How I Earned 2 Degrees in 7 Months

How I Earned 2 Degrees in 7 Months

If you had told me a few years ago that I would earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in seven months at age 60, I probably would have wondered what you were drinking.

But that is exactly what happened.

I didn’t spend seven months sitting in classrooms, and I didn’t discover some questionable shortcut that magically handed me two degrees. I learned how to take advantage of a different approach to higher education. One that allowed me to move quickly through material I already understood and spend my time learning what I didn’t.

It was a game changer for me!

I Didn't Want to Spend Years Going Back

Like so many other adults considering going back to college, time mattered to me. I wasn’t 18 years old with four years of college stretching out in front of me. I had decades of work and life experience behind me. I didn’t want to sit through months of classes on things I already knew simply because some traditional college calendar said I had to.

That's when I did some investigating and started learning about competency-based education, (CBE).

Instead of measuring progress by how many weeks you sit in a class, competency-based programs allow students to demonstrate that they understand the material. Depending on the school and program, that can mean completing assessments, projects, papers, or other requirements and then moving forward at your own pace.

For someone with significant professional and life experience, that time-saver can be enormous.

Going Faster Didn't Mean Doing Less

This is probably the biggest misconception about earning a degree quickly.

I still had to do the work!!!!!

There were papers to write, projects to complete, assessments to pass, and plenty of material to learn. Accelerating didn't eliminate the academic requirements. What it eliminated was a lot of waiting.

If I understood something, I could demonstrate that understanding and MOVE ON. If I didn't understand it, I studied until I did.

That meant my progress depended much more heavily on what I could accomplish than on how many weeks had passed on a calendar.

My Bachelor’s Was Only the Beginning

Once I figured out how to approach competency-based education effectively, I realized I could accomplish far more than I originally thought, and I completed my bachelor's degree and then continued into a master's program. By the time I finished, I had earned two degrees in just under seven months.

And yes, I was 60.

OH, and did I mention both degrees cost me less than $10,000....TOTAL!

One of the easiest things to tell ourselves is that we've missed our opportunity.

I'm too old.

It will take too long.

I should have done this years ago.

It's too expensive.

I could have told myself all of those things!

Instead, seven months passed anyway, and at the end of those seven months, my life looked different.

What Helped Me Accelerate

There wasn't one magic trick. My progress came from a combination of choosing the right educational model, understanding how the program worked, planning strategically, and being willing to work very hard for a relatively short period of time. (I do mean hard).

I became very intentional about my time. I learned when to keep moving and when I genuinely needed to slow down and learn something. I organized my life around the goal I had set, and I treated finishing my degrees as something I was going to accomplish instead of something I was merely going to try to accomplish.

Now here I am, 2 degrees later, and getting to pass it on to the next person!

Want the complete story? In 2 Degrees in 7 Months, I share how I approached acceleration, what the experience was really like, what I learned along the way, and what I wish I had known before I starte

Is Accelerating Right for Everyone?

N0! And I think that's important to say.

Finishing quickly requires focus, self-discipline, and a willingness to make the goal a priority. Some people will want or need to move more slowly. But they can still earn a degree in a MUCH shorter period of time than the traditional 4-year model.

The point isn't that everyone should earn two degrees in seven months like I did.

The point is that your degree may not have to take as long as you think it does.

If you're an adult with years of knowledge and experience, it's worth investigating educational options that recognize what you already know and allow you to move forward at a pace that makes sense for you.

You're Not Too Late

If there is one thing I hope people take from my experience, it is this: don't automatically disqualify yourself because of your age or because your life didn't follow the timeline you once imagined.

I didn't earn these degrees at 22.

I earned them at 60.

There were plenty of years when I could have looked backward and thought about what I should have done differently. Instead, I decided to work with the life I had in front of me.

Seven months later, I had two degrees.

Your path doesn't have to look like mine. Your timeline doesn't have to look like mine, either.

But if you've been thinking about finishing a degree (or finally starting one) don't let the traditional four-year picture automatically convince you that you don't have the time.

Start by finding out what is actually possible.

Want to Know Exactly How I Did It?

I wrote 2 Degrees in 7 Months for adults who are looking at higher education and wondering whether there might be a faster, smarter path.

It's the story of what I did, what I learned, and how earning two degrees at 60 changed what I believed was possible.

Not ready for the book yet? Download my free Degree Acceleration Mini Blueprint to learn what to consider before choosing an accelerated degree path.