace all my classes. However, due to unfortunate circumstances with an unnecessary internship, I failed.
The internship was a political one, requiring me to complete ten to sixteen hours per week, which was too much for a full-time student. I did not have any interest in this, yet I completed it for credit on my resume. I never received the credit, and I barely had time to study overall, which resulted in my failure.
It was my first time taking sixteen credits, and these classes were challenging, with professors who confused me a lot and were ultimately terrible teachers. I took Chemistry, Calculus One, and Physics One all together in the same semester, which was difficult for me to understand the concepts or complete problems. All in all, I bit off more than I can chew.
This crushed my spirit. Once I got the Calculus “F”, I started to notice C’s and D’s ( and one B-) on my grade report. I decided two things: I could sink, sulk and shrivel, or I could take the CLEP exam, and learn to swim. I chose the ladder, choosing to take the CLEP exam. I prepared for a month, studying problems over and over again, using a textbook for problems, and watching videos on YouTube on how to achieve the answer I desired. I took my CLEP exam in January, during my winter break. I scored a 50 on the exam, which was passing for my school.
They took the credit, but I had to retake most of the classes I took last semester. They luckily took my chemistry class, and this came as a surprise to me. In mechanical engineering, math is essential to succeed. I don’t have many mathematical skills, as I took math courses at an average level in middle school and high school. However, I got back up again and again, as math kind of kicked my butt over and over again.
In conclusion, CLEP saved me, as I did not have to retake the class over again. As someone with sheer dedication, CLEP prepared me for future situations. I plan to take the English Literature CLEP exam over the summer, as it might help me get closer to completing my degree.