My school provides a way to "test out" of a given course by exam. Basically you contact an instructor for the course and make arrangements with them for what th

My school provides a way to "test out" of a given course by exam. Basically you contact an instructor for the course and make arrangements with them for what the test will look like, and submit some paperwork. The big downside at my school is the fee for this approach is the regular cost of taking the course, paid before you take the test, and nonrefundable in the event you don't pass. But not passing doesn't appear on your transcripts, so it only dings you financially Also, you're only allowed to test out of a handful of requirements for your major. It was explained to me this is so no one can effectively "buy a degree" over only a semester or two. But I've found most instructors willing to let someone in their classes who doesn't have formal prereqs who has relevant work experience I'm in a similar boat in that I'm in my 30s now back in school. when I was 18 I dicked around for a couple semesters and dropped out. Thankfully my old community college has a system for expunging bad grades that are more than 7 years old, and I don't think that's very uncommon