Success Stories

What lengths would you go to for free college credit?

Wisconsin’s Adam Klawitter wasn’t letting anything get in the way of his education.

At the start of the pandemic, he withdrew from his sophomore year of college but continued to look for cost-effective opportunities to further his education. He discovered ModernStates.org, which has 30+ tuition-free courses to prepare students for CLEPs (credit-bearing exams offered by the College Board).

After completing several Modern States courses, Klawitter called every CLEP test center in Wisconsin to find they were all closed because of COVID-19; the nearest open center was 1,000+ miles away at the University of Montana at Bozeman. Amazingly, his family purchased a used van to make the days-long trip, which included sight-seeing at national parks and camping along the way.

Eight days after embarking on his journey, Klawitter took the Principles of Marketing, Sociology and Information Systems CLEP exams, followed by two more, Western Civilization and Business Law, the following day. He passed all five, and because Modern States covers all costs, the credit he earned was completely free.

“I think the only sight more beautiful than the mountains was that of those test score papers coming out hot off the printer,” Klawitter said. He recently re-enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point as a junior marketing major with a full, free year of college under his belt.

His younger sister, Ava, also used Modern States to prepare for and pass CLEP exams. Their mom, Tammy, is now working with one of her younger children on the Sociology course to try to earn even more free college credit. “My advice is to start early. I wish we knew about Modern States and CLEP sooner,” Tammy said. “It’s a fantastic way to earn credits quickly and with less of an expense than traditional courses.”

We wish Adam all the best as he continues on the path to a college degree. Have a success story you’d like to share? Send us a message at [email protected] or connect with us in our Facebook group.

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