I made a post of this nature about a month ago back, it was kind of wordy. I received some advice on Reddit that didn't work out. I'm posting a revised version.

I am a non-traditional student (I'm 41) who entered the working world at 19. I quickly discovered that work experience trumps all, and I've only recently returned to school because of various factors that would take too long to relate here.

I find that a lot of what I have learned in university so far (I'm 70 credits into my BA, I have an Associate's) is stuff I've already either learned on the job or through my own experiences.

How do I finish the degree with a minimum of fuss, bother, and money? Since I'm already 70 credits in, I want to just finish it up at this point.

I'm interested in that and similar methods of gaining credit or bypassing courses based on demonstrated knowledge. For instance, I have been self-studying psychology for about 2 decades now, so I am beyond the MA level (my therapist agrees) I have a diverse skill set in many areas (acting, writing, business) which I can provide references for.

I have Googled this, but as it is not a common query there is not a lot of information on it. A lot of universities also have their own stipulations - some accept work experience, some don't, some grant partial credit, some...it's too individual for me to ask EVERY college I want to enroll in.

Most people advised talking to advisors. For a lot of universities, that is gated behind an official enrollment, which means I need to pay money. I'm not willing to do so unless I know I will be attending the school. The few universities I contacted were not helpful, and I've experienced huge delays (sometimes half a year) in trying to get my queries answered.

I figured I'd ask here again because I am only one person and it's a big world.

tldr; I want to obtain a BA with minimal fuss, I have the skills and not the papers