Teach yourself

Earn college credit by exam (CLEP)

CLEP exams, run by the College Board, test what you'd learn in an intro college course. Pass one and a college that accepts it gives you credit, so you skip the class and its tuition.

Exams

34 exams

in history and social sciences, composition and literature, science and math, business, and world languages

Cost

$97 per exam

plus a test center fee, for example $20 at HACC or $44 at Suffolk County Community College

Colleges

Over 3,000

grant credit for CLEP, each with its own passing scores and limits

Anyone can take a CLEP exam, at a test center or at home with remote proctoring, and most scores come right away. If you're in the military, your exam may be paid for by your military benefits. Before you test, look up the college you plan to attend: what score it needs, which exams it takes, and how many CLEP credits it allows.

Sources: College Board: Earn College Credit with CLEP; College Board: Register for a CLEP exam; College Board: CLEP exam topics; test center fees from HACC testing center: CLEP (updated August 2026) and Suffolk County Community College: CLEP fees. Checked November 6, 2026.

Take CLEP for free through Modern States

Modern States offers 32 free online courses taught by college professors, with free textbooks, that prepare you for CLEP exams. Finish a course (an average of 75% on its quizzes and at least 75% on its final, with retakes allowed) and you get a voucher that pays the CLEP exam fee. Some test centers still charge their own fee. You need to be 13 or older.

Source: Modern States: FAQ. Checked November 6, 2026.

Where to learn online

Well-known places to learn on your own, most of them free. They're listed A to Z in each group, not ranked. Nobody paid to be listed, and these aren't affiliate links. The description and cost for each come from its own page.

Courses and textbooks

• CourseraFree to start, then paid

  Courses from universities and companies. Since August 2025, free learners get the first module of nearly every course; the full course and certificates cost money or need financial aid. Source

• edXFree option on many courses

  University courses online. Many offer a free audit option you can choose when you enroll, with a paid upgrade for a certificate. Source

• Khan AcademyFree

  A nonprofit with practice problems, articles and videos. Source

• MIT OpenCourseWareFree

  Openly licensed teaching materials from more than 2,500 MIT courses. Source

• OpenStaxFree

  Peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks from Rice University, in math, science, social sciences, humanities and business. Source

• UdemyPaid

  A marketplace of courses taught by independent instructors, who set the price; Udemy and instructors often run sales. There is also a subscription plan. Source

Coding

• freeCodeCampFree

  A nonprofit with an interactive platform for learning to code, math and computer science, plus free certifications. Source

• The Odin ProjectFree

  A volunteer-run web development curriculum: HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Git, then a full-stack Ruby on Rails or JavaScript path. Source

Languages and books

• DuolingoFree, with paid extras

  Language courses anyone can take for free; a paid subscription removes ads and adds extra practice tools. Source

• LibbyFree with a library card

  Borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines from your local library on your phone. Source

YouTube channels

• 3Blue1BrownFree

  Math, physics and computer science explained visually, by Grant Sanderson. Source

• Crash CourseFree

  Short course-style video series across many school subjects. Source

• CS50Free

  Computer science lectures from the team behind CS50 at Harvard, Yale and Oxford. Source

• excelisfunFree

  Excel and Power BI lessons from Mike Girvin, a longtime professor at Highline College. Source

• freeCodeCamp.orgFree

  Long, complete courses in programming, math and computer science. Source

• Khan AcademyFree

  The nonprofit's video lessons, in many school subjects. Source

• Kurzgesagt – In a NutshellFree

  Animated explainers about science and big questions. Source

• MIT OpenCourseWareFree

  Lectures from MIT courses, from introductory to advanced. Source

• NumberphileFree

  Videos about numbers and mathematics, by Brady Haran. Source

• Professor LeonardFree

  Full math courses, organized into playlists by course. Source

• TED-EdFree

  Short animated lessons on all kinds of topics. Source

• The Organic Chemistry TutorFree

  Step-by-step tutorials in chemistry, physics, algebra, trigonometry, precalculus and calculus. Source

• VeritasiumFree

  Videos about science and how things work. Source

Checked November 6, 2026. Know a great free resource we should add? Email hello@afterhighschool.me.

Making it count

• For college credit, use exams a college recognizes (like CLEP), and check that college's policy first.
• For a job, show what you can do: a portfolio, projects you built, or a certification employers in that field ask for. Look at real job postings to see which ones they name.
• Building something of your own? A few fellowships pay young people to work on their own projects.
• Keep a record. Save your course list, scores and projects in one place so you can show them later.