With the economy still struggling and jobs harder to find, many students are turning to graduate programs as an alternative to working after college.
For students attempting to gain entrance into graduate programs, the SMU Counseling and Testing Center is a valuable resource. The testing center offers a wide range of academic testing including the MCAT, LSAT and GRE.
The center, located on the second floor of the Memorial Health Center, is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Corey Ellis, the center’s testing coordinator, said that many SMU students don’t know about the resources available at the center.
“We would like the SMU community to know more about our services so that they may take advantage of our center,” Ellis said.
The center offers several tests during regular business hours, including the College Level Education Program, correspondence exams, the Miller Analogies Test, the GED and the institutional SAT.
“I really enjoy the testing center and all it has to offer,” junior Jaime Simpson said. “They have some neat programs in there that helped me get the right LSAT score.”
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education test is also given for students wanting to enter the field of law enforcement.
Ellis said she felt the CLEP and MAT tests were of particular interest to SMU students. The MAT is a test used like the GRE and is taken for entrance into graduate programs. Ellis said that many graduate schools accept the MAT test, although SMU graduate programs do not. There is a $65 registration fee for the test.
The CLEP test gives students the opportunity to “place out” of college courses. There are six CLEP tests accepted by SMU: American Government, American History, American Literature, English Literature, Biology and Economics. The entire catalog of CLEP tests cover subjects ranging from business to science. The CLEP tests are given three times a week at the center. Registration for the tests cost $71.
“CLEP courses are a great way to place out of high school courses,” senior Feras Gadamsi said. “I was able to get 12 hours of credit that way.”
The testing center also provides learning disability and math placement testing.
For more information about registration, cost and available testing dates, contact Corey Ellis at (214) 768-2269.
