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For traditional high school seniors planning to attend college, there's an established pipeline for getting into college and most likely your parents and high school faculty will manage a lot of the process, tell you when college entrance exams are available and what your application deadlines are.
Adults who didn't attend college right out of high school or didn't complete their degree often don't seem to know what they need to do or even that the rules are often different for nontraditional students.
I turned down a National Merit Scholarship to a prestigious university elsewhere, attended the local college for two years and then dropped out without any kind of degree. I later wrapped up my Associate of Arts because a two-year degree will allow me to transfer credits to a four-year program but with no degree, classes over twenty years old stop being accepted as transfer credits.
I then enrolled in a Bachelor's of Science via an online degree program, which I never quite finished, and completed a Certificate in GIS that was the equivalent of master's level work without requiring a bachelor's degree like most master's programs would require.
I was able to complete it because I found a two-month Summer Bootcamp version of what is usually a year-long certificate program. It was designed for working professionals who typically traveled there from elsewhere. A third of my class was working archeologists who took the summer off to enhance their resumes and they all knew each other.
Last, I also have a technical certificate from a technical college paid for by my employer. That brings me up to about six years worth of college, two-thirds of it acquired as a nontraditional or adult learner and absolutely no online survey has an answer for "how much education do you have?" that fits my situation.
Additionally, I took unaccredited classes offered once a week by my son's school to help me cope effectively with my special needs sons, worked for several months for an education-focused voluntary health and welfare organization called The TAG Project and ran an online discussion group for families with members who were not neurotypical so we could discuss articles about research into neurological stuff and figure out how to deal more effectively with our quirky kids.
Education teaches you how to think. Training teaches you how to work. Credentialed classes can enhance your resume but unaccredited learning can help you resolve a personal problem or improve your business ventures if you are a freelancer or small business owner.
So this site will not just cover accredited college options. Depending on your circumstances and goals, that may not be the best option for you.
19 December 2025
Adults who didn't attend college right out of high school or didn't complete their degree often don't seem to know what they need to do or even that the rules are often different for nontraditional students.
I turned down a National Merit Scholarship to a prestigious university elsewhere, attended the local college for two years and then dropped out without any kind of degree. I later wrapped up my Associate of Arts because a two-year degree will allow me to transfer credits to a four-year program but with no degree, classes over twenty years old stop being accepted as transfer credits.
I then enrolled in a Bachelor's of Science via an online degree program, which I never quite finished, and completed a Certificate in GIS that was the equivalent of master's level work without requiring a bachelor's degree like most master's programs would require.
I was able to complete it because I found a two-month Summer Bootcamp version of what is usually a year-long certificate program. It was designed for working professionals who typically traveled there from elsewhere. A third of my class was working archeologists who took the summer off to enhance their resumes and they all knew each other.
Last, I also have a technical certificate from a technical college paid for by my employer. That brings me up to about six years worth of college, two-thirds of it acquired as a nontraditional or adult learner and absolutely no online survey has an answer for "how much education do you have?" that fits my situation.
Additionally, I took unaccredited classes offered once a week by my son's school to help me cope effectively with my special needs sons, worked for several months for an education-focused voluntary health and welfare organization called The TAG Project and ran an online discussion group for families with members who were not neurotypical so we could discuss articles about research into neurological stuff and figure out how to deal more effectively with our quirky kids.
Education teaches you how to think. Training teaches you how to work. Credentialed classes can enhance your resume but unaccredited learning can help you resolve a personal problem or improve your business ventures if you are a freelancer or small business owner.
So this site will not just cover accredited college options. Depending on your circumstances and goals, that may not be the best option for you.
19 December 2025