<p>For example - I have two masters degrees yet have never taken a standardized test - ever. No SAT, no GMAT, no LSAT…nothing…nada.</p>
<p>How? </p>
<p>I was a poor student in HS, blew off college instead opting to work for six years at various and sundry jobs (including a year in the California Conservation Corps), drove a 1969 VW Bus on a six-month circumnavigation of the United States.</p>
<p>Then I got married, started community college at LBCC (at the strong urging of my wife), got an AA, got accepted into CSULB, got a BA in Geography, got invited to “restart” the Geography graduate program, took ten years to finish an MA while working full time, worked full time 10 more years, got a Fellowship from work for an MPA - finished in 2.5 years of full time grad work (while working full time).</p>
<p>Our kids give me grief about being a good role model… </p>
<p>Any more unusual routes to college out there?</p>
<p>Sure,
My dad took a break from Purdue after Pearl Harbor and spent an uncomfortable time on Iwo Jima and various other hot spots in Pacific during WWII and finished his studies four years later.
DAD I SALUTE YOU ON VETERANS DAY!!! talk about role models.</p>
<p>and my Uncle Tom who did a tour with Patton and finished his studies at Ohio State
and Uncle Bill who also finished his degree at Ohio State after flying bombing missions over Berlin.</p>
<p>Went to a CC my first year of College, transferred to a 4 year school, attended for less than a year, stayed in the community, became friends with the Univ President, founded a Univ Research & Dev group, received State & Fed funding, left after 4 years, no degree, worked in a major medical center founded a research treatment group, became an instructor, still no degree, after 3 years, applied for a state alternative degree based on life experience, awarded enough credit to be able to graduate with three additional courses, found a graduate program that admitted me into their MA program while I concurrently finished the undergrad requirement, awarded a BA, six months later awarded an MA. While working on the BA/MA began an experimental research lab, supervised students. That fall, entered Ph.D. program in an entirely different area at a top private in a program ranked #1 in the nation. Loved it. Got a job restructuring training at a major medical center while doing grad work, got married, founded a software company, sold the company to some big PNW company, taught at colleges, became college dean, finally graduated after 15 years of continuos enrollment in Ph.D. program (would still be there if not threatened with having to retake all the coursework).</p>
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