Today I want to share with you all the best CLEP exam advice I’ve ever received. A… hack, if you will.

In a CLEP exam at the testing center, you get one question on your screen at a time, with five possible answers underneath. CLEPs are multiple choice. Most of you guys know this by now.

But the best advice I’ve ever read about CLEP testing has to do with the review function. On each question, there is a checkbox to review questions later, and a button at the top right of the screen to see a list of all of the question numbers, numbers with check marks next to them have been clicked for review.

I once read that, using the ‘check for review’ feature during your CLEP exam you should go through the entire CLEP exam at least 2-3 times! At first I wasn’t sure about that what with the time limit, but it actually has worked so well for me, so I wanted to share it! If you guys try it, let me know how you like it!

**I cannot take credit for this idea originally, but I do follow this pattern (almost religiously)**

1. Go through the entire exam, every question, as quickly as possible. I would spend about 10-15 seconds per question. Answer the questions you know. There will be some questions (maybe not a ton, but still several) that you know; the easy ones, the ones you just reviewed, the general knowledge ones. Answer those, and click ‘review’ on every question you aren’t 100% sure about. Don’t feel bad if most of your questions are still blank—that’s normal.

2. This is your second round through the questions. Now you can slow your pace slightly, enough to read the question through twice and each answer, and try to choose an answer by deducting that only one of the options makes sense. Still, don’t spend more than about 30 seconds per question. Read it through once, read the options, if you answer, uncheck the review box. Hopefully after this round through, most questions will be answered.

(If you do the deducting method and there are two possibly options still, keep it checked and get it in your third round.)

3+. On your third or fourth runs through the exam, you don’t know any of the answers. That is literally the idea of this level, so don’t feel stupid. Keep an extra eye on the clock and pace yourself, but at this point you have extra time to read questions multiple times, analyze options, think like the exam writer, and try to guess what he wants you to say.

**If you are zoning out, can’t focus on the question, you’ve been staring at it for a full minute or longer, or it’s frustrating you, check it and move on. The exam time limits are plenty long, but not long enough for panicking or melting down. Pass it for now, get back in your groove, and come back to it.

And that’s it! Those ‘review later’ checkboxes are life-saving, and if you aren’t using them, you are ignoring a fantastic asset in your exams!

I did not use this method in my literature exams because it’s not practical when you have long reading passages to analyze. But, I have used this in all of my other CLEP exams and I have never failed nor run out of time, yet!

Good luck, testers!

**Image source: Pinterest