How to Earn the Best College Degree Life Experience for Credits 

Most of those taking college are 24 years old or older. With online college degree programs the average age of those taking up these programs is 36 years old.

Older students present special challenges. Colleges were made to teach young, naïve students. Older students are more experienced with life. They have manned businesses and did well with their careers. Several of them acquired extensive specialized expertise on-the-job.

Why get college degree life experience credit?
 
Most colleges now teach re-structured knowledge based on their assessments of those fields of study that adults have mastered on their own. Once assessed, this knowledge may be placed on a college transcript. Life experience credit is given where it is due. 

Through acquiring life experience credity a college degree will be a lot easier to earn and one does not have to splurge much. At some colleges almost half an undergraduate degree can be pursued this way. Thousands of dollars can be saved this way.

Ways to earn the best college degree for life experience:

1.  Challenge Exams

Challenge exams are created to "test" what a student already knows about college-level fields of study, i.e., business, nursing, foreign languages, etc. For a reasonable fee a student can take these exams at local testing sites. These exams are multiple choice, have an average of one hundred questions, and can be finished in an hour or less.

Challenge exams include:

a. College Level Exam Program (CLEP)

This is the most widely accepted challenge exam program that is accepted by more than 2,900 accredited colleges for undergraduate degree credit.

b. Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES)

It is originally developed to test military students. It is now available to the public and it covers business, physical science and social science.

c. Thomas Edison College Exam Program (TECEP)

Thomas Edison State is known as the adult education and distance learning college of New Jersey. Most of those who take the TECEP program are also striving to earn a distance undergraduate degree with Edison, however, other colleges also accept these exams. These exams cover the science and math, business, humanities, social science or history and professional areas such as counseling.

d. Ohio University Exams

Students of Ohio University's distance undergraduate degrees compose the examinees of Ohio University exams. However, other accredited degree programs also accept these exams. Moreover, students can sometimes ask for special tests to be created in subjects aside from normal test offers.

e. Excelsior College Exams

New York is home to Excelsior adult education and distance learning college. Most examinees are also striving to earn a distance undergraduate degree with Excelsior, but other colleges may also honor these exams. Exams cover business, the liberal arts and professional areas such as education and nursing.

2.  Academic Portfolio

Others do better with written form through essays and papers, than taking multiple choice time pressured exams. These people consider earning the best life experience college degree through the compilation of a written academic portfolio.

One can be a good candidate for credits through the academic portfolio process if:

a. He is not a good with taking exams.
 
b. There are no available challenge exams in your field of specialization.
 
c. Writing reports and papers is your forte.
 
d. You have a good background of practical knowledge, rather than denotative prowess.
 
e. You have products, i.e., business plans, artwork, articles, videos, written reports, certificates, that confirm your competency in particular subject areas. 

Academic portfolios are accepted for review, but they often require students to enroll in a course to learn how to create an academic portfolio. The homework for this course involves interacting with an instructor to identify and document college-level knowledge for degree credit.

3.  College Credit for Corporate Training

Since corporations, more than colleges, use more time, effort and money to train adults, several of them operate their own universities, which specialize in teaching employees from a general field such as time management to as specific as Java programming. This display of educational determination from corporations greatly benefits adult learners seeking for the best life experience college degree. These non-collegiate training programs are often converted to college credit through the production of a portfolio.

4. Professional Licenses and Credentials

Another method that one can make use of in acquiring the best life experience college degree is through getting reviewed for professional certifications from non-collegiate agencies. Professional certifications include Certified Public Accountant, Certified Novel Administrator, Certified Computer Programmer, Certified Novell Engineer, Certified Purchasing Manager, Certified Professional Secretary, Chartered Financial Consultant, etc.

5.  Military Training College Credit

The military is a big specialized training ground. ACE publishes an annual, an impressive 4-volume set on how military training and job specialization translate into best life experience college degree. Basic Training or Boot Camp alone is commonly worth a number of free elective credits in personal hygiene, first aid, physical education, and marksmanship.