If you find yourself looking to apply for a life experience degree, you should be keeping a couple of things in mind. You should know that chances are pretty good that if you are applying to an accredited school, they will most likely require both an extensive application and possibly an interview. Secondly, you need to keep in mind that just because you are proficient in your trade, or just because you have spent a lifetime mastering a particular skill or trade that that doesn’t mean that the school will simply hand you a diploma just because you feel you deserve one.
Many people who decide to apply for a life experience degree later on in life are doing so because they never completed a college degree earlier in life. There are many reasons why someone would want a life experience degree, either for recognition, increased pay or for the ability to move up in their career. They are often met with feelings of frustration and disappointment when they see people still ‘wet behind the ears’ who have none of the life experience or skill that they do move ahead simply because they have acquired a piece of paper from some university. What many fail to realize is that a college degree represents a well rounded education. This is why people applying for these degrees need to understand why the application and interview process may seem like overkill. Applications are often several pages and ask seemingly unrelated questions to the persons field of expertise. It is important to make sure to let the college know everything about you. Everything is important, even the stuff that seems mundane and trivial to you. Are you in a bowling league? Write it down! The college is looking for a well rounded individual. So not only do you write down all of your job related training, skills and organisations, but equally important are the other things you do outside of work. From social organisations to volunteer work to hobbies. You can’t tell these people too much!
Sticking to the ‘well rounded individual’ theme, you will now understand why a university may make you take a few nonsensical courses like basket weaving and literature 101 when you have been fixing diesel engines your entire life. Whether you recognise it or not, having a well rounded education can often be beneficial. Many breakthroughs and innovations have occurred when someone applies the lessons they have learned from one field to another. Your problem s0lving abilities also improve the more you subject yourself to different situations that you are unfamiliar in. As much as it may annoy you, take these classes in stride and see what you can take from them for yourself. You may be surprised to find that you have interests and aptitude in places you never before imagined!
If you find yourself applying for a life experience degree, expect a rigorous application process as well as the fact that the school is likely to require some extra work of you. Keep your mind on why you are doing this in the first place, and all of the annoyances that come with applying for your life experience degree will be put in their proper perspective.
